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House of Earth and Blood: Crescent City, Book 1
Sarah J. Maas
4.7
The Wren in the Holly Library: Wren in the Holly Library, Book 1
by K. A. Linde
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About this book
Thirteen years after a catastrophic war forced humanity to coexist with monsters under the fragile Monster Treaty, New York City remains a landscape of shadows and secrets. Kierse, a fearless and highly skilled thief, survives on the fringes of this fractured society. Her luck runs out when a high-stakes heist leads her directly into the Holly Library, a forbidden sanctuary that is far more than a repository of books.
There, she encounters the library’s enigmatic master—a creature of terrifying power and quiet, alluring charm. He is an ancient being who has spent centuries orchestrating a complex, lethal game, and he recognizes in Kierse the exact talent he needs to tip the scales. He offers her a bargain that demands her freedom in exchange for her unique skills, plunging her into a world where the line between predator and partner blurs.
As they become inextricably linked, Kierse discovers that the price of their alliance may be her soul. Caught in a dangerous web of intrigue and undeniable attraction, Kierse must decide if she can trust a monster who has been playing for keeps long before she was born.
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What readers are saying
K TorskeGreat Book
"A joining of street smarts and classic knowledge. In a world where magic, myth, and humans collide. A subtle retelling of Beauty and the Beast wrapped in an elaborate plot full of twists and turns. With a morally grey beast MMC and badass heroine who flourishes and comes into her own. While challenging her beast in ways he never suspected. An enticing read I’m happy crossed my path. ["
December 11, 2025 Verified Purchase
KenderEntertaining Story with Monsters, Magic & touches of Celtic lore
"Monsters have come out of hiding, and the world is ever altered. When a desperate thief takes a job to steal a diamond from the library of one of NYC's wealthiest, she gets more than she bargains for. Turns out, the owner of said diamond is actually an ancient and powerful "monster." Instead of taking his vengeance on her, he makes a counter-offer that's too good to refuse. This was an interesting collaboration of a dystopian world with magic, monsters and elements of celtic folklore. Our heroine has had a rough life as an orphan, struggling to survive, along with her two best friends. The writing had a few issues from plot holes, unbelievable situations of seemingly miraculous recovery post-injury, and weakly written side characters. Likeable, sure - but felt more of an afterthought to the main story. Graves promises training as a bargaining chip to ensure her safety, but he deals in riddles, deception and an air of distrust - making it hard to truly LIKE him...nevertheless, While the beginning of the story was extremely entertaining, I began to get frustrated in the second half of the book. While there was diversity in monsters, we didn't really get much more than species-name-dropping with the exception of Vampires, Werewolves and a couple magic user types. I really would've loved more intensity in the danger, instead it fell flat. I was dismayed that any complications that our characters faced were too easily resolved, and the use of "Interludes" throughout the book felt a bit jarring from the story at hand, rather than to simply have multiple POV's written into the main story to fill in all the gaps I was eager for. Furthermore, the true significance of "the wren" in symbol and name isn't clearly explained, other than that there's an ancient history that references the title. I DID appreciate that this wasn't a Romantasy of just 🌶️S🌶️M🌶️U🌶️T🌶️ but that it actually had a story to it. That being said, there could've been a bit more built up & depth (no pun intended) to the relationship between MFC & MMC. By the end of the story, we end up with a LOT of unanswered questions....which our main heroine sets off to seek answers for - away from the manipulations of the quasi-love interest, the semi-triangle love interest(???), and different paths for characters who were set up to be more important to the MFC. The finale of a mysterious phone call to Graves by an unknown entity that teases readers to set up for the next book was a lazy way to rev up the next book. (Which of course, I had already pre-ordered when I bought this copy - so, because I'm not a quitter, I'll be reading it too.) I am a bit confused by the number of poor reviews I've perused. While the story did utilize familiar tropes, had a few plot holes, and ultimately could've been much longer with more details added - it felt more like a set up for the next book (another common thing in the Romantasy genre where the 1st book isn't as good as the next one(s) in the series. Was it THE BEST book I've ever read? Certainly not, but I'm happy with my purchase and will be glad to have this story (and the next) remain in my personal library. ["
October 28, 2024 Verified Purchase
Barbara L. EvansIncredible! Unbelievable! I enjoyed this book so much and read it in one day.
"Incredible! Unbelievable! I enjoyed this book so much and read it in one day. The series is one of the best I have ever read. So excited for the next book in the series!! Five stars plus!! ["
April 8, 2026 Verified Purchase
K Phillips3.5 ⭐️ for me. Was missing something.
"Sadly, I was very underwhelmed by this book. Wish I could give it 3.5 ⭐️. I wanted to love it so much. I found the first half of the book to be very slow and edging on boring. For me, there wasn't a lot of chemistry between the main characters. It was almost like I was being told there was chemistry without actually feeling their chemistry. It is unfortunate because I think that the plot was good and it has so much promise, but the story was just lacking for me because there is such an emphasis on the growing chemistry but I just didnt really see it. Then there was the ending. I just felt let down by the way the story left off with the FMC and the MMC. I know that the story will probably get worked out in the next book, hopefully, but it also looks like the main focus of the next book will be on another supporting character more (base on the title of the book) so I'm not sure what kind of closure we'll get with Graves and Kierse. I will still read the next book The Robin on the Oak Throne. ["
July 30, 2025 Verified Purchase
