I really wanted to love this book because the premise sounds so awesome and I adore a good ghost story. Unfortunately, I just couldn't connect with the PoV character or the narrator. The world building is really good so I'll give the physical book a read in case it's the audiobook that's preventing me from falling into the story fully.

The Short Version: An atmospheric meandering trip through Edinburgh’s darkest recesses that’s equal parts Coraline, The world’s end, with just a dash of Oliver Twist.

The Long Version: I got to listen to the audiobook version of this book thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review

Our young protagonist Ropa is a cash strapped ghost talker who makes her ducketts delivering messages from the dead to the living, but when a persistent spirit insists something horrible has happened to her son, she veers off her grind to find the lad which has consequences in this world and the next.

This was a very good book. First and foremost it possesses a wonderfully constructed protagonist. She had a strong voice, was resourceful, but also had believable flaws with logical consequences.

The world building here was good as well, I could feel the Edinburgh chill as I listened.

The chapters are short and the plot breezes along nicely for the most part and while the action is mostly backloaded, the buildup was interesting enough to keep me going.

One of the absolute best parts of this book was how they introduced the magic system. I can’t stand when a novice instantly becomes an expert and unleashes like the hardest spells or abilities like instantly. That absolutely does not happen here as Ropa stumbles through learning new magic which I really appreciated.

The narrator’s performance was spot on, she did several accents and made each character distinct, her vocal talents adding a wonderful layer of richness to the work.

While there was a lot of good in this title, there were some weaker points as well.

The book is on the shorter side, and it reads more like a novella stretched into a novel with some scenes seeming extraneous, more exposition added for the sake of exposition than integral to the plot. Luckily the chapters are short so it didn’t rip me out of the story and ruin the experience.

The writer makes various references to modern or modernish things (A Mike Tyson quote for example) as well as plenty of more classical references (The art of war is referenced quite a bit). To explain this in a teenager, the writer merely offers that she likes listening to audiobooks and watching old movies. Sure it’s possible for someone to have such diverse references but it was a little jarring and felt inconsistent. I really felt the author coming through in those moments.

Also, as in a lot of Fantasy, there’s a decent amount of Deus Ex Machina, which is always a bit of a drag for me. It didn’t ruin anything, but it leaves a very Harry Potter taste in my mouth (where in the protagonist doesn’t solve the problems so much as everyone around them does, with them chipping in here and there). That’s a bit of an overstatement but it hurt the strength of the protagonist for me.

Lastly, I was a little disappointed in the ending. The author did a phenomenal job of having the protagonist decisions result in real world consequences (I mean when real world people just go on quests, it’s not like the real world pauses). I wish it were left there, but the author put a happier spin on it in the last chapter, which I would have been content without.

Overall I bounced between a 3.5 and a 4 but landed on a 4. Solid writing, likable characters, an intriguing if imperfect plot line, and a believable magic system. A solid read for Fantasy lovers of all types.

Component Ratings
Concept/Idea: 4.5 out of 5
Characters: 4 out of 5
Character development: 4 out of 5
Plot: 3.5 out of 5
Pacing: 3.5 out of 5
Narrator performance: 5 out of 5
Dialogue: 4.5 out of 5
Prose: 4 out of 5
Worldbuilding: 3.5 out of 5
Magic system: 4.5 out of 5
Ending: 3.5 out of 5

I feel bad about giving this three stars because it's an awesome premise and the world was really cool. In an alternate Scotland, people are able to see ghosts and pass on messages to their loved ones. There's also some pretty interesting magic and a mysterious library. So why didn't I love it? I was so confused. I'm not sure if the narrator's accent (while very fitting for the character) threw me off or if I just wasn't paying attention. I felt like I didn't know which character was which, what was happening with the library, and why only some people could talk to the dead.

The mystery of kids being drained of life was intriguing and I was rooting for Ropa to figure out what was happening. Ropa is also trying to learn magic and whenever we got a taste of it, I got excited. I think there were a bit too many characters and several storylines for a short book. When the sequel comes out I'll probably reread this and see if I can put the pieces together.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the copy.

The main character is well written and clever, but the story ended up a bit rambling on the way to the main conflict and resolution. It is perfectly set up for sequel and I do hope we get to read more about Ropa and the Library. The story reminded me of Abigail from the Rivers of London series, especially the time she spends in the house.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Library of the Dead was a pretty interesting book to dive into. I'll admit that I was a bit bored and confused in the beginning because I didn't know where this book was going to take me. Then there was this one moment where things just switched for me. I was starting to get pretty invested in the everything. Plus, the narrator's accent helped as well.

In it, you will meet Ropa. She has Zimbabwean magic and can talk to ghosts. Which, I don't know about you.. sounds kind of fun and mysterious. She's also pretty damn likable due to her sarcasm. That's probably my favorite thing about her because I speak that fluently.

The adventure she went on kind of gave me Enola Holmes and Nancy Drew vibes. It also gave me tons of questions and not a lot of answers. It was kind of chaotic but I couldn't look or walk away from it. I'm honestly intrigued what the next book will bring me and will probably dive into that whenever it comes my way.

In the end, I think I need to book a trip to Scotland.

I want to start by saying that this book leaned way more YA than I was expecting from the blurb. I really liked the setting of the novel. I liked the main character but knowing in the back of my mind that she was 14 kept throwing me off. I found the story to be slightly lacking. Everything gets solved way too conveniently. I found the main characters habit of not completing thoughts or idioms to be a little frustrating.

I'm guessing that the publisher chose this narrator because she has a Scottish accent. Other than that, she has a very flat delivery and reads in a monotone. She does not add anything to the story.

Don't go into this book thinking that it's about a girl who finds a magical library and her whole life is changed. Ropa does find The Library of the Dead, but it's just another place to go to between speaking to the dead, taking care of her family, and finding out what happened to disappeared children.

I love Ropa. She works very hard with little help to protect everyone around her. She has the weight of the world on her shoulders, but she still tries. She listens to audiobooks of philosophers as she walks to get the most out of her day.

My big problem is the setting. This is post-apocalyptic, but I have so many questions about what caused the world to devolve and what rose in its place. There is no universal healthcare, and police are corrupt. There is a king, but how the people act he probably seized power of Scotland? Britain? The world? Ropa makes random pop culture references that I don't know how she discovered. For instance, she refers to an episode of a Mortal Kombat tv show.

The audiobook is very well done. I liked the narrator, but there were times when I didn't know who was talking.

This book needs more lore.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

The narrator is awesome! The book is ok. I think the title is misleading. The library of the dead is a minor part of the book. I found this to be disappointing. The book is inclusive, which is a good point. Overall I am glad I read it, but being teased with a secret library and then it barely being in the book was disappointing. I love the strong female lead raised by her grandmother, but I would have liked more backstory. What happened to the mother? Lots of holes in the story.

The audio of this was extremely distorted. This could have impacted my enjoyment. However, I will be DNFing this for now at 20%. I just did not jive with the writing style. I felt it was very tell not show and I was never able to fully immersed in the story. At 20% the plot hasn't even really started, and instead we've had that much of a trying to be street smart teenager who hasn't done anything or gotten into any trouble to make her need to be "street smart" and overly sassy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Library of the Dead is a fantasy novel set in a different version of Edinburgh, where our main character Ropa works as a ghost talker, receiving money in exchange for sharing messages between the dead and the living. She's doing this to support her family financially, but when she's asked to investigate a missing child, she gets pulled into a completely different part of the magic underworld that she's not sure she really wants to be part of.

I thought this was an interesting world that the author has created with an intriguing set of characters and situations. I do wish some more time had been spent on world building as it felt like the plot moved rather quickly, but I still enjoyed it, especially the characters that make up the story.

I listened to this on audio and thought the narrator did a really good job of bringing the main character to life and creating a great tone for the story.

I'd suggest this to anyone who enjoys a good, darker fantasy story that is a bit complex and unexpected.

Ropa is one of my favorite characters now!

This was such a fun, adventurous book to read full of magic, great characters, and culture. Ropa is the perfect mix of loyal and sassy. She's become a ghostalker in order to provide for her family, but she encounters a ghost who is going to change her whole world. When she visits the occult library for the first time I thought Huchu's descriptions were amazing because I felt like I was standing in the library with Ropa.

I loved everything about this book and I can't wait to read the next one in this series.

#NetGalley

I wanted to love this book so much, but it fell completely flat. The synopsis sounded amazing but there was so much “stuff” thrown in, the story became convoluted. There was no explanation of what happened to Edinburgh, if it effects the rest of the world. The library seems to have little to do with the actual story, other than introducing Ropa to Priya. There is no explanation of the magic system. There are so many questions left unanswered. Why is it called the Library of the Dead? What was up with the house? The author could have had a rich story based on Scottish/Celtic and Zimbabwean folklore and magic but instead this felt like it was just a mashup of multiple, random folklores, sci-fi, and dystopian ideas.

The one good thing about this book was the narrator. Her voice was beautiful and fit the characters age and background well.

DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Library of the Dead is a wonderful start to the series, Edinburgh Nights, Tinashe Warikandwa did an outstanding job narrating this book. Tinashe conveyed the street smart, distinctive voice of Ropa beautifully. It was easy to listen and stay immersed in the world that was presented. Tinashe portrayed the Scottish and Zimbabwean accents called for by the characters believably.

Ropa Moya is 14 year living in a dystopian Edinburgh. Roya lives with her Gran and younger sister Izwi in a caravan, struggling with poverty. In order to pay the rent, Roya has dropped out of school to earn a living delivering messages from ghosts to the living. Ropa has responsibilities, so when a ghost ask for her help in finding her missing son, she doesn’t want to get involved. Soon, however, Ropa gets tangled in finding the boy and figuring out what is happening to other children around Edinburgh. As Roya get deeper into the mystery, she is helped by her friend Jomo, who introduces her to the library of the dead, and Priya, a wheelchair bound healer.

I found this story to be entertaining and engaging. This was an engaging listen.
Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio version. This is my honest review.




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The Library of the Dead has such a fascinating premise - one that has, in execution, been better appreciated by plenty of other readers already. It is with sadness that I am choosing to call it quits at the 17% mark. I am not remotely into this story and am a bit confused about what is going on.

It's possible I would have liked this a bit more if I hadn’t listened to the audiobook, although I’m not sure the story would have saved itself for me in a different format. But, the audio narrator did not seem to understand the importance of inflection or changing voices for different characters. There are pauses in the middle of sentences that completely break flow, making a confusing beginning even more befuddling. There was nothing within the reading that truly brought the story to life for me and that was disappointing.

I am immensely grateful to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my audio review copy. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Tinashe Warikandwa did a superb job narrating the book.

Ropa is a young teen living in Edinburgh with the ability to see and speak with ghosts. She supports her grandmother and younger sister by delivering messages from ghosts to their families for a fee. A new ghost gets Ropa to investigate the disappearance of her young son and other missing children in the area.

I liked Ropa a lot. She is tough and resourceful and works hard to support her family. I loved how she listens to books and podcasts in order to continue her education after she had to drop out of school to work. Her comment about being productive while listening to books adds so much time to her day while when you are reading its the only thing you are doing rang true for me.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

In this first book in the new Edinburgh Nights series, readers are dropped into a future dystopian Scotland where we meet 14-year-old Ropa. She's a kid that's learned how to survive on the streets but she also enjoys learning through audiobooks. Oh, and she's a ghostalker. Using her Zimbabwean magic and Scottish pragmatism, she makes a living by delivering messages from the dead, to the living. Until one ghost implores her to find her missing child. This takes Ropa into the underbelly of Edinburgh where she discovers that someone is stealing children.

Ropa is feisty and can handle herself. She also has a fox named River that keeps her company. Huchu's writing style is different from what I normally read and I loved the concept of this novel. Overall it was entertaining, but I think my expectations where too high because I was expecting to like THE LIBRARY OF THE DEAD more than I did.

Tinashe Warikandwa does a solid job with the audiobook narration.

Ropa speaks to the dead of Edinburgh, a role she dropped out of school to fulfill. She brings their final words and wishes to those left behind. The job seems to bring comfort to many and Ropa believes she’s doing good works until the ghosts tell her that someone is possessing living children, draining them of all life and personality. Our intrepid heroine feels honor bound to investigate, using all the powers she possesses. This eerie, dream like book is brought to full and vivid life by Warikandwa, one of the most effective narrators I’ve ever heard

Having read and reviewed the physical galley, I wanted to test out the narrator for this one. Although I was not the biggest fan of the story, I did think the narrator understood the world and the characters well, and this is a great way to enjoy THE LIBRARY OF THE DEAD.

Thank you for the e-arc!