This was.. fine? Cute, I guess? I have a lot of complicated thoughts about this book, but it all evens out to a solid "It was fine."

From a technical standpoint, the writing was solid. The prose was appropriate and I found the setting to be incredibly charming. I loved how the author wove in callbacks to setting and people that made me smile when we got to see people and places across lives. The pacing felt a bit rushed, and character dialogue never felt natural (Nora lived untold lives, but she still stumbled through conversations? She's constantly dropping '...well I did that in another life...' as if that's a normal thing to say?) I think some of the characters were supposed to be written in a way that made them loveable but flawed, but often I just didn't like them. Mrs Elm in The Library felt condescending and unhelpful. Dan didn't seem to have any redeeming qualities. Ash was the only character that I found to be likable, but that's because he wasn't written with any flaws. Even Nora's characterization was irritatingly dense and felt completely flat for 90% of the book with no real development happening until literally her last life (you can't just say her regrets are disappearing and count that as character development. That needs to be reflected in her actions as well).

Thematically, I get the message. And it think it's a well told story that explores Sylvia Plath's symbolism of the fig tree. I don't think it's a particularly unique idea, but I digress. However, (maybe not the author's intention) this book is often talked about almost as a companion to The Bell Jar. I just don't see it. I don't think the themes of The Bell Jar needed to be explained or drawn out any further. In short, I think The Bell Jar did what The Midnight Library wanted to do, but better. In a vacuum, this was a strong story. But I don't think there's any meaningful comparison to the Bell Jar to be had.

But with all of that being said, the story was predictably sweet. Found purpose stories are hard to be very critical of. But I do wish this lived up to the hype I've seen around it.