Ash and Quill

This third installment in the Great Library series really upped the ante in every possible way. I was riveted from beginning to end, and on top of a heaping dose of raised stakes, the author also spent a good amount of time ensuring that by the time you get to the cliffhanger at the end, you're invested in every last member of this group of people, even the ones who have up to this point been harder to nail down or really resonate with. In prior installments I hadn't cared as much about Dario or Thomas as the other characters around them did, but at this point I would shield every last one of them from Greek Fire myself.

Also, that cliffhanger was one hell of a doozy. I found myself scrambling to get the next installment immediately, there was no way I could sit there and let it hang like that. I can't wait to continue.