A beautifully written book. Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks to publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read.

Sword and Pen is the last book to the series The Great Library by Rachel Caine, it was full of action, fast-paced and thrilling! Genuinely a great series to pick up if you're looking for adventure!

Ravel Caine was one of my favourite authors. I loved everything she wrote.
I really enjoyed this book. Was something different to read. I have reread it recently and loved it as much as the first time.

This is the fifth and last book in the series and I feel that reading the previous books essential .

The students along with Wolfe and Santi have come a long way ........ but now they must risk all to save the Great Library , even their own lives , to return it to what is was originally intended to be before it was corrupted by the Archivist .
The ending to the series wraps up all the outstanding items not yet resolved ....... each character has made choices that make sense to them , not everyone remains unchanged .

This was an entertaining finale to an absorbing series which I have thoroughly enjoyed .

I was given an arc of the book by NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review .

Such a fun book, really engaging and read it as quickly as possible. I have high hopes for this author in the future.

I would be lying if I said that I thought the last book was the final book. I was surprised to see another instalment. It look me a while to get into this book and I found it difficult to follow and enjoy. It seemed like it was put together for the sake of another book. However, I did enjoy the ending and finality of it - there is definitely no more books to come!

Wow, what an ending! I haven't read the rest of the series, but I definitely want to go back and see how this story starts. Such an interesting book, and I love the imagery and importance of the library.

`I wasn't aware going into this book that it would end the series, but what an ending it turned out to be! The stakes were higher than ever, the villains more desperate and the relationships between all of the characters became even deeper- I even shed a few tears at the beautiful ending scenes that perfectly captured what the series was about. 100 percent recommended to any reader of any age!

Welp, this was a lot. A lot of feelings. Came very close to making me cry on several occasions.

I can't get over how much the characters have grown up and developed since the first book -- you really get a sense that they're *adults* now. It's not that it feels like it's left YA territory behind entirely, but at the same time, it's a major progression in the tone and mood of the books. Some series get darker and darker as the books go on; these were always dark, and perhaps they've become more so, but it's not that which makes them feel older. It's just... the kind of decisions the characters have to make, the way they relate to each other, the progress they've all made and how they've grown as people. Which is fantastic, as an older reader of YA, though it does make me wonder how well they suit younger readers now.

I have to admit I had virtually no memory of the previous book when I went into this, and was apprehensive about that. It did a fairly good job of recapping the important stuff in the first few chapters, though, and managed that without infodumping, so I didn't feel too disoriented. What really got me most about the book was the poignant realness about some of what the characters were going through that made it hit harder than a less grounded fantasy novel might have done -- Jess's storyline in particular, which had my emotions in shreds at various points. I'm glad the book managed to maintain some hopefulness, however, even when it felt like things were soon to be lost entirely; the world is too full of hopelessness these days. I know that Caine has had some health stuff going on recently, and I wonder whether that affected how she chose to write Jess's arc there. It walked the line between emotional and just bleak, and I'm glad it stayed on the side that it did.

But the book doesn't pull any punches, at all, and it's not one to read if you're hoping for a happy, light-hearted distraction...

The reason I picked up this series was a) because these covers are freaking gorgeous, b) IT'S ABOUT LIBRARIES and c) there have been a couple authors that were advocating for this series because Caine is sick with cancer and the fifth book was coming out so everyone tried to help her a little by advertising.

So I got approved for the 5th book on Netgalley, and now I finally started the series...only to despise the first book. There's just nothing there. I read up to 75 pages, which is very generous of me because I usually know if I'll like a book around 50 pages. If I can't even get through the first book I'll never reach the fifth one.

Writing style: There's a lot of words strung together but nothing seems to make things a whole, it's just dumping words on a page and hoping it's any good.

Characters: The characters are flat, barely have a personality and are not properly described. I can't picture how any of them look.

Story: I haven't gotten that far in book 1 so maybe the story gets better but what I read was just a jumble of words which didn't form anything at all. This is not a tale to get lost into in a good way, this is a tale that will confuse you and make you take several wrong turns and then you just give up.

So yeah, I think it's clear I'm DNFing this whole series and will never look at it again. I'm sure someone somewhere will love this series and give it attention, I'm just not that person.

The young students have come so far, rising in all their respective fields. Alongside Wolfe and Santi, they now have to risk everything they have worked for and even their lives, to save the Great Library and bring it back to what it originally stood for, before it was corrupted by the Archivist.
The Great Library is probably my favourite series about books. This was a very satisfying end to the series though I didn't really want it to ever finish.

A satisfying ending to the Great Library series. This was very much the 'wrap up' book and the characters had a lot to get through - both dealing with their nemesis, the Archivist, and making their choices about who they were and what was important to them. Not everyone makes it to the end unchanged but each and every character ends their journey in a way that makes sense for them. It was an exciting and absorbing finale to a truly innovative series and left me wanting more!

I really cannot get enough of this book series, I love the characters, I love the writing and I especially love the world and concept.
So unique but really well executed.

Sword and Pen continues the multi-PoV format as it gives us a wide account of the stand the Library takes against its new enemies. When the old Archivist was dethroned at the end of the previous book, it left the Great Library divided - some loyalists fled along with him, and the remaining, including Jess and his family, are all struggling to bring order back to the Library as they prepare for aggression. Their former allies, including Spain, Japan, England and all others all look to this regime change as an opportune time to plunder the Library, and approach under the pretext of providing protection; when their offer of 'help' is declined, war is declared and it is up to Alexandria to dig into its old protections, from the time of Heron, to stop the advancing enemies on all fronts, as well as deal with the rogue Archivist within.

Jess starts the book in a bad place, and things don't really get better for him as things go on: he gets injured quite extensively while helping Wolfe track down the Archivist, and spends most of the book fighting on, knowing that it is only making his condition worse. Morgan, who had been going over the romantic aspect of their relationship in the light of what her circumstances are, is also out of the picture for him. She, meanwhile, has been working to help the Obscurists branch settle into their new changes, as well as lend Eskander the support he needs; her rising hunger due to the way she pushed herself gets a respite, but it also has its limitations. Khalila shines, as always, as she steps into the politics of the Library, becoming the new Archivists' assistant and also undertaking some decisions for wartime. Thomas has an amazing journey, a quest of sorts, which I won't spoil here - best to say that the Library has some wonderful and terrible secrets buried.

There are a lot of moving pieces in this story, because they are constantly putting out fires, real and metaphorical. The book keeps you on the edge of your seat, but the tension can get to you at times. I don't know if my reluctance to finish this book ASAP was because it was the last (I always have trouble with finales), or because I was too worried at times but yeah, it took me a week to get through. It is expansive, yet the multiple PoV doesn't distract you - it keeps you in the middle of the action, and shapes the conclusions for the various character arcs. As a finale, it was splendid, and well-worthy of this amazing series.

I came to read this book and wished that I had read the others in the series. This book is a hybrid genre, it incorporates, the great Library at Alexandria, magic and automatons in such a convincing way that it really captures the imagination.

What I particularly loved about this book is the way the writer weaves together people of all nationalities and religions seamlessly. The title is apt both figuratively and literally, and centres reading and education at the heart of its culture.

I wholeheartedly recommend it for teenagers who like something a little different.

A fantastic end for a great series.
It was an amazing reading experience that kept me hooked till the last page turning pages as fast as I could.
I love everything in this book and I think I will revisit this world soon.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

5 stars

What a simply incredible end to a wonderful and very unique series. How Rachel Caine thought up the whole of the series with the intricate details is beyond me.
I'm really happy with how the story ended and that all lines of the book were tied up.
The action scenes and emotions in this book I thought was the best and most real and raw out of the whole series. Caine's descriptions made the landscape and action easy to imagine and has always had me hooked from the first book.
Sword and Pen is the fifth and the last book in The Great Library series and in my eyes is a complete triumph and a final success in the series. What a read!

Please note that this e-book was gifted to me by netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sword & Pen takes off right after the betrayal at the end of Smoke & Iron; the main protagonist of the series, Jess, is grieving and injured, his friends are scattered and The Great Library is in peril - pretty standard day in Alexandria at this stage to be honest.

The book takes place over a day or so, and the additional povs made for interesting reading. We have always had a few other povs but it was nice to see more focus on Wolfe and Santi in this book.

The story was fast paced, very well written and executed, and I felt that the characters stayed true to their selves and each other. It was difficult to read at times and I'm not going to lie, but I definitely shed tears at least twice - tugged at those heartstrings.

The end of the series was a fantastic addition and finished strong; I'd highly recommend it.

This was an amazing conclusion to the series! I loved the characters and the plot twists. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! This book was more slow paced than the others, but by the end we have a greater insight to what the great library actually stands for. At the beginning I always thought of Jess as an antagonist- his sole purpose was to steal books and sell them on the black market for his father, but we soon see his character develop and change. His love for books drive him to actually make a stand and I loved that!

Highly recommend!

The final instalment of the Great Library series sees us re-join Jess and his friends after the old Archivist has has fallen.  The city of Alexandria is in turmoil, the Archivist is refusing to accept his fall from grace and plotting his return to power, using whatever force necessary, and the city is under siege from outside empires kingdoms.  Jess and his friends must fight to save The Great Library and build a new future for it, or risk seeing everything it stood for crumble to nothing.


I've been hanging out for this to come out so I was really excited to be granted an arc and get to read it a little early.  I've been following the series since book 1 and much as I don't want it to end I need to know what happens!

I love the idea of living in a world where books and knowledge are such a precious commodity, and you can dedicate your life to being a scholar of such a great library.  The idea of not having books freely and readily available is something that disturbs me though.  Whilst reading this series you are horrified at the lengths the Archivist will go to in order to keep his power and position, and shocked at the levels of censorship and control exerted over books and knowledge.  As I was thinking about this review I spent some time considering not only the levels of censorship in our world, but also whether there is in fact some knowledge and information that is best kept hidden.  It's a difficult question and I'm not sure there is a right answer.

In terms of this book I really enjoyed being immersed back into the world of The Great Library.  I think Rachel Caine has done a brilliant job of describing Alexandria, so I have a really clear mental picture of how the city would look. 
The book switches views from chapter to chapter, so we spend some time with each character.  I thought this one was quite evenly spaced, with us spending time with each character.  Jess has always been one of my favourites, followed closely by Thomas, but I enjoy all of the character views.  Morgan has really developed into an interesting character with a lot going on, and this book is no different.

I think this was probably the most action packed book of the series, and I loved it for that.  From right at the start of the book we have action packed scene after action packed scene.  It really felt like a battle between our characters and everyone else.  They were managing external attacks from other countries whilst also trying to control the internal attacks orchestrated by the Archivist.  Reading from different perspectives means we get different insights into how the library approaches and deals with this.  Khalila shows us the political and democratic side, Santi the strategy and Glain, Jess and Wolfe the action. 
There are so many characters under threat that you're constantly on edge wondering if they will all make it or not, and whether the Library will survive.

I don't want to give away spoilers so I won't say too much about the ending, except to say that I thought it was really well done. I think Caine ties up all the threads nicely so that the series feels complete and you aren't left wondering what happened to a person or place.

I think this might be my favourite book of the series, so it's definitely a 5* from me. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Allison & Busby for an arc in exchange for an honest review