Emily R. (troyalg) reviewed on 7/5/2016 + 6 more book reviews

From the summary and from reading reviews, I was expecting this to be (what I'd call) fantasy-lite, by which I mean placed in our world but with dashes of fantasy, like a much lighter Harry Potter or an Off to Be the Wizard. It's not. It's fiction firmly set in modern America--San Francisco to be exact. The "magic" I wanted quickly became less HP and more Freemason (huge disappointment) and then morphed into little more than a morality tale or parable, if you will.

The set-up was intriguing. I mean a mystery about a bookstore and loving books: that's right up my alley! But most of the characters are average, and there never seemed to be anything on the line--no real sacrifice or looming danger. I didn't really love any of them, I felt just along for the ride. Penumbra was the most likable character but his constant, "My boy," started off endearing but soon grated on my nerves.

I liked the narrator; he's easy to listen to and sounds natural. He only gets 3 stars because I found times when I didn't know if Clay (protagonist) was speaking out loud or was in his own head. Not a problem I've had with other audiobooks.

It lacked something, maybe grandeur, but I kept thinking I wanted more.

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