I've got to admit, with that blurb there was no way I wasn't going to pick up this book. But it's a slow starter. After an initial burst of frantic (and intriguing) action, there's an awful lot of scene-setting and getting all the characters and pieces in place for the main plot. So much, that the first time I tried to read it, it was a DNF. 
 I'm very glad I was persuaded to try again. The section I struggled with actually didn't last much beyond the point I'd given up first time round, and once the story reaches the Great Library of Alexandria, things definitely start heating up - figuratively and literally. In fact, if I had to sum up the story (and its characters) in one word, it would be: ruthless. 
 Despite the external threats - the Burners protesting against Library laws, war, and the pressure Jess is under from his book-smuggling family to help their cause from within the Library itself - the real sense of menace in the book comes from the internal machinations of the Library and its determination to keep a tight grip on its knowledge and power. Aside from Jess, who was an immediately likeable protagonist (c'mon, he's a bookworm!), there's a large cast of characters, and they're so well-written I found myself warming to them even as I wondered if any of them were in the slightest bit trustworthy. You learn some of their secrets as you go, and it all adds to a deliciously tense and dramatic build-up. Adding to it, snippets of letters and archives at the beginning of each chapter hint at a deeper, darker threat in the background of the Library, which none of the characters - except one - are aware of. Oddly, they became one of the most enjoyable parts of the book as I could see them gradually coming together and connecting with the main plot. 
 The world-building gone into creating this alternate present-day earth is breathtaking, and evoked so wonderfully throughout the book that I never felt like I was being info-dumped. Aside from the slow opening section, there was a good mix between action, dripping with real danger and a body count to prove it, and slower, quieter scenes such as when the postulants are learning what they need to work for the Library. The romance is subtle and adds to the story without dominating it. Two of the secondary characters actually became my favourites for this reason. 
 Aside from the slow start, the main downside to the book is that in places the whole group of students at a magical school, dangerous lessons, student feuds, teachers you don\'t know if you can trust dynamic felt a bit too Harry Potter, and I found it a little jarring, although to be fair it did wear off after a while. 
 And then the ending. Oh my word, the ending. I put the book down feeling like I'd been hit by a train (in the best possible way). The characters aren't let off easy at any point, and the twists and turns and betrayals keep on coming, and with the way it's set up, I've got high hopes the next book will be even better.