The Unbound by Victoria Schwab

Summary from Goodreads:

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Last summer, Mackenzie Bishop, a Keeper tasked with stopping violent Histories from escaping the Archive, almost lost her life to one. Now, as she starts her junior year at Hyde School, she’s struggling to get her life back. But moving on isn’t easy, not when her dreams are haunted by what happened. She knows the past is past, knows it cannot hurt her, but it feels so real. When her nightmares begin to creep into her waking hours, she starts to wonder if she’s truly safe.

Meanwhile, people are vanishing without a trace, and the only thing they seem to have in common is Mackenzie. She’s sure the Archive knows more than they are letting on, but before she can prove it, she becomes the prime suspect. Unless Mac can track down the real culprit, she’ll lose everything: not only her role as Keeper, but her memories – and even her life. Can Mackenzie untangle the mystery before she herself unravels?

Review:

So, I devoured book 1. I knew it wouldn’t be very long before I’d get to book 2. And I of course ate this one up also. I might have liked this one even more than the first installment. I certainly read it quicker. I could’t put the book down. I was up really late reading, even though I had work in the morning. And honestly, is there a better kind of book?

This one seemed more real to me than the first book. Mac had school to deal with. She somehow had to manage her crazy, supernatural/ghost-hunting job, do her secret agenda detective work, help her family out with their new coffee shop business, and attend a private school for the first time. It all seemed more believable now. I guess her parents seemed more believable in this one too. They definitely seemed more aware of where their daughter was and what she looked like (ie: why she’d randomly be bruised and broken). It seemed more in the “real world,” than book 1, which felt more dream like.

This book also had the whole “Am I going crazy?” trope going for it. Mac didn’t know if she was actually seeing things or if she was going mad from lack of sleep. She was blacking out and unsure of herself and this made the whole mystery even more mysterious. Also, everything just felt more developed. The world, the characters, the concepts. Everything just fit together more. And honestly, I wouldn’t hate another book in this series….Though, I know it’s been quite some time since this book came out.

I loved that things weren’t always what they appeared to be. I was surprised a few times. But, also I came to comfortably expect surprises, if that makes sense. this would make a fantastic Netflix show (or CW drama).

Basically, I don’t really have anything negative to say about this. I loved it. I read it way too quickly. I want to go find all the books I haven’t read by this author and read them now. I give it a 10/10.