Smoke and Iron adds a lot to an already jam=packed series, and it's really ramping up to the fifth and final book, which I am beyond stoked to read now! It's hard to review without spoilers, so I'll just say this --- you're going to want to scream more than once and probably punch something a few times. Be prepared so that you don't end up scaring your partner witless when you chuck it across the room and spend a few minutes shouting at it. And THAT ENDING. Didn't see it coming and don't know where it's gonna take me in the next book, but I'm along for the ride.

I LOVED this whole series so much!! From the creative book covers to the characters and atmosphere Rachel Caine created.

The twists and turns surprised me and the magical system was so inventive! I stayed up many nights reading these books back to back. I was genuinely sad when I finished the last book because I loved the family Rachel Caine had created.

The dystopian steam punk theme mixed with old world atmosphere and ideals made way to a world you never wanted to leave. I had my husband read this series too after I finished and he loved it too!

I would love collector editions of these books but without taking the tattered book art away, maybe adding some foiling and UV spotting though.

Truly a hidden treasure for those who dare to peak!

I'm so sad to say this, but this series wasn't for me. People do love this series but I just couldn't connect. When I requested this one I didn't realize it was a 4th book so I gave the first a try and I had to DNF. It just didn't work for me. It is definitely a case of "It's me, not you.".

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

Jess goes head to head with the Archivist. He and his friends must band together to defeat the corruption of the Great Librarys leadership.

I really enjoyed this entire series. It was a great concept and kept my attention the entire time. The setting and concept of this series is so fascinating. And come on, it's a series about a library! What bookish person wouldn't want that?

This is the 4th book in the series. It seems as If the writing and plot is slowly going down in quality? While I do love Rachel Caine's writing, I did find I had a harder time with this one than I did the previous 3. I do think this series is definitely under rated. More people need to realize how beautiful it really is.

***Review not posted on blog***

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series by Rachel Caine. Unfortunately I am unable to post a review of this book on my blog at this time. I am excited to read more by Rachel Caine and this publishing imprint. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

The Eater of Books!

I tired really hard to get into this one. I really wanted to love it but I just couldn't get into the story. I found myself just being so bored and not enjoying the characters. I think it must me a it's not you, it's me situation.

I was really hoping this would be better than the first, but nope. I was still bored to tears, and actually ended up unable to finish this one. I can see where some would love this series, as the premise is really cool, but it's definitely a series that just isn't for me.

Smoke and Iron begins from the aftermath of Jess letting his father's trap close on them, so they all are separated - and this means the series takes a different approach and makes it multi-PoV instead of a single one from Jess (with Ephemera entries filling in the blanks). For most of the book, the main PoVs rotate between Jess, Khalila, Wolfe and Morgan, while in the last part (it has 14) we get to see from Thomas', Santi's and Glain's eyes as well. Jess is under the Artifex's custody, trying to figure out a way to stall while he gathers info, and also to give time to Morgan, who is in the Iron Tower, overthrow the Obscurist Magnus. Wolfe has been confined the cells in Alexandria, along with Khalila's family, with no idea of Jess' plan but assuming there is some plan in place. The others are on Anit's ship, being swiftly carried on the way to Alexandria. And because there are so many moving pieces in this plan, the book is quite expansive in its plot, introducing new threads to a central plot that is shifting slightly from just defeating the Archivist.

The multiple Pov do slow down the pace a bit, but also allows for so much more to be seen. I loved Khalila's PoV the most, because you can see her conviction strengthen as the book moves along - only a Scholar, she is playing the political game, talking to allies, but also aware that some of their plans will involve violence and that she will have to make her peace with it. Morgan's PoV gives us more insight into the alchemy of the Obscurist and the workings of the Iron Tower, and introduces us to Eskander, Wolfe's father, and Annis, Keria's friend; the latter is a delight, by the way! Wolfe's is painful to read through, because being in the cells calls back his memories of torture, and even hallucinations. The point where they all converge is also kind of where the earlier plan starts to crack, but also, who doesn't love a good reunion. This family has had to rely on so many shaky allies, you can almost expect betrayal at every turn and that hold so much of the suspense in this book.

On the plot level, it makes for a good amalgamation of earlier book events into this: while Jess and co are trying to topple the most powerful man in Alexandria, the geopolitical situation is such that major kingdoms around the world had allied themselves (in the last book) which weakens his position. And with a dissatisfied High Garda, the odds are turning in the favor of Jess and his family, but just so. There's the fact that they do need help from allies, and trusting those allies would be foolish, especially when they have Thomas' intellect and his creations on the table. And the conclusion of the book, while a bit chaotic and rushed, still plants the seed for the next book quite well.

Really wonderful, which was no surprise to me because I truly love this series. It is one that everyone should read. I wish there was going to be more from this series!

This is the new series of the decade. I recommend this series to every single middle and high school student looking for a new series to read. My middle school book group adores it, and I cannot cannot cannot wait for the last installment.

I really enjoyed the first couple books in this series. But sadly I feel like as I have read each subsequent book I liked each one a little less. I still plan to read the next book but I'm not sure.

I loved the book. The series is just getting darker and deeper. I was really thinking the series would end with this book and I was really disappointed that it didn't. I love the series but I'm not sure my heart can take any more of this.

Even better than the last book. I like how the story is progressing and look forward to the next in the series.

I think this series was originally supposed to be a trilogy? I'm not even mad that it's stretched out to be at least five books. There are definitely some series where it feels like the author drags everything out and nothing of consequence happens from book to book, but that is not this series. This series is action-packed and this latest book is no different. We've got all the same characters that we know and love and it's such a joy to watch them continually develop through this fourth book. Jess is such a delightful main character and I really enjoyed the switching perspectives, especially when we got to Khalila's portions. I can't remember if the previous books switched perspectives like this one, but it was definitely necessary with all of our characters separated.

Something I really love about this series is that it has such a wonderfully diverse cast without seeming to try too hard. Sometimes books include diversity for diversity's sake and it's done in a really stiff and obvious way--not the case with this series.

I love books that imagine different iterations of the library and what Caine has come up with is really quite fascinating. The entire world that she's created is so rich and detailed. She really brings her vision of Alexandria to life. I would highly recommend this series to pretty much anyone and those covers are to die for.

Another wonderful instalment in the Great Library series. The series is fun to follow and full of great scenes. Full of action and quick to read, as it draws you in so deep you can't put it down! Highly recommend this series.

I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Why oh WHY?!?! I’m feeling all the emotions right now! Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine is the much anticipated 4th book of The Great Library and picks up right were Ash and Quill left us hanging. Without spoiling that one, I’ll just say that Jess and Dario’s harebrained plan has left the friends split up and being tortured….yeah good going guys 🙄

Jess, Morgan, and KHALILA
Told in multiple POV this time, Smoke and Iron plays out much like I thought it would AND not at all like I expected. Jess is in the hands of the Archivist and pretending to be something he is not. It takes all of his cunning and then some to pull it off. But pull it off he does and it is magnificent. I caught myself holding my breath through most of his chapters.

Morgan is with the Obscurists. I loved her scenes. Not only do we finally get a peek into what they do inside the Iron Tower, but we also meet new characters: Anissa and Eskander. Anissa is kind and sweet, but pulls no punches. She isn’t very powerful, but what she lacks in power she more than makes up for in stealth. Eskander however is scary powerful. That’s all I’ll say about him, because…..



And KHALILA!!! Sheesh does she step up this book or what?! I’ll be honest. The first time Khalila was introduced into the series, I kind of overlooked her. She didn’t seem to be an important character, other than to be smarter than Jess and drive Dario mad with want. Well…she does all that and more. As the reader, you get to be in her head and see the turmoil she is going through along with her resolve. Seriously she makes me want to fight a revolution!

Revolution on the Horizon
The plot of this book is complicated and simple all at the same time. Jess is trying to infiltrate and kill the Archivist. It’s crazy, but if it saves more books and the people that protect them, it’s worth it. While in the previous books, the Archivist was on the outskirts, just out of reach, he is present in this book and within Jess’s grasp. The big bad becomes fully fleshed out and honestly he’s a bit scary because of the power he wields.

Despite being scary, the people are beginning to see through him and question his decisions. As a reader, you realize he’s inferior and his time is coming to end long before the characters. Caine does a fantastic job of foreshadowing and playing into the reader’s anticipation. I seriously couldn’t set the book down because it is SO fast paced.

My Final Thoughts
Overall I really enjoyed Smoke and Iron! It was a quick, fast-paced read that kept me guessing until the very end. And the end 😭 I’m not over it yet. I need the next book. The world-building, the characters, I need to know what happens next. What more could they possibly go through?! If you’ve enjoyed the first three books, don’t wait to read the next one. It’s satisfying and still leaves you wanting more.

really love this series and I was very excited and anxious to find out what was going to happen in the latest installment especially after the way the last one ended. And this was another great example of how interesting and engaging this series is.

One of my favorite things about this book is the world that Caine has been able to create. In this book we delve even deeper into some of the more interesting aspects of the magical system that we only got the smallest taste of in the first three books. For one thing we got to learn a lot more about the Obscurists and how their powers work, which I found very cool. We also get to see more of the steampunk technology like the automata and other inventions that Artifex like Thomas create. There was a very cool and very scary invention that the Library created which made for a very intense scene. All in all, I love the way that Caine has expanded on the world by combining science fiction and fantasy in a way that makes for a compelling world.

However the best part about this world is the political intrigue. This book is incredibly hard to categorize, which is one of the things I like about it, and this is one of the main reasons why. It reads a lot like a dystopia with an oppressive ruler fighting to maintain control from a rebellion by our main characters. And in this book, that rebellion is in full swing. Most of the book we have our heroes plotting against the Library and planning a coup that still protects knowledge and everything that the Library stands for. It honestly feel really timely in a subtle way that I really appreciated. But I also love how sinister the Library is. As book lovers we probably find it hard to root against such a place but Caine has managed to create a library that is so awful you want them to fail, well you want those in charge to fail. It’s a hard line to walk and she does it with ease.

Though it may be easy to root against the Library because it is easy to root for these characters. I have become so attached to these characters in the past four books, I am so scared about what is going to happen to them. In all the previous books, everything was from Jess’s perspective. This was fine with me because I really like Jess as a character. His thirst for knowledge and desire to do anything for the people he cares about is truly admirable and makes him easy to want to succeed. But I like that he’s still vulnerable and makes a lot of mistakes. He gets himself and others into a lot of bad situations here and I appreciate that he gets called out for it. He’s a good leader and strategist but he’s not perfect and those are the characters I like reading about.

But in this book we also get perspectives from plenty of other characters. Almost every one of the main characters gets to narrate at least one chapter and some like Morgan and Khalila get even more tan that. I really enjoyed being in their heads as well. Some of my favorite chapters and sections of this book were those from Morgan in particular. She had some of the most interesting experiences and getting to see her plot and scheme was amazing. I also really liked getting to see portions of the book from Wolfe and Santi’s perspectives because they have become some of my favorite characters. And while it made total sense for the narrative to change narrators and take us to different places, I did have that problem where I was annoyed we had to leave a haracter just when their story was getting good. It’s kind of just the nature of the game though.

Luckily, there was never a lull in this book though. The plot was so thrilling. There was so much action and adventure to go along with the intrigue and scheming. I honestly could not stop reading it. I have been having a really hard time with ebooks lately and I considered grabbing the audiobook for this one but once I started reading it, I didn’t want to audio at all. I was cruising through it and loving reading it with every turning page.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book. I loved learning more about the world and seeing the scheming and plotting, I loved the characters and seeing more perspectives, and I loved how thrilling this book was.