“Stories about winding halls, and invisible doors, and places where the dead are kept like books on shelves. Each time you finish a story, you make me tell it back to you, as if you’re afraid I will forget. I never do.“
Soon we will have a new novel written by Victoria Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Those who had the opportunity to read it before its release on October 6th 2020 have loved it and based on Schwab’s previous novels, it will have plenty of mystery and supernatural in it! So, before you pick up Addie, maybe you want to pick up something that might be not yet on your radar: The Dark Vault series.
The two novels, The Archived and The Unbound, published before Schwab’s big success with the A Darker Shade of Magic series and it was then printed in one book called The Dark Vault afterwards.
To quote the blurb, “imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. 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.” This description has to make you intrigued in what the story is about!
We follow Mackenzie Bishop after she loses two of the most important people in her life, her grandfather and her little brother. Her parents decided to leave the past behind and move into an old building called the Coronado, which was a hotel once before they changed it into an apartment house.
On her first day, she meets Wesley Ayers who seems to have as much of a big secret weighting on his shoulders as she has. Before her grandfather died, he taught Mac what it means to be a Keeper, working for the Archive and hunting down Histories who have woken up from their shelves in search for the lives. Before a Keeper dies, they have to give their position to a new one and for four years, Mac has been alone. She has to lie to everyone around her, not telling them what she is and what she does in her free time…until now! It turns out that Wes is indeed a Keeper and in an old building such as the Coronado, there are a lot of Histories to hunt down. But what they both did not see coming is how complicated things will get and that one History will change their job forever.
“The Narrows are a buffer between the two. Sometimes a History wakes up. Sometimes Histories get out, through the cracks in the Archive, and into those Narrows. And when that happens, it’s the Keeper’s job to send them back.”
For me, Victoria Schwab is a genius. Her mind goes beyond boundaries, her writing is fabulous, and the characters she creates are precious. The Dark Vault became one of my favourite books of all time because it not only has a plot you have not read before, but because you are taken on a journey and can create the scenery in your mind. The Coronado is a place which I would love to visit. It is described as glamorous with a touch of the past and a library for all residents. Of course, I would not need the spooky aspect of it, with ghost-like forms walking down the corridors, but I definitely would love to be friend with Mac and Wes.
Both of them are independent teens who have such a huge responsibility on their shoulders. As every employee knows, work is not always fun. You may like or even love what you are doing, but some colleagues can stab you in the back and your boss might not be the nicest person on earth. However, you keep doing it, proving yourself and trying to improve your workspace.
Mac is the youngest person who ever became a Keeper and as such, she stands out. With Roland, a Librarian, having her back, she has not fear of others coming after her. Well, at least until the second book.
In the first book, the story follows Mac getting to know her new home, bonding with Wes, and hunting down a History who is unique from the others because it wants to erase the Archive and kill Mac. The second book follows Mac starting at a new school to which Wes goes to as well. Haunted by what has happened to her at the end of the first one, she has to face the enemy once more who has returned and has much bigger plans with the Archive and Mac.
“It hurts to breathe, but I have this trick, where I try and focus on the good, so I remind myself that things only hurt because I’m still alive to feel them. Silver linings, kids. I’m full of them.“
I do not know how Schwab does it, but Mac and Wes are very dear to my heart, as every character of hers is. While Mac is the more serious and more experienced one when it comes to the Archive, Wes is more carefree. However, they both experiences great loss and depressing times. From the beginning, they were meant to become friends, if not even soulmates and of course, a little bit more.
Schwab tells a love story in a way that it does not is in the centre of her story, but more like a nice little addition accompanying you while you read and it is given to you as a reward at the end.
To not give away too much of The Dark Vault, if you are looking for a ghost story, reliable characters, for some nice and sad moments, a setting that will make you awe, and so much more, I highly recommend this precious masterpiece.
The Dark Vault is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
Have you read The Dark Vault? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
The two novels from The Archived Series appearing together for the first time.
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.
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.
Mackenzie Bishop’s grandfather first brought her here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now her grandfather is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.
