The Astral Library (Standard Edition): A Fantasy Adventure Where Books Become Doorways to Literary Worlds, Danger, and Escape

From New York Times bestselling author Kate Quinn comes a gorgeously written fantastical adventure which poses the question: Have you ever wished you could live inside a book? Welcome to the Astral Library, where books are not just objects, but doors to new worlds, new lives, and new futures.
Alexandria “Alix” Watson has learned one lesson from her barren childhood in the foster-care system: unlike people, books will never let you down. Working three dead-end jobs to make ends meet and knowing college is a pipe dream, Alix takes nightly refuge in the high-vaulted reading room at the Boston Public Library, escaping into her favorite fantasy novels and dreaming of far-off lands. Until the day she stumbles through a hidden door and meets the Librarian: the ageless, acerbic guardian of a hidden library where the desperate and the lost escape to new lives...inside their favorite books.
The Librarian takes a dazzled Alix under her wing, but before she can escape into the pages of her new life, a shadowy enemy emerges to threaten everyone the Astral Library has ever helped protect. Aided by a dashing costume-shop owner, Alix and the Librarian flee through the Regency drawing rooms of Jane Austen to the back alleys of Sherlock Holmes and the champagne-soaked parties of The Great Gatsby as danger draws inexorably closer. But who does their enemy really wish to destroy—Alix, the Librarian, or the Library itself?
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Community Reviews
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Readers say the book is a heartfelt celebration of libraries and the magical escape they offer, filled with literary easter eggs and adventurous spiri...
Loved, loved, loved the book! I couldn't put it down; read it in 2 days. Not quite a 10, because the ending is almost a "happily ever after" one, so a tad disappointing, for me. But I will reread this one, if only (and it's not, but never mind) for the smile it plasters onto my face! 😁
This book lives out every book dragon’s fantasy! I could completely put myself into Alix’s shoes and defend the astral library. In the real world I have been a huge advocate for libraries and books being used to further everyone’s knowledge expanding. I hope more people find this book as useful as I have and will be adding to their book collection.
What a great concept! What book would you like to live in?
I heard that this book is divisive and I understand why...in my case, I was not disappointed because this was "different" from Kate Quinn's previous books, far from it! I absolutely loved the setting, characters, and the quirkiness and creativity that went into this plot (*who doesn't want to live in one of their most beloved books of all time?!) + the dark twists and mystery that ensued ..
For me, while I adored the protagonist - Alix Watson - (*smart, witty, unconventional in both looks and demeanor) the things that bugged me a bit were (1) Alix got a bit too idealistic and verbally vulgar for me at the end (*just too much swearing); (2) her love tryst with Beau felt more "book fantasy" than real life - I think this could have been better developed; (3) the open wounds regarding Alix's Mom were not tied up nicely - this seemed like such a central/core part of the story and then it just totally fizzled out/was snuffed out ...
I will say though, my favorite part of the book was actually the author's note at the end and the rallying cry to save our beautiful sanctuaries aka libraries - and that clawfoot bathtub in the children's section to read and escape in - the author's Mum was very lucky to serve as a librarian in a place that believed in the magic of books :) :)
This really kept me wanting to read more and I finished in 3 days even with some crazy stuff going on irl. Overall, a fantastic read that crosses over genres nicely without overdoing it. I feel like there were a couple things that could have been cleared up a bit better, the mother for one and Beau for another, there was also a small section where the time standing still in one place versus another wasn't quiet matched up as expected, but minor and still a worthy read. I have read a few reviews that were disappointed with the Author, but as this is the first of her books I've read, I didn't have the bias of her other works to color my views on this. However, I will now put them on my 'to-do' list as the writing is excellent.
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