The Book Report #105
Episode #104
The Book That Held Her Heart By Mark Lawrence
The Library Trilogy – Book Three
The Book
Harper Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, published this book in 2025.
My copy is a first print hardback, signed by the author. The book has 388 pages, including acknowledgements and advertising for other books written by the author.
What Did I Think?
Part 3 in the story of the Library Trilogy, and we come to the end of an epic story.
As in part 2, we get a summary of what has happened with the main characters so far. And I get a better understanding of what is going on.
The library is dying. And apparently, it is all over a book. Livera wrote it, did write it, or will write it. Timey-wimey.
In the first book of the trilogy. Livera started to write a book. Rewriting some old stories but in her own image and style. She left the book somewhere in the library, and over time, it travelled through time and space. Moving through the hands of many people. Generated the power the book needed to bring about the library’s end.
We learn that not only can they travel through the exchange – they can go forward or backwards in time into different worlds – but also they can travel through the alternate realities of those worlds. To the what-ifs.
The book leads to a conclusion where I can only think it’s similar to The Matrix. The destruction of the library is periodic. It happens once every so often. Where a decision is made on how the next chapter will commence, every new battle leads to a newer version or could lead to the destruction of the library, and yes, there are sides, but it has nothing to do with the gods who created it; it comes down to the species to decide what happens next.
Does the library come back, go away, or undergo a revision of what it is supposed to represent?
Groups
What began mostly in the second book now continues here. The characters are split into groups and seem to go through life-altering events that will shape them in different ways; they will also overlap and change partners when the need arises. This leads them back together for the usual conclusion, ending in a win, a loss, or something else.
One of the main stories of this book is to find the king, Oanold, and stop him from destroying everything. He has disappeared, and all he wants is the end of the library. And to rule over what remains. But one of the problems while searching for him on the alternate realities is that they have trouble finding their version of him. He has the book.
We are introduced to Anna when Yute and Kerrol are sent to Germany just as the war was starting. They meet Anna, who works in her grandfather’s bookshop. Yute and Kerrol arrive from the library while travelling through a portal. The library is connected to all of the bookshops.
Anna is here to tell us and to remind us that the past is there until we no longer need it. And the books are there to help remind us of our history, lest we forget.
The conclusion ended with nearly everyone getting what they wanted, and those who needed it getting a new perspective on how to see things.
Even though I was completely immersed in the story, it did feel like it dragged. The story flowed at a nice, even pace, but even so, it still felt like it dragged. I don’t understand it. Maybe I was expecting a little more, becoming comfortable with the story instead of being shocked by the twists and turns.
It’s Over
I am happy I went on this journey with Mr Lawrence. This was the first fantasy story that helped me get back into reading books. And it will sit on my bookshelf forever with my favourite books of all time.
Would I recommend?
Yes, I would recommend this book and the rest of the trilogy. This journey has a satisfying ending that wasn’t completely fully realised, well, by me, anyway.
Please give this book a go.
Would you like to purchase your very own copy?
You could try these online stores: Amazon UK/USA and Waterstones. AbeBooks UK/USA, Barnes & Noble, or eBay UK/USA.
Alternatively, you could try your local bookshop or even your local library.
