Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

This was as good as I wanted it to be. It is a meaty but well-paced young adult first-in-trilogy that is set in a world in which The Library is the overarching governmental institution that Rules over All, who have mandated that originals (actual books with paper pages) shall ONLY be in its possession and the rest of the world has access via ... sort of futuristic eBooks, which are almost like kindles, but are loaded with only 1 book at any given time. The two largest opposing groups are smugglers, who deal in the black trade of originals for collectors, and burners, who seek to burn originals to prove the point that The Library should not have total control over all originals. The main character is a young (18?) man who comes from a family of smugglers, yet seeks to become a member of The Library.

There's intrigue, subterfuge, discovery, friendship, enemies, frienemies, romance, and action packed into the novel. I really really enjoyed reading it. EVEN the Romance parts!! It was so well done, I didn't find it annoying at all. ;) The world is well developed and interesting, the characters are well-developed, interesting, and dynamic, and the story/plot is interesting and moves at a good pace. Definitely recommend to YA/dystopia fans! Also, I note that, although it's YA, it's probably more along the lines of [Red Rising] .. a little bit denser and more mature. Can't wait for the 2nd! It's at early reviewer phase right now, so juts a little while to wait... ;)