Review: The Collectors’ Society (The Collectors’ Society #1) by Heather Lyons

Title: The Collectors’ Society

Series: The Collectors’ Society #1
Author: Heather Lyons
Publisher: Cerulean Books
Publication Date: October 23, 2014
Pages: 355
Genres: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Reimaginings, Retellings, Paranormal
Source: Amazon Kindle
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After years in Wonderland, Alice has returned to England as an adult, desperate to reclaim sanity and control over her life. An enigmatic gentleman with an intriguing job offer too tempting to resist changes her plans for a calm existence, though. Soon, she’s whisked to New York and initiated into the Collectors’ Society, a secret organization whose members confirm that famous stories are anything but straightforward and that what she knows about the world is only a fraction of the truth.

It’s there she discovers villains are afoot—ones who want to shelve the lives of countless beings. Assigned to work with the mysterious and alluring Finn, Alice and the rest of the Collectors’ Society race against a doomsday clock in order to prevent further destruction . . . but will they make it before all their endings are erased?

MY REVIEW

Holy moly, this book blew my mind! This story is ingenious! I seriously never wanted it to end. This book has been on my To-Be-Read List for a while, and now I am kicking myself for waiting so long to read it!

First off, the world building is phenomenal! Lyons creates an intricately woven masterpiece that left me surprised and awed. There were so many vivid details and threads that connected impeccably. The world is just so creative and like nothing that I've read before. The plot is just as original and masterfully mapped out.

One of the best things about The Collectors' Society are the characters. They are some of the strongest that I have read in a while. I really couldn't get enough of them. There are so many characters in this book that are important to the story, and we get to see so much of them. I liked that we gradually got clues and information about the characters are the story progressed. The character development across the board was phenomenal!

The romance in The Collectors' Society was delightful. It didn't come about too fast or too slow. The main characters knew each other for months before anything happens romantically. There is nothing that I hate more than instalove, and I can happily say that this book was free of it. They grow towards one another as the story goes on. Their genuinely admirable characteristics bring them close. I also adored the relationship between the two side characters. While it was clear that they loved each other, they had a volatile relationship that was very entertaining.

I really loved all of the adventure. I loved the missions that they went on and all of the action that took place. I love how well balanced it was with the other parts of the story.

There was plenty of mystery in this book. From the way that the different timelines come into existence to the pasts of the different characters, there was much mind bending.

One thing that I do have to note is that this book is not a young adult book. Most of my reviews tend to be young adult book reviews, so I wanted to point out that this book is NOT young adult. There are graphic sex scenes in this book, though they are written tastefully. This book is definitely for a mature audience.

Overall, this one is a slam dunk! The writing, the characters, the plot, the world building...they are all top notch. This book has fast become a member of my favorites shelf. I cannot wait to move on to the second book in this series, The Hidden Library. In fact, I will start it just as soon as I post this review! If you are a fan of speculative fantasy, then I absolutely recommend this book! You NEED this book in your life!

Heather Lyons is known for writing epic, heartfelt love stories often with a fantastical twist. From Young Adult to New Adult to Adult novels—one commonality in all her books is the touching, and sometimes heart-wrenching, romance. In addition to writing, she's also been an archaeologist and a teacher. She and her husband and children live in sunny Southern California and are currently working their way through every cupcakery she can find.

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If you have read The Collectors' Society, what are you thoughts? Have you read any other books by this author? If you could get lost in any book timeline, what would it be?