Rachel Caine – thenovelgirlreads

This is not the post that I wanted to be making today…

One of my favorite authors has lost her battle with cancer. Rachel Caine passed away today.

I first came to know Rachel Caine’s writing through her Weather Warden series many years ago. I continued on reading her work through the Great Library series, Stillhouse Lake series, and her book Prince of Shadows. (Oddly, as a vampire genre reader, I didn’t read Morganville Vampires, arguably her most famous-ha!) Her writing never disappointed me. My favorite will always be the series that introduced me to her, though, the Weather Wardens.

What I didn’t expect, though, was how incredibly kind she would be when I met her. I was finally able to fulfill a dream of mine and attend RT in 2015. I met so many authors that I fangirled over and admired while I was there. Many were nice (some just tolerated us) but Rachel was different. I was so nervous when I went to speak with her. She was so famous by then, but no one was there when I went to her table. She must have talked to me for 15-20 minutes and was surprised that I brought Heat Stroke of all books for her to sign. We talked about Weather Wardens, books she had coming out, other series that we loved, what I do for a living. She was just so kind. I will never forget meeting her and I will cherish that copy of Heat Stroke for the rest of my life.

To her beloved family and friends: I am so sorry for the immense loss that you are feeling. I send my love to you and you will be in my thoughts for the days and weeks to come. Thank you for sharing her with us.

Author: Rachel Caine

Series: The Great Library

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: NAL

Pages: 368

The extraordinarily powerful Great Library now controls all of the information in the world. They use alchemy to deliver the content of books to “blanks”, but no one is allowed to own physical copies of these books. Jess’ family thrives on the black market trade of illegal books. While he believes in the library, he has been forced in to his family’s trade from a young age, while soaking up all of the knowledge that he can from their illegal cache. He obtains a prestigious place with The Great Library, where he is testing to be in their employ. He has a secret, though: his family’s. He was sent there to be a spy, and help in his family’s trade. This is a position that Jess has always wanted, and as he undergoes his training and testing, his loyalties are tested. His friend, with his unknowing advice and help, creates a machine that could put the Library out of business, and Jess finds out just how ruthless the Library can be when it is challenged.

Guys! I could not put this book down, once I finally got around to reading it! I wish that I had moved it higher on my tbr! It has great characters, who all have some depth to them. I can’t wait to see where Caine takes them in the next book! The world building was fantastic. It really felt like I could visualize where they were, and what they were doing. This series has a wonderful plot, and it feels like it is building up to something even greater. I have the next book in the series on my shelf, and it will be coming up soon!