Author: Tori Bovalino
Publication Date: 10 August 2021
Publisher: Page Street
Page Count: 368
Reading Method: Physical arc gifted by the publisher
Dates Read: August 2 – 6
Synopsis:
When Tess and Eliot stumble upon an ancient book hidden in a secret tunnel beneath the school library, they accidentally release a devil from his book-bound prison, and he’ll stop at nothing to stay free. He’ll manipulate all the ink in the library books to do his bidding, he’ll murder in the stacks, and he’ll bleed into every inch of Tess’s life until his freedom is permanent. Forced to work together, Tess and Eliot have to find a way to re-trap the devil before he kills everyone they know and love, including, increasingly, each other. And compared to what the devil has in store for them, school stress suddenly doesn’t seem so bad after all.
Review:
This was exactly the young adult dark academia story I needed! I loved the creepy library setting, the haunting imagery with the ink, the magical elements, and the unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Be warned, this story isn’t for the faint of heart. There are some pretty graphic depictions of injury and death, but I couldn’t put it down!
Tess is struggling to fit into her new school and maintain her two jobs just make ends meet. After her family falls into financial troubles, she moves with her sister into a new school to offer her sister a better chance at a future, while putting herself on the backburner in the process. Eliot is reluctant to be in the states while his mother fades away in England. He is convinced that if he finds the right spell in the libraries collection of old grimoires that he will be able to save his mother. He enlists Tess’s help and while they are exploring the cage of old books, they find a secret passageway that leads to a book that unleashes the devil.
As mentioned before, the imagery in this story is absolutely fantastic, but quite intense. The details of the bodies during possession is nothing short of disgusting. The elements with the ink are chilling. While the writing is spectacular at painting a picture, I did find it to drag in some places. I found the whole side story with Tess’s family to be a bit dull. It explains her motivations well and sets up her history so we can understand why she is doing the things she does, but I just started skimming halfway through because it seemed to detract from the more exciting things that were happening.
I did like that Tess ultimately stays true to herself. She is so tough and smart and I saw a little bit of myself in her. Eliot, to his detriment, is quite charming. As they work together to put the devil back in the book, feelings start to develop. I did enjoy how the relationship progressed but didn’t seem to take over the whole story.
Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, the story drops a few more surprises! If you’re looking for a good dark academia read, I’d recommend giving this one a go.
