Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Review: The Archived by Victoria Schwab

I have waited for The Archived for many months now. It doesn't come out until January, and I knew there were ARCs out there. So I sent an ARC request to the publisher, and they sent me one :D Super, super excited about that. This book is gorgeous. The cover is stunning. The key looks amazing as well ;) And yeah. Keys have a big part in this book. I loved The Archived. It was amazing, like I thought it would be, but there was this one thing I didn't approve of. Will talk about that later. First I want to let you all know about the things I loved :D

This book is about Mackenzie. She's a pretty amazing girl. I liked her a lot. She's smart and kind. Well. Sometimes :D Didn't like that she lied all the time, and didn't really care too much about her best friend. But I did like her, even though they didn't live at the same place anymore :) We get to know Mac quite a lot. She just moved to a new place with her mom and dad. They are all still grieving the loss of Ben, Mac's little brother. Which was so sad, just so you know. He seemed amazing. But he was killed a year before, they haven't been the same since then.

We get to see her parents a bit as well, and I must admit that I didn't really like them. They didn't seem to care much at all. Might be because of Ben, though, so I can't really blame them that much. We also get to know Mac's grandfather. Her Da. First I thought it was her father, since I'm not used to the American words. Hih. But yeah. It's her grandpa. He's also dead, been dead for four years. But we got to see her memories of him. Must admit it might have been some of my favorite moments. I adored him.

Something I also loved in this book was the story. The story is amazing. I loved learning about The Archive, and the Keepers and the Librarians. And getting to know what a History was. It was so amazing, and unique, in a way. I just loved this plot so much. It was perfect. This book is kind of a big mystery. Lots of exciting things happen. Lots of scary things too. And it is full of mysteries. We get to know so many interesting things. We also get to know many amazing people. Like Wesley. Sniffs.

Anyway. First I must explain what Mac is. She's a Keeper. She lives a normal life on the outside, but in secret she has this job that her grandfather passed on to her when he died. She has to send the dead that wakes back to their "sleeping place." Okay. I suck at explaining this. But it is amazing to read about :) She hunts down the Histories. People who have died goes to 'sleep,' sort of, in the Archive. It's like a library, just that the dead is the books. They hold so many memories. But sometimes the dead wakes up. If there is too much noise around, or if someone wakes them. Then Mac must take them back. That's her job. And I found that to be pretty amazing, to be honest :) Everything about her job was amazing. Just wish this book had been longer, so we could have gotten to know more about it all ;)

Wesley is an amazing person, so be honest. He's funny and sweet and kind. I loved him a lot. I'm just also so sad. I'm giving this book a four star because of the romance. Or lack of. Well. Okay. I wouldn't have minded no romance :) Just hated that one thing that was there. Wesley was a perfect love interest. He liked Mac a lot, and he was just so damn sweet. Amazing, really. But Mac is a private person. She was supposed to be that. I think she liked Wesley as well. It seemed like it.

Tiny warning. Below this part there is a few spoilers about this one character, Owen. 

But she wouldn't give it a chance. Instead she went into the Narrows and found herself a History to make-out with. MANY make-out sessions. I do not approve one bit. She didn't love him, or seem to like him much. She just wanted to have the quiet that his mind gave her. So she used him. And I hated her for it. She didn't ever kiss Wesley or touch him or talk important things with him. And it just broke my heart over and over and over again. And it's almost making me cry now. Sorry. Heh.

Anyway. I'm just really sensitive to these things. Because Wesley liked her a lot. And she knew that. But she betrayed him. By going and kissing someone else. Many times. And gaaah. Even though it might have ended pretty good, and I might have enjoyed very much what happened to Owen, it was not alright. At all. And yeah. I can't give it a five star, because I didn't like that part :\ Also, kind of worst part: he was dead. And she didn't care one bit. She just wanted the quiet. Ugh. Not happy.

Anyway. Sorry about those negative things (A) I just didn't like that part at all. But still. The Archived was amazing. The story is perfect, and the characters were great. I loved getting to the bottom of the mystery. The climax was pretty good as well ;) Just, yeah. I wished for more romance with Wesley. Especially since there was so much kissing with Owen. It wasn't fair at all. This book ended way too soon. There must be a second one. There must be <3 Because I need more plot. And romance. And I just need more of everything. I loved The Archived. It was very much worth the wait :)

I must admit though that I had some trouble getting into the writing at first. But that is mostly just my own fault, since I have not read much lately. So it was a bit hard for me to start reading. But once I got over that, it didn't last very long, I ended up loving the writing. And I want more of Victoria's words. I cannot wait for the second book in this series. Hope it's out soon. If you haven't yet pre-ordered The Archived, then you must do so :) Because it is an amazing book that you must read. <3 It is also a book full of pain and sorrow. Which is totally amazing, to be honest :)

Thank you so, so much to Disney Hyperion for sending me a review copy of this book :D
I will love and cherish it always. <3

5 comments:

  1. I love The Archived! Glad you liked it, too!

    *You might want to let them know that there are spoilers in this review so it doesn't ruin it for them! (Owen)

    Jenn
    YA Sisterhood

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  2. Great review, Carina! I can understand why the main character's actions involving Owen frustrated you. I know I also have a low tolerance for things like that. The rest sounds brilliant though, so I'm definitely still looking forward to it. I'm glad you enjoyed it overall! :)

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    1. <3 Yeah, I did not approve of that. But this book was amazing apart from that one thing :D The plot was so good. <3 I hope you'll love it :D

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  3. Yayy! I'm SO glad you enjoyed this one! I can't WAIT for it to release, so I'm thrilled it's got your seal of approval! :) Amazing review, Carina!

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  4. This cover is awesome! So glad you enjoyed this book and are looking forward to the next one. I skipped the part about Owen- but I will read it after I read the book. :) Great review!
    ~Jess

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