Burning Page

Burning Page (The Invisible Library #3)- Genevieve Cogman
Roc
Release Date: January 10, 2017

Rating (out of 5):
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Due to her involvement in an unfortunate set of mishaps between the dragons and the Fae, Librarian spy Irene is stuck on probation, doing what should be simple fetch-and-retrieve projects for the mysterious Library. But trouble has a tendency to find both Irene and her apprentice, Kai—a dragon prince—and, before they know it, they are entangled in more danger than they can handle...
 
Irene’s longtime nemesis, Alberich, has once again been making waves across multiple worlds, and, this time, his goals are much larger than obtaining a single book or wreaking vengeance upon a single Librarian. He aims to destroy the entire Library—and make sure Irene goes down with it.
 
With so much at stake, Irene will need every tool at her disposal to stay alive. But even as she draws her allies close around her, the greatest danger might be lurking from somewhere close—someone she never expected to betray her...

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The Burning Page is the exciting third book in The Invisible Library series.  It manages to pick up where The Masked City left off while still allowing new-comers to enjoy without feeling like they need to read the series in order (although I highly recommend it because they are all great books). 

In Burning Page, Librarian Irene and her dragon apprentice Kai have been dealing with business as usual: jumping to different worlds, stealing important books, and bringing them safely to the Library while trying to avoid people who want to kill them.  After one gate between worlds catches fire when Irene tries to open it, they get concerned- are they not being told detail that would make the jobs more deadly or is there a problem with the Library?  Turns out the problem is with the Library.  The traitorous former Librarian Alberich (who Irene first met in The Invisible Library) wants to destroy the Library and everyone with it- including a rather personal grudge against Irene.  She'll need all her allies- both human, dragon, and Fae- to help save the Library before it can be destroyed!

While I found The Masked City  a little darker and slower than The Invisible Library, The Burning Page has the same feel as Library: fast-paced, fun, dangerous and light all at the same time.  Irene's wit and I'll-panic-later approach to danger are a joy to read and I have enjoyed watching Irene grow as both a Librarian and a person- and as she has discovered the difference between the two.  She may think she's only happy among books, but in Page Irene discovers she's become devoted to people even above books.  Friendships have become more important and betrayals more personal.  She's willing to do whatever she can to help her friend Vale after he's chaos-contaminated, but still leave the final decision up to him instead of assuming she knows best.  She's willing to look at all sides of the problem and her potential allies, while Kai still refuses to see the possible good in any Fae (although considering what he's been through in Masked City it's hard to blame him).  Irene is that perfect heroine who is both relatable and who we wish we were, strong but entirely human and fallible, and able to keep her snark about her while in the most death-defying of situations. 

Cogman's world-building continues to gain layers even after you thought she'd given you everything. Her descriptions and details make the characters and the places spring to life for the reader.  I couldn't read the final battle between Irene and Alberich fast enough to find out what would happen next, and I know when I re-read the book (and the series) I'll continue to discover nuances and angles I had missed before. There are plenty more worlds to discover and questions to answer so I hope the series continues, but if it remains a trilogy there is a satisfying ending that won't leave you hanging.

Readers who enjoy Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next and Deborah Harkness' All Souls' books will be thrilled to discover a new brilliant author in Genevieve Cogman and her worlds of the Invisible Library.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.