The Library Of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey

*Spoiler free*

From the moment she first learned to read, literary genius Darcy Wells has spent most of her time living in the worlds of her books. There, she can avoid the crushing reality of her mother’s hoarding and pretend her life is simply ordinary. But when a new property manager becomes more active in the upkeep of their apartment complex, the only home Darcy has ever known outside of her books suddenly hangs in the balance. While Darcy is struggling to survive beneath the weight of her mother’s compulsive shopping, Asher Fleet, a former teen pilot with an unexpectedly shattered future, walks into the bookstore where she works…and straight into her heart. For the first time in her life, Darcy can’t seem to find the right words. Fairy tales are one thing, but real love makes her want to hide inside her carefully constructed ink-and-paper bomb shelter. Still, after spending her whole life keeping people out, something about Asher makes Darcy want to open up. But securing her own happily-ever-after will mean she’ll need to stop hiding and start living her own truth—even if it’s messy.

I’ve actually never quite found a book about books that I’ve loved. It just always misses the mark for me. Despite that, I always jump on books that seem like it’s going to include a love of books in any way. So, I was really, really looking forward to this book! I originally thought it was going to be an adult romance, because the synopsis sounded like it would go in that direction, but it’s actually a YA book (a firmly YA book, which I really appreciated). Trigger warnings: hoarding

I don’t know why, but I actually went into this book thinking I would think it’s alright, but not love it a whole lot. Well, I’m glad I was wrong haha. Though this book has some emotional emotions, it also had such a sweet undertone. It feels like a really sweet book overall and it left me feeling like sugar could come pouring out of my veins from how cute it was.

I’m used to best friends being part of a book. They usually take a backseat and I like them in a sort of side character sort of way. But, I loved how much focus was put on Marisol and Darcy’s friendship. They have such a strong relationship and how they came to be friends is one of the best parts of this book. I love how much they support each other and I love how much they love each other. Their relationship is such a big part of this book, and I just really, really like that it was so at the forefront. Darcy needs the support of Marisol, and Marisol helps Darcy learn more about herself. Honestly, I would love a book about Marisol, cause she was a side character, but I feel like I know so much about her.

The romantic relationship was also really well done. It was also incredibly sweet. I loved how slowly it burned and how it unfolded. I don’t think a ton of time passed logistically, but how they got to know each other was so thorough. I loved how they went from friends, to a question mark, to more. It also was really tied to Darcy’s emotional development and I loved how it didn’t overpower that. It allowed Darcy to grow, in such a healthy, while still moving it’s own plot forward. It was just really well done, I loved how it progressed.

I also really liked Darcy’s development. She learns to be true to herself, to take care of herself, and figure out what she wants. Such an emphasis is put on her learning and her growing. All the plotlines worked together, they push and pull so well together, that it made Darcy’s growth seem really real.

The books were just sort of there for me. It was cool to see a character so in love with books, but that’s basically the only thought I have on that haha.

Darcy’s relationship with her mother was also sort of just there for me. But I think this is just me more than anything else. I just felt like their relationship was more of sideplot, while her mom in general was part of the main one? I dunno, that’s a weird explanation. I guess I would have liked to see more of Darcy and her mom together, but I can’t really complain too much because of how well all the other relationships were done.

The family relationships, the best friend relationship, the emotional growth, the bookstore, and so much more come together to create a really great book. I really enjoyed it.

The Library Of Lost Things comes out October 8, 2019! You can add it on Goodreads and pre-order a copy in the meantime

Thank you for reading!