Elaine and Johan are preparing to leave Golden City, with Daria and the travellers, in order to search for the Witch-King. The Grand Sorceress instructs Inquisitor Cass to help them. But before Elaine can leave she is arrested by two Inquisitors on the orders of the Emperor. When she resists she is hit with a powerful spell that forces her to concentrate all her efforts on protecting her mind from its intrusion. Taken to the palace she finds that the Grand Sorceress has been removed and the Throne has accepted an heir to the Empire. Realising this has to be the work of the Witch-King, Elaine must defeat the spell that is eating away at her defences if she is to escape and destroy him. Meanwhile, Johan, Daria and Cass are trying to find a way to get to Elaine and break her out of the cell in which she is being held. The Golden City is still widely devastated from the disastrous battle for power that followed the death of the previous Grand Sorcerer. The recent escalating breakdown of social order can only be made worse by the return of an Emperor and the imposition of martial law. The Privy Councillors and Heads of the Great Houses succumb to the power of the new Emperor, as he amasses a huge army. It is up to Elaine and her friends, with some unexpected help, to prevent an all-out war. The third instalment in the Bookworm series, The Best Laid Plans follows on immediately from the events in The Very Ugly Duckling, with Elaine and Johan joined by other favourite characters as they try to track down the Witch-King.

Not every ugly duckling becomes a swan... In the wake of the disastrous attack on the Golden City, Lady Light Spinner has become Grand Sorceress and Elaine, the Bookworm, has been settling into her positions as Head Librarian and Privy Councillor. But any hope of vanishing into her books is negated when a new magician of staggering power appears in the city, one whose abilities seem to defy the known laws of magic. Johan is a Powerless, a person born to a magical family yet lacking powers of his own. His dreams of a better life are curbed by his family, who see him as a cripple at best and a burden at worst. But when a political protest goes horrifically wrong, Johan discovers that his true powers have merely been buried, waiting for their chance to explode into the world. As he comes to grips with his newfound talents, he discovers that he finally has a chance to realise his ambitions ... ... But for the Golden City, reeling after the devastation of six months earlier, he may be the greatest threat the city has ever seen. Elaine must unlock the mystery behind his powers before the political factions can kill him ... or use him to unleash a nightmare. Returning to well-loved characters from Christopher G. Nuttall's bestselling Bookworm and introducing new ones, Bookworm II: The Very Ugly Duckling explores power – and the effect it has on the human mind.

Elaine is an orphan girl who has grown up in a world where magical ability brings power. Her limited talent was enough to ensure a magical training but she's very inexperienced and was lucky to get a position working in the Great Library. Now, the Grand Sorcerer - the most powerful magician of them all - is dying, although initially that makes little difference to Elaine; she certainly doesn't have the power to compete for higher status in the Golden City. But all that changes when she triggers a magical trap and ends up with all the knowledge from the Great Library - including forbidden magic that no one is supposed to know - stuffed inside her head. This unwanted gift doesn't give her greater power, but it does give her a better understanding of magic, allowing her to accomplish far more than ever before. It's also terribly dangerous. If the senior wizards find out what has happened to her, they will almost certainly have her killed. The knowledge locked away in the Great Library was meant to remain permanently sealed and letting it out could mean a repeat of the catastrophic Necromantic Wars of five hundred years earlier. Elaine is forced to struggle with the terrors and temptations represented by her newfound knowledge, all the while trying to stay out of sight of those she fears, embodied by the sinister Inquisitor Dread. But a darkly powerful figure has been drawing up a plan to take the power of the Grand Sorcerer for himself; and Elaine, unknowingly, is vital to his scheme. Unless she can unlock the mysteries behind her new knowledge, divine the unfolding plan, and discover the truth about her own origins, there is no hope for those she loves, the Golden City or her entire world.

A new Emperor has arisen ... and the Empire is collapsing into chaos. Having escaped from the Golden City, Elaine, Johan and their friends – including some strange allies with goals of their own – race desperately towards Ida, hiding place of the ancient Witch-King. Behind them, the armies of the new Emperor – a man permanently poised on the verge of madness – give chase, unleashing monsters and spells from the long-buried past on everyone who stands in their way. Ahead of them, the Witch-King waits, biding his time as he prepares for his ascension. As they endure terrible dangers – and figures from the past – Elaine and Johan come to realise that Elaine’s knowledge of magic and the bond between them may be the only thing standing between the Witch-King and godhood. But if they cannot prepare a defence in time, the entire world will die when the Witch-King rises from his tomb ... The fourth and final instalment in the Bookworm series, Full Circle follows on from the events in The Best Laid Plans, with Elaine and her friends heading for Ida to confront the Witch-King.

Spring is the season when love blooms! Rozemyne's retainers are bursting with energy as they make clothes, attend their debuts, and shine in the new season. The improved printing press is finally completed in the temple workshop, and the variety of available books is steadily beginning to expand. Picture books, collections of sheet music, knight stories—all are now being sold. Their first aim is to further develop the paper-making industry in preparation for the spread of printing across the entire duchy. To this end, Rozemyne's party travels to Illgner, hoping to teach them how to make paper while also researching new materials to use. As the environment around Rozemyne slowly improves, the archduke's older sister arrives for a visit, shrouding Ehrenfest in an air of unease. Everything changes in this volume of this biblio-fantasy as nobles emotionally clash and the conclusion of Part 3 approaches! Including two newly written short stories and a four-panel manga drawn by You Shiina!

Here is the first official Ascendance of a Bookworm fanbook, intended to be read after finishing Part 3 Volume 2. This book contains a slew of additional content, including all the color and cover artwork up to Part 3 Volume 1, a short story on Monika and Nicola’s first tour of the temple, a manga chapter by Suzuka, and three four-panel manga by You Shiina. Also inside are design sheets showing how Bookworm’s characters were visually brought to life, and a Q&A with author Miya Kazuki containing lesser-known details about the plot as well as information on how she planned out and developed the series.

Myne is determined to protect those she cares about most, so she abandons the life she knows to become Rozemyne, the archduke's mana-rich adopted daughter. She charges forward into this strange new world, not letting her new persona change her passion for books! Watch as the setting of this biblio-fantasy by book lovers, for book lovers continues to expand... along with the book-making industry!