THE LIBRARY OF SHADOWS

A haunted library holds the key to Este’s late father’s secrets—if she lives long enough to uncover them.

On learning she’s receiving a legacy scholarship to her father’s school, Radcliffe Prep, 16-year-old Este doesn’t care that it’s purportedly haunted. That’s before she tours its spectacular library and meets the gorgeous and enigmatic Mateo, who is not quite what he seems. After cajoling her into a restricted area to find an ancient tome about soul-harvesting Fades and (hopefully) how to eliminate them, Mateo vanishes with it, nearly getting Este expelled. Working night shifts as reparation, Este and the irritatingly irresistible Mateo follow clues left by her father about crucial missing pages in the book. Time is ticking, though; the deadly Fades infesting the library, responsible for multiple student disappearances, are now hunting Este. Lyrical prose builds a complex plot featuring a sympathetic protagonist whose growing connections with the labyrinthine library and its haunts push her living connections aside, to her detriment. A lively enemies-to-lovers romance offers a sweet counterpoint to Este’s poignant grief over her father’s death. Some plot elements may feel confusingly convoluted to readers, though, and the ultimate villain is easy to spot. Also, certain unaddressed practical issues may pull readers out of the story. Main characters read white; some racial diversity is cued in secondary characters.

A compelling, ghostly tale interweaving romance and mystery with a thread of horror.