Secrets of the Catalogue, Amelia Spencer [Book Review]

June 21, 2026 2 Min Read 0

There’s something more to this world than we know. What if the something more was being carefully managed by a society of clandestine librarians?

A Great Portal Fantasy to Cozy Up With

Book Cover of Secrets of the Catalogue by Amelia Spencer, featuring a shelf of antique books behind a keyhole style cutout. Very dark and mysterious seeming.

Emerson stumbles onto the secret by accident. She needs a place to duck into, and finds a dusty old bookshop that feels like it was built just for her.

What she finds inside changes everything.

What unfolds is a discovery that years of her own personal history have been a massive deception. Everything she thought was real is now a question. New influences are tugging her in different directions while Emerson is still struggling to get a handle on her new reality.

She’s special. But she’s not alone.

Secrets of the Catalogue is the first book in an ambitious portal fantasy series. It is compelling in concept and execution. An adventure every step of the way.

I think the thing I admired most about it (as a writer myself) isn’t the magic system or the concept or the plot or the settings, but the characters. Each of them is an iceberg, and we only get to see what is above water. Emerson might have actually been the least interesting of all of them, which makes her a perfect vehicle to experience the story. She’s new to all this, so her experiences are our experiences, which serves as a great intro to a complex series like this.

Now, I say complex, but it isn’t hard to follow at all. If you’re looking for an immersive archival feeling adventure series that’ll keep you turning pages, this is a great pick for you!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Secrets of the Catalogue
Author:: Amelia Spencer
Genre:: Portal Fantasy
Publisher:: Indie
Length:: 320 pages
Published:: October 13th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars