Rating: 4.5 out of 5

In the Archive, the dead rest on the shelves like books. Sometimes they wake up and it is Mackenzie Bishop’s job to return the Histories before they slip into madness. As a strange boy appears in Mackenzie’s territory, the Archive is plunged into unrest and Mackenzie uncovers a murder that does not let her go…

I have set myself a challenge this year: to review every book I read. It is only appropriate that I should start with a series written by one of my favorite authors. After Shades of Magic and Monsters of Verity, The Dark Vault (The Archived and The Unbound) is the third series by Victoria Schwab that I have simply devoured.

Let’s start with The Archived. Mackenzie Bishop is the smart, strong, witty female protagonist, recognizable in many of Victoria’s stories. The impact of her hidden identity on every aspect of her real life (friends, family, and, later in the series, school and friends) are wonderfully introduced and illustrated. Her feeling of isolation, despite desperately wanting to connect, deeply resonated with me. Wesley Ayers, like so many other men Victoria Schwab dreams up, simply stole my heart. His easy wit, openness, and charm were intoxicating and complemented Mackenzie’s guarded character perfectly. I really wish we had found out more about his background throughout the series. Finally, there is the antagonist of the story. They were masterfully introduced and played their part convincingly in the beginning, but I was left slightly confused by their actions later on in the book. Even though their motivation was explained toward the end of the book, it did not make complete sense to me (or perhaps, it was not supposed to make sense). The secondary characters in Schwab’s writing were well-developed as always, contributing to the richness of the world – Roland and Mackenzie’s mother were my favorites.

The world in which this story takes place carries Victoria Schwab’s unique brand of fantasy. I could relate to Mackenzie’s feeling of awe for the Archive, and there is a persistent sense of mystery throughout the book due to the sheer number of secrets and oddities in the place. The main plot of The Archived did not actually become clear until approximately halfway through the book. However, Schwab skillfully keeps the reader engaged by introducing breadcrumbs of questions, all the while gradually revealing the Archive’s secrets. Mackenzie’s secrets create a threatening undertone of increasing tension, leading up to the final plot twist of the book (which I did not see coming at all). The evolution of Mackenzie’s character is clear throughout the book as she slowly starts to question her beliefs and ends in a wholesome resolution.

In The Unbound, we re-join Mackenzie three weeks after the end of the previous story. The plot in this book is structured similarly to The Archived – the main plot does not become clear until later on, and small mysteries kept me reading until then. The reveal was a little too easy for me to guess and lacked the gobsmacking qualities of the previous book. Some details were left unexplained (I would not be able to say which without spoilers) and I really disliked the ending of the book, as I felt it was incompatible with Mackenzie’s character up to that point.

One thing that kept me engaged throughout the story was Schwab’s excellent portrayal of the effects of trauma. Mackenzie’s inability to sleep, the horrifyingly realistic dreams, her increasing isolation from her loved ones, all demonstrated the lasting effects of what happened to her. Interestingly, this also mirrors the strain created by the loss of her brother in the previous book. Poor girl can’t catch a break. Even though the characters in The Unbound were every bit as immersive as before, I got slightly frustrated by Mackenzie’s actions. She made exactly the same mistakes as in the previous book, negating the evolution the character had undergone. Consequently, The Unbound reads like a dramatic replica of The Archived, which left me feeling like the story was a pretext for further developing Mackenzie’s and Wesley’s relationship (which I’m not mad about, but just sayin’ it didn’t sit quite right with me).

Overall, Victoria Schwab’s writing is a pleasure to read as always – immersive, captivating, delightful. As to be expected in an author’s earlier work, I noticed a few snags here and there, but this in no way diminished my enjoyment of The Dark Vault. This book gave me my first serious book hangover in a very long time – here’s to hoping that I can move on now. For me, this story beautifully explores our need to question power structures. The relationships in this series, between Mackenzie, Wesley, and her friends and family, show the value of love, trust and of sharing our burdens. After all, the armor we build doesn’t just keep other people out, it keeps us in.