The final book and it did not disappoint at all! I love everything about it. And cannot wait to read more from this author.

I was hooked from book one. Truly and imaginative world and concept of stories in the afterlife. I love this series.

I thought this was a very satisfying end to this trilogy. I have enjoyed this series it’s well written and immersive. The characters are relatable and the story draws you in. The characters and plot have grown throughout the series and it’s just a the perfect ending. It’s a great fantasy finale to the struggles of a library in hell. I would recommend the whole series to anyone who will listen.

The Hell's Library series is a dear series to me - I purchased the first book during the pandemic and it brought my interest back in reading after a few years of hiatus. I remember being so mesmerized and awed by the first book, and I finished the second earlier this year (along with a reread of the first which I loved even more), and to be very honest, I didn't want to continue with the third, knowing that if I did, it means saying goodbye to these characters that have brought me so much joy.

I adored The God of Lost Words. I love the characters and I love how this story ended. Something I've always loved about this series is the way the characters are explored and their different dynamics with each other that I continue to adore every time. Honestly my favorite found family ever. I will definitely be rereading this series for comfort.

Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of the conclusion to one of my favorite series in exchange for my honest thoughts!

The God of Lost Words picks up where The Archive of the Forgotten has left us - the mysterious ink that plagued and puzzled our protagonists may have disappeared, but it leaves behind questions that cannot seem to be answered. And the few answers that have already been found leave them with utter chaos on their hands when Hell takes note of the true nature of the books they are housing in the Unwritten Wing, raw power that they would do anything to get their hands on.

This was such a beautiful conclusion to the series, and although it's been months since I finished it, I still feel hollow when I think of the ending. But alas, it was time to finally type out my thoughts - I don't think I'll get much more emotionally stable than I am now.

As with the previous two installments, the atmosphere of this world is unmatched. I've become so attached to the library and its wardens, and it was heartbreaking to say goodbye to those four (... or five) utterly chaotic fools. I still think about them from time to time, and it's hard to believe they grew on me as much as they did.

Finally, I'd like to personally thank A.J. Hackwith for making the polyamorous dreams I've had ever since The Library of the Unwritten come true.
I'd also like to partially revoke those thanks for the things I've had to go through afterwards.

The Grand Finale of one of my favourite series of 2021/2022. And to think, I only discovered the first one in September last year.

AJ. Hackwith creates such wonderful characters, in such a deliciously cruel depiction of the afterlife, it's easy to sink into their writing and not question the deeply troubling nature of Angels, Demons, Gods and Monsters - and how they reflect the mental and emotional wellbeing of stubborn librarians.

Brevity and Claire make such an excellent team, it was almost painful to see them at odds during this novel - both with the best intentions. Hackwith's ability to make me fall in love with each character's individuality is not to be understated. This book is a great time, full of action, consequence and emotional moments that had me -yeah, honestly, being emotional. Great work, great final book!

I loved this book although I am genuinely bereft that this was the final installment. The worldbuilding is so rich and creative, and the characters so interesting and flawed that I could happily go on exploring the realms A.J.Hackwith brought to life. Perfection.

The perfect ending for this incredible trilogy.

Actually, I'm still a bit lost for words days after finishing it, so much did I enjoy this.

trigger warning
<spoiler> grief, trauma, mention of torture, mention of suicide </spoiler>

Fair warning: Book three of a series. The blurp alone will include spoilers for earlier books, but I'll try to keep it as simple as possible.

Books, untold stories, everyone in the Library of the Unwritten, contain power. Since they made this discovery, they've been waiting for Hell to come knocking, asking some question nobody likes to think about.

Logical conclusion to the trilogy. Yes, there is something traditional about taking three books to tell a story that is appealing, but in this case, it fit for the content matter. A duology would have been too small, four books would have been too much.

If you've liked the first two, you'll like this one. If you haven't read the first two, this one is not the book you want to start with.

Tags, the dreaded tags. One person describes herself as ace without using the modern term, they just say they don't get sex. They do love, but it's unclear if they mean platonic or platonic and romantic love, so I've tagged this as including an ace person.

Then we have a triage of two guys and a woman, and ... I am sorry, I am not hugely into poly-relationships and don't have the words to tag this. Everything feels like me laying words into people's mouths. I decided that if I don't know if we have pan- oder bisexual people, I'll use both tags so people can find it, but I've also tagged this as gay because... <i>waves hands around</i>. Need to ponder this and probably talk to some people.
I do not mean to assign identities to people, I just want readers to find the material. Cool?

Bittersweet ending. It's weird, but then the whole story has been weird.
All in all, I loved this series, while I merely liked other library series, for example the one by G. Cogman. That was okay, and I am over Thursday Next, so this one had my heart and it will remain to keep if for a while. Found family vibes are just... perfect and exactly what I need.

Queer librarians solve problems arising by the need to bring books to the people. If this description appeals to you, you should probably give it a go.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

I have loved this series and this was such a fitting end to the trilogy. So much happens in this instalment. We get to follow the worlds cutest Thruple Clair, Rami and Hero, yes they finally got their act together on this and I am here for it, along with Brevity and the Damsels as they try to navigate the politics of the afterlife and sperate their divisions of the Library.

This really is a series for book lovers and this one in particular is so poignant in its exploration of what Libraries, Books and Stories are and the crucial role they play in Humanity. We get a whirlwind tour of the many different departments of the library and how they play a role in Story, in humanity and in the Afterlife, regardless of religion, creed or country. But we also get subtle and philosophical discussions on what makes a book. what makes a story, what drives humanity to tell stories. There are too many gorgeous quotes on the meaning, emotion and love of stories to even begin pulling them out

Throughout this series Hackwith had expertly woven a heavily character driven narrative with action and adventure. This book was the pinnacle of the three of really driving home the characters, allowing us to really spend time with them. While also providing high tension action. There were several moments in this that just caught you off guard with the emotional power behind them and just gripped you as you hoped to see a happy resolution for characters I have come to love. There were some true moments of fear for ever book collector, as well as moments of great joy as emotional damns finally burst. It had such and emotional ending that is sure to hit hard for anyone that has followed and loved this series.

The multi-perspective giving us such different insights from all the different voices we follow. I have to highlight the very last chapters in this book as we lead up to the ending and we get the short fire perspective switches as everything is pulled together. it is just beautiful. Again it really highlights the emotion between these characters and their love for all things story. As you the reader realise what must happen to save the library it just cumulates in this gorgeous stylistic piece of story telling itself which I just loved.

What makes this all the better is that this was just such a fitting ending for the characters. It was satisfying, emotional, and just the hint of bitter sweet. You know a sign of a good ending is when you close the cover with a sigh and just sit and contemplate what you have just read, where you can imagine yourself what may happen next but are still satisfied with where you have left things.

I fell in love with this series when I read The Library of the Unwritten and this series always keep me entertaining and in love with the words I read.
It's a long love letters to books, ideas, characters, and it's also an excellent fantasy series that mixes genres, tropes and make them original and new.
The God of Lost Words is the brilliant last instalment in this series: I read it as fast as I could, savoured the words, enjoyed the story, and cry saying goodbye to the characters.
Parts of me hope to be able to meet again Claire, Hero and the other fleshed out characters.
They were well developed, and I loved following their evolution as much as I loved the amazing world building.
I can't wait to read another book by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

It was an utter joy to have an excuse to pick this series back up for a reread before reading The God of Lost Words and my what an adventure this trilogy is. I would describe the experience as:
50% Having a wonderful gay adventure 50% sobbing while having an existential crisis - but in the best way!
Book three follows on from where the story left us at the end of Archive of the Forgotten, with a bit more knowledge about how the library works and whole host of implications about just what that means for the whole Hell's Library gang and the books/artefacts in their care.
I thought this book balanced the fun adventure romp elements of the first book with the more emotional, character development found-family aspects of the second book. I still think book one is by far the strongest of the trilogy but this new addition comes a close second!
I love the characters AJ Hackwith has created, and I stand by my statement that this was a book written for the kind of people who fall in love with librarians (raises hand). But the group felt really cohesive in this story.
I will say that this book went by incredibly quickly - at least for me - it felt very 'blink and you'll miss it'. For me, that's a sign of the pacing being really good but I can also see that this is a story I'm going to want to read again - and I am by no means disappointed by that fact!
I'd recommend reading this entire series, but speaking of this book specifically I went through an emotional whirlpool and by the end I was shedding a tear or two onto the screen of my kindle - people who already love this series will be very pleased with book three and people who've been waiting to see if the conclusion is worth it - go and grab your copy of book one immediately!
My rating: 5/5 stars
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley - all opinions are my own.

'Every soul a story, and every moment fresh ink on the page'.

It's great to meet again Claire Juniper Hadley, for whom 'all pockets were best judged by book size...'

Following from The Library of the Unwritten and The Archive of the Forgotten, The God of Lost Words returns to Hell's Library. Claire, ex-Librarian of the Unwritten Wing, has moved on to preside over the Arcane Wing. It contains dangerous artefacts - powerful stuff best kept out of circulation and, as we saw in earlier books, a honeypot for power-seeking demons. Not really a job for a Librarian, you might think, but then Claire has been on a journey in these books, discovering some things about herself that she really didn't want to know, and in the course of this her Library rejected her, so she must do what she can.

If truth be known, she isn't actually doing the job very well. Early in this book Malphas, General of Hell, arrives to make a surprise inspection. She's caught a whiff of secrets, and secrets, in Hell, are power. In The Archive of the Forgotten we learned that books have souls, or rather, books are souls (every reader knew this already, of course). And souls are sought-after currency. Malphas's visit soon develops into a threat to the Library's very existence - not just the Unwritten and the Arcane Wings, the branches hosted by Hell, but those in other realms too.

In The God of Lost Words, the stakes seem higher, the threats greater, the relationships more important, than before. Indeed, much of the action isn't action as such but is about the understanding between the central characters: muse Brevity, now Librarian of the Unwritten (of course Brevity is missing from the Muses Corps - nobody surveying modern culture could doubt that) and the strange triangle of Claire, Hero, who escaped from a now-destroyed book, and fallen angel Ramiel. I have to say, I was entranced by the delicate and evolving way that Hackwith depicts the complicated love between these three characters. The result is something outstanding among books I've recently read: not easy, not smooth, but electrified, writhing, unstable - at the same time as it is deep and affecting. Other familiar characters reappear such as Walter, an instance of the God of Death, and Bjorn, Librarian of Untold Stories, a branch of the Library based in Valhalla.

One of the challenges Claire faces here is seeking to outwit the legions of Hell itself. Hackwith's world is one from which the gods are mysteriously absent - despite their Realms being depicted - so she's not up against Lucifer as such, but Malphas is an able opponent, clever, ruthless and backed by immeasurable forces. Rami's sword, Hero's rapier and Claire's teapot are not going to prevail against that. Rather, she needs to find strength in the stories she has inherited from previous generations of Librarians - and to build alliances, so her other challenge is convincing her fellow Librarians that the threat to them all is real and they they should, against all precedent, stand together.

In many respects this book is more focussed and direct than the previous ones. It's about sacrifice, courage and endurance, with less general dashing around, and one senses that salvation, if it can be found, will be close to home - there is an early foray to the maze of the crocodile god, seen in The Library of the Unwritten, but that doesn't end well, as if confirming that Claire & Co need to look within.

The book displays, I think, how all the characters here have grown up - not only Claire, who was in some respects rather unpleasant to begin with (well, she had been exiled to Hell) but also Hero - he now has love in his life - and Rami who, you may recall, began this series as essentially a sword for hire, doing Heaven's dirty work for it. It also shows how Hackwith has kept this series on track. A fantasy novel about libraries and books could easily teeter from the meta to the twee, but like its predecessors, The God of Lost Words resists that. Rather, it has truth and love at its heart. And anger: whether at Hell taking its cue from human wickedness (chilly cages with children in - 'a room where innocence went to rot') or indeed Heaven meddling where it's not wanted ('What paradise realm has never met a soul it didn't want to save?')

Yes, there are in-jokes, but they are kept under control and what predominates is a thrilling story, complex, engaging characters and the ring of truth. And some scorching writing (if you'll pardon the expression) - from 'if we wait for a landlord who will not eat us for his own benefit we'll be realmless forever' to 'perhaps "amp up the imperialist voice" is not the way to go, given... British history...' to the tearjerking 'that appeared to be Hero and Claire's language of love, reminding each other not to be monsters' to... well, so many more bits that I could quote, but I'd better stop. (I'll just say, though, that when, in pursuit of Claire's schemes, the Librarians assemble, you may find a particular one rather familiar...)

Rather a brilliant and fitting end to this trilogy, I think.

The final installment to the Hell's Library trilogy is everything you could want for a finale to our intrepid team of Claire, Brevity, Hero and Rami's story.
We pick up straight after Claires recovery from her experience interfacing with the unwritten ink pool formed from the ink of books destroyed during the battlee which defeated Andras. Claire is still adjusting to being the custdodian of the Arcane wing and the realisation that the books / creative works that the libraries in Hell hold are more than just books but are in fact pieces of souls.

The fall out from the creation of the unwritten ink and its link to souls, is that Hells general Malphas curiosity has been piqued and wants to know more...a secret that Claire and Brevity are deterimined to keep from her. However when Malphas is not satisfied by questioning the team she goes on the offensive and burns down the Arcane wing. This is swiftly followed by an attack on the Library of the Unwritten which leads to Claire & Hero embarking on a journey to enlist the support and help of all the other wings of Hells library. Brevity and Claire use inspiration from a past librarian to devise a plan for independance for the Libraries of Hell however this needs all the librarians to act in accord - a little like herding cats!

The relationship between Claire, Rami and Hero are developed beautifully and this is a book about the purpose and joy of libraries. A library is not just a place that houses books, it is for community, patronage and safety. Go read this series it deserves your attention.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for access to this ARC, all views are my own.

The world building is creative and is detailed however I did find it a little repetitive in some places. The bits that kept me engaged were very good.

The ending was a little flat for me, the whole atmosphere throughout the book felt like it was building up to have a climactic ending but I didn't feel like it quite delivered.

If you like the idea of books having souls, adventure and impossible choices then this is the book for you.

*Thank you to @netgalley and the publishers @titanbooks for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

The day I was given the ARC for this book all the stars aligned. The husband was away, the child as well, the fridge stocked and I just had received a copy of the last book in one of my all time favorite series. What could go wrong, right? I retreated to the sofa…
...eighteen hours later and I am in shock and denial and WTF!? My heart just broke multiple times.
Needless to say, I adored the first to books. This one? Not so much. On one hand there is a lot packed into this book since it is the last one, on the other hand it oddly drags without much happening. A lot of side characters and side streams just seam to pop up randomly, making it hard to follow at times. Others are just abandoned leaving plot holes. Where is this love triangle (potential quadruple?) or strange polygamous relationship or other woke thing that my little brain cannot comprehend suddenly coming from? Why so many tedious paragraphs of prose in an attempt to give the story depth? I was furious and betrayed and bereft and ready to leave a seriously bad review for the author on twitter (so there!)….
….and then, I read the epilogue and I am positively crying. All (well, almost all) is forgiven. Yes, the lady knocked it out of the park. In her own words “it is important to end well” and she most certainly did.
Fazit: Is it as good as the other two? No. Is it what I was hoping for? No! Is it a very good immersive read? Absolutely.
Let’s face it if you loved the last two books you are not going to stop now. Just read it!

*This ARC was given to me by Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!*