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Cover of The Librarian of Crooked Lane. Back of woman with long blond hair and a black dress, standing in the lobby of a library with bookshelves on either side of her and a clock in front of her on a wall. Cover of The Librarian of Crooked Lane. Back of woman with long blond hair and a black dress, standing in the lobby of a library with bookshelves on either side of her and a clock in front of her on a wall. Cover of The Librarian of Crooked Lane. Back of woman with long blond hair and a black dress, standing in the lobby of a library with bookshelves on either side of her and a clock in front of her on a wall. Cover of The Librarian of Crooked Lane. Back of woman with long blond hair and a black dress, standing in the lobby of a library with bookshelves on either side of her and a clock in front of her on a wall. Cover of The Librarian of Crooked Lane. Back of woman with long blond hair and a black dress, standing in the lobby of a library with bookshelves on either side of her and a clock in front of her on a wall. Cover of The Librarian of Crooked Lane. Back of woman with long blond hair and a black dress, standing in the lobby of a library with bookshelves on either side of her and a clock in front of her on a wall. Cover of The Librarian of Crooked Lane. Back of woman with long blond hair and a black dress, standing in the lobby of a library with bookshelves on either side of her and a clock in front of her on a wall.

Summer Listening – The Glass Library

Written by alamancelibraries on . Posted in Book Reviews.

Sometimes in the summer, you need a great book to listen to on the way to a great vacation spot, or while you’re working. I’ve been enjoying one bookish, magical series that is available through Hoopla!

The Glass Library Series by C.J. Archer

Cover of The Librarian of Crooked Lane. Back of woman with long blond hair and a black dress, standing in the lobby of a library with bookshelves on either side of her and a clock in front of her on a wall.
Cover of The Medici Manuscript. Back of young woman with long blond hair and a black dress, standing in front of a desk with a book to her left which is glowing and sparkling. She is in an office with a globe, bookshelves and paintings.
Cover of The Untitled Books. Back of young woman with long blond hair standing in front of a large window. There are piles of books around her, and all of them have sparkles coming off of them. The room also has a desk and shelves.
Cover of The Dead Letter Delivery. Back of young woman with blond hair, standing in front of an arched entryway. There are sparkling books around her, and also letters with stamps scattered behind her.

The Glass Library series is the textbook definition of a glacially-slow-burn romance, while also ticking the fantasy, mystery and historical fiction boxes.

The Librarian of Crooked Lane is the first book in the series. Sylvia Ashe is now without family in the world (at least, family she knows of). Her mother never discussed her father, and now that she and Sylvia’s brother are both deceased, she is curious. Her brother left a diary that mentions silver magic and the name India Glass. She never thought that they were descended from magicians; after all, she’s just an ordinary woman!

Gabriel Glass survived the Great War without a scratch, despite being on the front lines for the entire war. He is artless (without magic), even though his mother India is a famous watchmaking magician. When he saves someone in a boating accident, staying underwater much longer than they ought he should be able to, he can’t escape the reporters digging into his life. He denies he has magic, but many people don’t believe him.

Sylvia chases down Gabe at an opening gala for the Royal Academy Art Show in London, posing as a waitress to approach him. She hopes that she can talk to his mother and find out why her brother James had her name in his diary. Of course, his parents have just left for a trip to America, and her asking him gets her thrown out of the party and fired summarily. Gabe is at first unwilling to help her, but as she and her best friend Daisy leave the party, someone tries to kidnap Gabe. His best friend Alex, whose father works for Scotland Yard, and Gabe’s cousin Willie (a smart-talking cowgirl from the United States) act as his bodyguards and foil the plan (although Sylvia’s well-placed kick might have helped as well).

Gabriel comes to the library where Sylvia works, and accidentally gets her fired. He enlists her help in finding out who stole a painting from the Royal Academy, and promises to help her research her heritage and find out if she has a magical ancestor. He also gets her a job in the Glass Library, a library of texts about magic that his family has contributed to heavily.

There is much to enjoy with this series of books. In each book, there is a mystery to solve, as well as the overarching mystery of who are Sylvia’s family, and does she have magic? It is fascinating to see the world of the 1920s in England, when roads had both horse and carriages and motorcars, single working people still lived in boarding houses, and the aristocracy still held an enormous sway on society and life.

If you love magic, these books show a different, perhaps more realistic view of magical use. Magicians have just one specialty, and often just one spell. Paper magicians own paper factories, and know a spell that makes paper stronger. Ink magicians enchant ink to make it last a long time and stay sharp and legible. It is very different from most magic systems where magicians can do multiple spells in multiple disciplines.

And if you’re looking for a very (very, very, very) slow-burn romance, you’re going to love this series. Gabriel and Sylvia get closer and closer as the series continues, but never admit their feelings to each other. Their best friends Daisy and Alex also flirt and bicker, but never (at least not yet!) act on their feelings. I will admit to yelling at the audiobook in my car, “just KISS already!” But the tension between them is truly enjoyable and I know that when they do kiss, it will be worth it.

Book five, Secrets of the Lost Ledgers, comes out this September. Until then, use Hoopla to catch up on the story!

Mary Beth Adams is the Community Engagement Librarian for Alamance County Public Libraries. You can reach her at madams@alamancelibraries.org.