Set in an unnamed country, in a dystopian future after a "great sickness" has changed lives forever, twins Ana and Nan work in the national library, where all books are being digitised as paper has been banned for hygiene reasons. The twins have a strange relationship - unnaturally close, yet with elements of resentment. Their mother, celebrated author Elena Oodig took her own life some time previously and the twins have planned revenge on the reviewer they blame for her doing so. However there is more to this story than they know, and more to Eben. When the twins plan an attack on the library when Eben will be there it's planned like clockwork, but unfortunately doesn't go to plan. I really found this a trange read. I didn't like the fantasy future element and being in an unnamed country. The author did create tension and in some ways that was enough to be gripping but for me there was too much that made me uncomfortable. #netgalley #thelibrarysuicides

I’m sorry this just wasn’t for me. It is dystopian, which I don’t usually read and hadn’t been aware of. You can't win them all but I am grateful to the author, publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this.

Loved the title and was looking forward to reading this but found it difficult to get into and with very unlikeable characters and so gave up and DNF

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC

DNF at 29%. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this book at all. I think it was a bit too intellectual for me and I found the characters too weird. None of the characters excited me and the plot was not something I cared for once reading.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Couldn't get in to this, maybe I was expecting different vibes but I would have given up sooner if it weren't for having the audiobook but even that didn't save it.

I really tried to enjoy this one, but it just wasn't for me. I'd read a few reviews to say it took a dystopian turn and I'm all for that, so despite not clicking with it from the start I decided to carry on. The dystopian element was very vague with no world building whatsoever, the pace was super slow and I ended up skimming quite a bit of the first half.
Once I hit 50% I actually got a bit more into it and found myself wanting to pick it back up, but by 70% I was skimming again. Despite not really feeling any connection to the book I wanted to finish, but by 80% I finally gave up.
1.5⭐️ purely because I got most of the way through it but unfortunately this was definitely not my cup of tea.

On paper (ha!) this is my perfect book - dystopian elements, revenge, books - what is not to love? But I picked up and put down the first chapter of The Library Suicides countless times and couldn’t get into it until I was lucky enough to receive the audiobook too.
It’s an intriguing idea for a plot. Twins Nan and Anna are living in the aftermath of their mother Elena’s suicide. They say she was driven to kill herself by literary critic Eben who ridiculed her work. So when Eben has the audacity to apply for access to Elena’s diaries at the library the twins work out it’s the perfect opportunity for revenge. All this is sent in a dystopian future where all physical books are banned after spreading disease in a pandemic.
I liked the dystopian elements of the book though not much of the book is dedicated to this element of the plot. I found the rest of the characters unlikeable and it was quite far fetched and unbelievable at times. I finished the book but it felt like a struggle and that too many elements were thrown at the book. For this reason, it’s not a book I can recommend to others.

Thanks for the author, publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

This book is strangely weird and weirdly strange and all the better for being so. Took me a little while to get into the flow of the book but the effort was worthwhile as I have thoroughly enjoyed the quirkiness of it. After all, who would believe that a State Library could be that odd and who could believe that said library could be such a pawn in country politics. The Library Suicides has convinced me of both and never mind all the "fun and games" the actual people get up to!

If you fancy a good quirk wrapped up in an interesting tale, this is likely a book for you.

Sorry, this wasnt the book for me, slow and frustrating. im not a fan of fantasy fiction and I didnt want to read about any of the characters, so unfortunately it was a DNF. Thanks for the chance to read it and im sure it will find a cleverer readership than me!

Twins Ana and Nan are seeking revenge for their author mother's suicide, believing literary critic Eben is too blame. They concoct a plan when Eben seeks access to their mother's papers, kept in the National Library where they work. An intriguing set up that was marred somewhat for me by placing the action in a near-dystopian post-pandemic world that was somewhat vaguely drawn.

This just unfortunately wasn't the book for me. It sounded like it would tick the boxes for some of my favourite themes and motifs (libraries, twins and a bit of dystopia) but unfortunately I just found it a bit insipid. The atmosphere wasn't particularly vivid and the characters didn't work for me; the plot was a bit aimless and I was in no hurry to return to reading it after I put it down.

From the blurb I was really interested in reading this but alas it was not what I was expecting at all. Slow to get going, not that it picked up as I got further in and didn’t really hold my interest. Dystopian novels are not really my cup of tea and wasn’t aware it was of that genre. I’m sure some people will love it and others not so much, but that’s what makes us all different.

I was sent a copy of The Library Suicides by Fflur Dafydd to read and review by NetGalley. I thought that the premise of the story was very good and was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, for me, this novel did not live up to my expectations. I didn’t particularly like the way it was written and I found that it was very laborious and quite repetitive at times. Had the writing been sharpened up and the length of the novel shortened I would probably have been able to give it at least 4 stars, but as it is I’m afraid it is only a 3 from me.

This book was not what I was expecting at all. I was hoping for a thriller but this was not that!! I couldn't concentrate on the story and it made me lose interest a few times, There are some people thaylt would love this so I'm sure it will do well :)

Description 🔖

Twins Ana and Nan are lost after the death of their mother. Everyone knows who drove Elena, the renowned novelist, to suicide – her long-term literary critic, Eben. But the twins need proof if they’re going to get revenge.

Desperate to clear his name, Eben requests access to Elena’s diaries at the National Library where the twins work, and they see an opportunity. With careful planning, the twins lock down the labyrinthine building, trapping their colleagues, the public and most importantly Eben inside. But as a rogue security guard starts freeing hostages, the plan unravels. And what began as a single-minded act of revenge blooms into a complex unravelling of loyalties, motives and what it is that makes us who we are.

General Thoughts 🤔

This book ended up being something quite different to what I had thought I was getting into. What the blurb didn’t mention is that there was a dystopian angle to the story. I don’t think that I was mad at it and the concept was really interesting. However I’m not convinced that the concept was followed through as well as it could have been.

I had such mixed feelings about this story. I went through chapters really engrossed and other chapters felt like they lasted 100 years. I don’t know if it was my mood or whether the story was so up and down. Some sections of the book could have been wrapped up a lot quicker and maybe more focus put on deeper character development.

Characters 👫👭👬

The story revolves around a handful of main characters; twins, Ana and Nan, Dan the security guy and Eben the critic. I didn’t particularly like any of these characters; which is fine. I’m always happy to dislike characters. However I need to care about their story in order to stay engaged with them and unfortunately, I didn’t care enough to become invested in any of them.

The twins had a weird, co-dependent relationship that I couldn’t quite get my head around. Dan was a weak man in my opinion. If he hadn’t had been sucked in and duped by the twins, so much could have been avoided. Finally, I couldn’t work out if Eben was/wasn’t a bad person.

Writing Style ✍️

This review so far reads like I didn’t enjoy this book at all, but I didn’t hate it. The author had obviously done enough to make me keep picking the book back up and find out what was going to happen. The characters were cleverly woven into each others lives and I enjoyed reading all of that unravel.

I also liked the concept of the book, being locked inside the library was an interesting slant. The only downside was, I would have liked a bit more description of the library itself as I couldn”t quite picture it to the level of detail I wanted to in my head.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

I think that this book had a lot of potential to be something gripping and certainly different to other thrillers, however it fell just a touch short of being amazing for me. The dystopian plot line was a surprise, but probably one of my favourite things about the book and I would have liked to have read more about it. Unfortunately, the characters are what let this book down in my opinion, as I didn’t manage to become invested in their individual stories. However, this was an enjoyable read with an interesting plot so I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t love it either.

This book appealed to me due to the creative synopsis, and I find it hard to turn down any books set in a library or a bookshop! Although the plot had tremendous potential, this didn't achieve my preferences. I struggled to connect with the characters, and there were large parts in this read that were dull, resulting in me skim-reading chapters at a time.

I have heard lots of positive things about this award-winning author, so I will pick up another in the future and will not allow 'The Library Suicides' to bear judgment on the writing style.

Although this was not the book for me, I am open to hearing what others thought of this, as well as the opinions of those who have read previous releases by this author.

The premise of this one sounded great, but sadly this one wasn't for me.
Firstly I've no issues with a dystopian style setting - but if that's what we're getting I need a better description to understand and imagine it, not just vague hints.
The pacing at the beginning felt like wading through treacle it was so hard to get into. It eventually picked up, but too close to the end and by that point I'd already guessed part of the ending.
For me this was a miss, 1.5 stars.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc ebook.

CAN WE NOT IMPALE SEAGULLS, PLEASE.

The premise of this book had greatly appealed to me. First of all, almost the entirety of the plot takes place in a library. Secondly, it obviously evolves around books and I LOVE books about books.
Thirdly, there’s an intriguing conflict – twin daughters of a famous writer hounded to death by a malicious literary critic decide to take justice into their own hands.

Unfortunately, this was a disappointment for me, and here’s why:
- I had not realised this was going to take place in a very dystopian reality;

- With the above premise I was expecting a thriller. It very much is not. There’s hardly any action and hardly any dialogue; 90% of the book are the characters’ thoughts, and sadly, they didn’t captivate me... It seems the main theme was meant to have been an individual’s identity and what makes it, but in fact I was just reading about several people feeling very sorry for themselves;

- If the book aimed at the literary fiction genre, then, regretfully, the writing was not on a level that would make it a stand-out. Also, I understand that literary fiction often uses symbolism, but what the heck with the impaled seagull?! It doesn’t symbolise anything. Stop tormenting animals in fiction for the sake of nothing!!!

Again, I’ve been actively trying not to write reviews that are too harsh, as I realise authors pour their hearts into their books (also, I don’t want to be hounded to death by a malicious counter-critic). It was hard with this one, but it might be because of what I had been led to expect by the blurb – I think it should have been marketed in a much clearer way.

I did think the type of dystopia presented in the book was very unique and creative, and to be honest, quite terrifying to think of, hence 2 stars and not 1.

I struggled slightly getting into this book. It was set in a different reality and the relationships between the characters seemed a bit strange. Saying that, I read to the end (personally I found it a little sad) and found the more I read, the more I understood what was happening.

I loved this book not only because it contains two of my favourite things (libraries and Wales) but because it was such a different story to anything I have read to before. It’s a fascinating story about revenge in a world where women hold all the power and men just have one job to perform. I loved it and the ending did not disappoint either