sreeja's Reviews > The Archived

“Ignorance may be bliss, but only if it outweighs curiosity. Curiosity is a gateway drug to sympathy.”
The Archived: 4.25 stars
Reasons why reading it was worth it:
•Victoria Schwab’s writing (so amazing <3)
•Wesley Ayers
•Wesley Ayers
•Wesley Ayers



yes somehow guyliner managed to squeeze and find a place in my heart

The Archived is a book that you learn to love more and more as time goes on. The beautiful descriptions and the spot on characters with flaws who get real time consequences for their actions. I never expected to like this book as much as I really did. I think with Victoria Schwab books I don’t feel pressured to read as fast as I can and instead I savour the way she writes and her descriptions of the places. Same with Vicious, I was in no hurry to finish it but once I reached the end I realised how much I loved it and how much the characters had grown on me.

The entire concept of this book was so unique and interesting that I definitely had to pick it up. I mean a place where the dead are kept as records of their human selves. How freaking cool is that. The options as to where this story could have gone was endless. However, the plot decided to focus on a mystery closer to the whereabouts of Mackenzie, our main protagonist. I wouldn’t say that I was a huge fan of her though. Main reason being her stupid decisions (sorry mac), but Da would definitely not have been a fan of what you did. I can understand where she was coming from when she made the decisions that he did but that does not mean that she actually should have ultimately made the choices that she did, after all the experience that she has and the training that she went through. But I guess in the end she is human and she was going through a lot.

I am seriously becoming a huge fan of Victoria Schwab and the way she writes! There is something so magical and beautiful in her writing style that just draws you in I swear. I’m definitely more excited to pick up more books by her now.

The fantasy element in this book is so good and I felt connected even with the minor characters of this book! Seriously the neighbours that Mac had were absolutely hilarious HAHA. The hierarchy of the Archived and the way it works was kept in the dark from Mackenzie and it felt good to learn about these new things for the first time through her eyes.

Also this book was made so much better by the presence of Wesley Ayers! Their banter was adorable and I really wish we could have seen even more of him in this book because he was hilarious and supportive and super sweet.

Overall, this book was a blast and I’m sure the next one will be great as well but I might read it next year because I feel perfectly content with the way things ended off in this book. This book was very intriguing and Victoria Schwab’s writing just makes this book amazing!