Yeah it's permadeath. This is mainly because when I made the game, I didn't know how to create a save system. The whole game was a learning process. I definitely understand the frustration, but it's sort of part of the game :D
Anyway for my next RPG game I am working on saving mechanism. Not a quicksave, but if you die in the dungeon you start in the tavern, and you don't lose everything, just the dungeon progress.
I am glad you like the game otherwise though! It is a bit of a cobbled up spaghetti mess (hell I finished developing the game when I had a fever lol) but I'm happy how it turned out, even it can be really frustrating.
The books you collect save up though even if you die! So if you like collecting, they're always there.