The Book That Held Her Heart

The Library Trilogy, Book 3

De: Mark Lawrence

Narrado por: Jessica Whittaker

Two people once connected by a vast and mysterious library are now separated and must overcome time and distance to reunite and bring peace to their worlds, in the final book of the Library Trilogy.

The fate of an infinite library hangs on one book, a book that holds the power to break the unbreakable. In the face of such forces, fragile things like hearts, worlds, and even family seem certain to fail.

The people most vital to Livira are scattered across time and space—lost, divided into factions, in mortal peril. Somehow she must bring them together and resolve the unresolvable argument that fuels the library’s war.

The bond between Livira and Evar has stretched and stretched again. Can it hold at the end, when things fall apart? Can it unite them against impossible odds?

This is the last chapter, the final page. The end threatens and no one, not characters, audiences, or even the author, will emerge unscathed.

©2025 Mark Lawrence (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Lawrence pulls out all of the stops for the thrilling last chapter of Livira and Evar’s story. Series fans will not want to miss this jaw dropping finale.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The alternating points of view build a vivid setting for this character-driven tale. As the stories bounce between past and present, Lawrence ties together all the threads into a whole tapestry of lives.”—Library Journal

Loved the first 2 books, but this doesn't stick the landing unfortunately

I absolutely loved the first 2 books and was excited for the 3rd and final one. Unfortunately this one does not stick the landing at all. After a great set up at the end of the 2nd book for the fate of the library, this book goes off the rails and then has a bit of a cop out ending. To not spoil too much, it adds "possibilities" to the exchange instead of just past and future, which even has our heroes encounter literal Nazis as one of these "possibilities"

On the plus side, the performance was great and up to the standards of the other two.

Excellent end to an excellent series

This was a great ending to a story that really captures and explores the magic of stories. Highly recommended.

I hope mark Lawrence never stops

He is the best at what he does. So damn good. I get lost in the story.

Unreal imagination

Sometimes this book feels like a tapestry that is sprinting away from me when I am trying to comprehend its depths and intersections of threading. In the end you need to stop TRYING to keep up and let him take you on the journey, not matter how quickly the tack changes. Mark Lawrence is an expert craftsman and much needed voice of humanity in the times we are living in. King of imagination. Thanks for this series

Fantastic Series

Everything about this series keeps me gripped, I love figuring out little pieces that make things fit together so perfectly. The message, how everyone views things based on their own experiences and how the truth is something in-between.

Mark Lawrence is on 🔥

His words hit home harder than any other fiction writer I've found. I find myself marking quotes and moments throughout his books, this one being no exception. Finish this book and then if you haven't already, read everything else Mark has written.

Book 1 was great, 3 was work

I've listened to most of what Mark Lawrence's books on audible. He's got some amazing series (Red Sister and Prince of Thorns), unfortunately this isn't one of them. Book 1 is a lot of fun. He created an interesting world, a fun twist and characters you care about. but book 3 is preachy and feels long and I barely finished it. The thing is I'm not entirely sure what message he's trying to push because he does a good job showing his character's inner conflicts and that most of what this book is. But the tone is preachy and it makes the book less interesting and less exciting than his other series.

The voice actor is fantastic and does a great job.

I'm looking forward to his next series!

Conclusions.

This has been my favorite Mark Lawrence series. the final volume did not disappoint. This volume, like the ones before it are driven by the amazing characters traversing mysterious setting, drawing the readers in with the sort of wonder that remind me of childhood.

Not sure how I feel about this series,

I have consumed nearly everything Mark has published, and count him amongst my favorite authors. This series is cleverly written and thought provoking. The interspecies love story was wholly unrelatable and a miss for me. I think maybe multiverse stories are inherently hard to follow but was confused several times. My 2 cents..

I love these characters, but this was a chore

Let it be said, I truly think it is hard to write a trilogy with a home run ending. We all understand, its near impossible.
Man were the expectations massive for this one. When I finally found a physical copy, which was a tad difficult as most B&N seem to stock only a few, it was immediately concerning when I could physically see the size of this book. The first book felt larger by a chunk than books 2 and now 3. That alone was problematic with the massive cast of characters who I knew were spaced out amongst different timelines.
I had been listening to the Audio and couldn't believe how small the book in my hand looked.
Small it was. Slow it was.
This series is complex and intricate. It is meant to be digested slowly, paragraphs being re-read for extra comprehension. It is a 9 course meal amongst rapid fire McDonalds drive through books that are so popular, so I hate being 'Picky'. I'll say it over and over Lawrence is regrettably under appreciated or spoken of in the Book community. His prose is incredible, his characters compelling, and his plot interesting-even when slow. His books are a stroll through a massive forrest, not a quick sprint around the park.

That being said, panic started seeping in when my audio hit the hour and a half mark. I kept saying, "there isn't enough time to finish everything, what the heck is going on?" over and over.
It genuinely feels like half of this book was left on the editing floor. GIVE IT BACK, whatever was left out, my gosh I need it. The very-very'end' was beautifully enchanting, it was the hours prior that felt rushed and empty. At some points I felt as if there would surely be a fourth installment.....it needed it.
Also worth noting- this is SO MUCH better than a lot of the books out there to read- but its just not going to feel like a completely finished 5 star book. Idk if this is a publishing issue, as it feels like this problem is extending over all my favorite authors. I almost prefer standalones because it seems there is less pressure on them to leave things on the floor and give us the entire story with detail. This was just messy compared to book 2 and terribly dull compared to book 1.

I'm not an author, so I fear it feels too critical rating this anything under a four, but if I am being frank i've read sloppy books that were just more engaging and exciting.....this was not that. I hate saying I didn't enjoy this story, because the overarching story is something I care so intensely for.
ugh*
Granted, this - over the 115 books on my 2025 tbr was my Most Anticipated Read over anything else.
Ive been waiting like a dog for it's owner over this book.

I'm just sad and think we the audience, and the characters themselves, deserved more word count and pages to get what needed said. The way it reads feels inconsistent and unfinished. Perhaps it is because Lawrence sees it all so visibly, he knows the story in and out, but as a reader its all convoluted in an unfortunate way.

I really did love the last few paragraphs....it was just the rest that didn't do it for me.

Concept 6/5
Setting 2/5- this got incredibly confusing and jumbled
Characters 4/5
Magical Ambiance 3/5
Plot 2/5
Coherence 2.5/5
Romance 2.5/5
Audio Reader 5/5
Final Rating 3.5/5
Audio Speed- 1.7x


Verdict- Less is not always more .
Book 1 is always going to be a favorite for me. These characters continue in my heart as they were intended to do.