Book Club May 2026- The Astral Library
By: Kate Quinn
Published Year: 2026
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 304
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Alexandria “Alix” Watson has learned one lesson from her barren childhood in the foster-care system: unlike people, books will never let you down. Working three dead-end jobs to make ends meet and knowing college is a pipe dream, Alix takes nightly refuge in the high-vaulted reading room at the Boston Public Library, escaping into her favorite fantasy novels and dreaming of far-off lands. Until the day she stumbles through a hidden door and meets the Librarian: the ageless, acerbic guardian of a hidden library where the desperate and the lost escape to new lives...inside their favorite books.
The Librarian takes a dazzled Alix under her wing, but before she can escape into the pages of her new life, a shadowy enemy emerges to threaten everyone the Astral Library has ever helped protect. Aided by a dashing costume-shop owner, Alix and the Librarian flee through the Regency drawing rooms of Jane Austen to the back alleys of Sherlock Holmes and the champagne-soaked parties of The Great Gatsby as danger draws inexorably closer. But who does their enemy really wish to destroy—Alix, the Librarian, or the Library itself?
What I thought
If you have been following this blog for some time, you know that if Quinn has a new novel, my book club is going to read it. I was extra excited for this one since normally she writes historical fiction and this one is a dip into magical realism.
Alix is 26 and her world is falling apart. Having grown up in the foster system, the library was always her safe space. Now in her moment of need, it is there for her again. When she opens up a door at the Boston Public Library, it opens into another world. A world of books in which you can live. However, once she finally chooses which book to try, the library and its Librarian seem to be under attack. Alix jumps at the opportunity to help the Librarian save the Astral Library and begins her adventure across multiple novels.
I loved this book. It took me a little while to get into but then I was hooked. At the beginning, Alix is a bit of a sad sack. She has a ton of things that are going wrong for her and she isn’t the nicest person (understandably so). As a result, I found myself a little uncomfortable reading until she finally makes it into the Astral Library. I just felt so bad for her that it was hard for me to read about everything going wrong.
Once we got into the world of the Astral Library I was hooked. I loved the Librarian and how she was so grumpy with Alix about the rules and Alix’s understanding of what a fantasy figurehead should be. There were so many parts of this book that made me laugh which I didn’t expect.
Honestly, as a book lover, this is the kind of book I relate to. Quinn referenced so many worlds that I loved and then also had similar feelings about classics that I did. For example, irritation at the over analyzation of The Great Gatsby and questioning why people thing Wuthering Heights is a romance. I think because of that, I was able to relate to Alix once she started jumping into the fantasy world.
I also was pleasantly surprised when the Big Bad was revealed. It wasn’t what I expected but it made so much sense. I can’t see many book lovers not enjoying this one. It also was a lot of fun to see Quinn branch out into a different genre! I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
What Book Club Thought
We all loved this book. We enjoyed discussing which books we would want to live in if we were in the Astral Library. It was a fun book club choice. We had a lot to discuss which can be a little harder when everyone enjoys a book. If you’re looking for a quick read with good payoff I highly recommend this book.