#ka linde

Check out these beautiful editions of The Wren in the Holly Library 😍

“Jack: "..You were the on­ly one I saw when I closed my eyes"

Lexi: "Then why wasn't I enough when they were open?”

The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde. Rating: 3.5 stars.

Read from April 5th to 7th.

I started this book with just the completely wrong mindset. I didn't know that it was a Beauty and the Beast retelling until I read the dedication and did some digging. I didn't realize this was going to land in the Romantasy side of Fantasy until I was about 20 pages in. And I was deceived by the beautiful book into thinking that it was going to have more depth than it really did. I don't know why the beautiful physical book lead me to think this was going to be a Serious Fantasy Novel, but for some reason it did. I ended up having to adjust my expectations as I read because we were not going to have a good time otherwise. And yet, somehow we still landed on a 3.5 star rating.

I really enjoyed the brownstone where our beast figure lived and I would give my first born to be able to use that Holly Library any time I wanted. (Though, to be fair I have no children and have no plans to have children so...take that with a grain of salt.) It really felt like the author spent a lot of time building up that setting in her mind and laying it out for the reader to enjoy. I also love this version of New York City following a monster/human war and how it all felt very post-apocalyptic. I could see so much of that in my mind. I love that there's a cat named Anne Boleyn who lives in the library as well. She wasn't my favorite character but...she comes close? I DID enjoy the main female character for her strength and willingness to do what is right for her, even if it's not right for anyone else. It felt like she spent a lot of the book learning and growing which we love to see.

I struggled with the world building. I think the author did a lot of research and had a lot of notes about all of these monsters and the politics of this world, but, somehow, forgot to share it all with the class. It felt like I hadn't done enough research going into it to understand what everyone was and what it meant for political alliances. I also struggled with the romance a bit. He ends up being over 500 years old (but he only looks like he's in his mid-twenties!) and she is a 25 year old woman. Consent and all of that, but still. It was weird. Especially since he's supposed to be teaching her all of these things and acting as her mentor. Plus he's way stronger than her. The power dynamics were just all off there. I think he is actually the best romantic partner for her out of all of the men in the novel, but that doesn't make it less weird.

Sharing my thoughts on The Wren in the Holly Library, the first book in the The Oak & Holly Cycle series by K.A. Linde

I went into The Wren in the Holly Library, the first book in The Oak & Holly Cycle, by K.A. Linde, with no information. I picked up this book purely because it looked gorgeous, with decorative sprayed edges and artwork on the inside cover. The dedication, “To the girls who fell for the library before the beast,” should have alerted me to the book’s inspiration from Beauty and the Beast. However,…