Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine is the fourth book in The Great Library series.
In this one we pick up where we left off. Jess is pretending to be his brother Brandon in order to destroy corruption within The Great Library from the inside. Morgan is back in the Iron Tower and attempting to liberate the Obscurist’s from their shackles, while not becoming trapped herself. Wolf is back in prison and the rest of the gang are on a boat, captive or guest, the lines are blurred. But one thing is for sure, no one is safe.
The battle for the Library has begun and what started out as a rebellion to rescue a friend, has now turned into an all out war. But who is fighting who and will the costs outweigh the benefits?
This is an interesting series. There are parts I love and then there are times where I am sitting there thinking, come on, lets go. It’s one, at this point, where I could probably take it or leave it but I ultimately want to know what will happen, so I am sticking with it.
One of my complaints about this series is that is runs in a circle. The gang realizes something or hatches a plan, then they either get caught or have to save someone, they get free, plans go awry and they are “captured” again. Yes, each time is unique and ultimately the story does move forward but for me, this circle needs to be broken.
I did really like that we get Khalila’s point of view in this one. She has a unique perspective. She has hardly any ulterior motives other than her devotion to the library and her hopes for it’s return to the pure entity it was meant to be. Where as Jess and Morgan believe in the library but their actions are also colored by their emotions and their past. There is also a lovely battle scene toward the end that I would love to see on screen if done well.
Ultimately, this was another entertaining read by Rachel Caine and I am ready to see how it will conclude in the final book, hopefully coming out next year. This one gets a solid 3.5 stars from me.
That’s all for now!
-M-