Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Book That Held Her Heart by Mark Lawrence Narrator: Jessica Whittaker
Series: The Library Trilogy #3
Published by Ace, Penguin Audio on April 8, 2025
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 384
Length: 15 hours, 30 minutes
Format: Audiobook, eARC
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
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The fate of an infinite library hangs on one book, a book that holds the power to break the unbreakable. In the face of such forces, fragile things like hearts, family, and the world seem certain to fail.
The people most vital to Livira are scattered across time and space, lost, divided into factions, in mortal peril. Somehow, she must bring them together and resolve the unresolvable argument that fuels the library’s war. The bond between Livira and Evar has stretched and stretched again. Can it hold at the end, when things fall apart? Can it bring them together against impossible odds? This is the last chapter, the final page. The end threatens and no one, not characters, readers, or even the author, will emerge unscathed.
I’ve enjoyed the Library trilogy. In the first book, Livira and Evar meet and get to know each other. They find that although their species are at war, they can love each other. They are separated at the end, Livira amd Malar end up as assistants and goes back in time to help Evar and his now adopted siblings as they grow up in the library chamber after the attack on their parents.
As with the previous book, I appreciate how Mark Lawrence begins with a recap of the story so far. His characters and world are complex. I would read the books in order. The Library crosses time and spaces. After being assistants for 200 years, Livira and Malar are killed by skeer. Evar thinks Livira is dead but they are actually ghosts.
In each time and each world there are different species who end up fighting and burning down the world. The history of the library is in one story created by two brothers. One who created it and wants to have it keep educating the species so that they might become peaceful and live together in learning. The other brother wants to destroy it. Yute, a master librarian, who mentored Livira wants a compromise where the people learn to live together.
In the first book, we learn of the human and the canith. In the next book, we have more about the canith and then the ganar who created the skeer. In all the books, we see a bit of the brothers and the Library and its librarians and assistants. Always one brother encourages discrimination and hate tearing things apart, while the other supports the Library for knowledge and acceptance of others.
The Book That Held Her Heart takes us across the worlds looking at the different stories Livira has collected over the years in different places and times. This is the essence of fantasy to me. People live and die, fight and love, but everything comes back to the pureness of ideas. The various friends and lovers spend most of their time trying to find each other.
Yute and eventually more of our characters, are going between worlds to try to save the library and perhaps find a world where they can be safe and together. Over the years, they have tried many things to save the library and promote peace between peoples. I was satisfied to learn their solution and how they were able to make it work.
Narration:
The same narrator has continued through all the books. She is Livira to me. I recognized her voices for the characters and was comfortable with them. The narration added to my enjoyment of the book. I was able to listen at an increased 1.7x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Mark Lawrence
Mark Lawrence was born in Champagne-Urbana, Illinois, to British parents but moved to the UK at the age of one. He went back to the US after taking a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College to work on a variety of research projects including the ‘Star Wars’ missile defence programme. Returning to the UK, he has worked mainly on image processing and decision/reasoning theory. He says he never had any ambition to be a writer so was very surprised when a half-hearted attempt to find an agent turned into a global publishing deal overnight.
Mark Lawrence is married with four children, one of whom is severely disabled. Before becoming a fulltime writer in 2015 day job was as a research scientist focused on various rather intractable problems in the field of artificial intelligence. He has held secret level clearance with both US and UK governments. At one point he was qualified to say ‘this isn’t rocket science … oh wait, it actually is’.
Mark used to have a list of hobbies back when he did science by day. Now his time is really just divided between writing and caring for his disabled daughter. There are occasional forays into computer games too.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 25-Audio
- 25-COYER
I’m still interested in this series, you make it sound so good! One day…
I enjoy this trilogy and the Book of the Ancestor that starts with Red Sister are my favorites.
I’ll get to this series eventually. I really enjoyed the last two series of his I read.
I’ve enjoyed this one and the Book of the Ancestor probably the most. He writes complex and often dark stories.
This sounds like a good series, and a good narrator makes all the difference. I appreciate a quick recap at the start of each installment too.
yes I do really like the recap as it a year between books. Especially since the books are complex with many characters and settings.
I am waiting for this from the library. Great review!
Thank you Kimberly. These are complex enough that even with the recap it would be worthwhile to read them all together at some point.
This cover drew me in and then… bam! I realized I want to read this series because of your reviews. *adds to the list*
I think you’d like it. And it will be much easier for you because the trilogy is complete. With complex settings and characters, it’s easier if one reads the books all in a row rather than a year apart.
Just have to figure out where to fit this into my reading schedule 😛
yes exactly. I have a long long list like that.
That cover is lovely and stunning!!!
yes this series has particularly nice covers.
Love the title and the cover! It sounds like the perfect series for us bookish people!
The covers are great. These are what I think of as epic fantasies with high level conceptual reflections behind some battles and politics.