Audiobook Review – Smoke and Iron (The Great Library, Book 4) by Rachel Caine, Narrated by Julian Elfer (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy/Steampunk
Length: 9 hours and 46 minutes (444 pages)
Publisher: Recorded Books
Release Date: July 3, 2018
ASIN: B07F1PZNC2
Stand Alone or Series: 4th book in The Great Library series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

“The opening moves of a deadly game have begun. Jess Brightwell has put himself in direct peril, with only his wits and skill to aid him in a game of cat and mouse with the Archivist Magister of the Great Library.

With the world catching fire and words printed on paper the spark that lights rebellion, it falls to smugglers, thieves, and scholars to save a library thousands of years in the making…if they can stay alive long enough to outwit their enemies.”

This is the fourth book in The Great Library series (there are five book planned for this series). I continue to really really love this series. The world-building is amazing and I adore all the characters.

This book changes between numerous POVs which worked really well. Unlike some books that switch POV, I love every single character in this book and looked forward to every portion of the book.

Things really build to a head as Jess and his classmates try to save the Great Library from itself. The majority of the book sees our characters separated from each other but they end up coming back together for the finale. There is a lot of action and intrigue in here as well as a bit of romance.

These books have a bit of a pattern to them. A lot of the book is dedicated to some big plan that Jess devises and then everything goes wrong….this pattern happens every book. This is pretty much my only issue with this series, I wish at some point things would go according to plan for our heroes!

Overall I love this series and can’t wait to see how things wrap up in the fifth and final book! I would recommend to those who enjoy historical fantasy/steampunk novels with amazing world-building and intriguing characters.