When Este gets accepted to Radcliffe Prep, the elite boarding school her dead father attended thirty years earlier, she rushes to Vermont for her junior year. Surrounded by the ivy-covered walls of the gothic campus, she meets Mateo, a mysterious student who lures her into the forbidden section of the library and then frames her for the theft of a priceless volume. Forced to work the night shift at the library as an archival assistant to save her scholarship, Este slowly realizes there is more to Radcliffe than what’s advertised on the shiny brochures. Strange whispers fill the shelves after dark, and Mateo may just be the key to understanding it all. 

The Library of Shadows by Rachel Moore is every dark academic’s dream. Set on an autumn-tinted campus with haunted libraries, mysterious passages, and secretive teachers, it was easy to be transported to the New England Prep School. The writing was descriptive and unique without being superfluous. A lot of the descriptions were surprising and yet totally fit the thing they portrayed. The dialogue flowed naturally, even as the author dealt with different colloquial speech patterns from across the last century. 

Este—the main character—was stubborn and intelligent, and while I didn’t usually agree with her decisions, I understood the background she used to make them. She didn’t grow a lot as a character until the very end, and while I liked the conclusion to her arc, it felt rushed. Mateo, on the other hand, was wonderful. Handsome, intelligent, gentle, and clever, he will surely be added to many favorite male love interest lists. The romance between the two was perfect and academic, with enough nerdiness to keep the audience engaged and laughing.

The plot was really the weak spot of this story. It was so incredibly obvious that I figured out the twist from the third chapter. The group dynamics between characters would have made for a much better story if the fantasy had merely been the backdrop of the tale rather than the driving plot. The pacing was pretty good and I was never bored while reading, even if the predictability was dull. The resolution occurred way too quickly and everything was tied up with a neat bow instead of resolving naturally. Ten thousand more words toward the end would’ve made for a much more satisfying conclusion. The aesthetic of the story made up for the mediocre plot—I was so swept away by the scenery that I forgot the direction the story was taking until the end.

Despite its flaws, The Library of Shadows by Rachel Moore is the perfect book to curl up with in the fall. All you need is a fireplace, tea, and a rainy day. The writing will bring the rest to life.