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.

Masked City

The Masked City (The Invisible Library Series, #2) - Genevieve Cogman
Roc
Release Date: September 6, 2016

Warning: Potential Spoilers!

Rating (Out of 5):
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Working in an alternate version of Victorian London, Librarian-spy Irene has settled into a routine, collecting important fiction for the mysterious Library and blending in nicely with the local culture. But when her apprentice, Kai—a dragon of royal descent—is kidnapped by the Fae, her carefully crafted undercover operation begins to crumble.
Kai’s abduction could incite a conflict between the forces of chaos and order that would devastate all worlds and all dimensions. To keep humanity from getting caught in the crossfire, Irene will have to team up with a local Fae leader to travel deep into a version of Venice filled with dark magic, strange coincidences, and a perpetual celebration of Carnival—and save her friend before he becomes the first casualty of a catastrophic war.
But navigating the tumultuous landscape of Fae politics will take more than Irene’s book-smarts and fast-talking—to ward off Armageddon, she might have to sacrifice everything she holds dear....
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The Masked City continues the story begun in The Invisible Library about the mysterious Library and the multiple worlds where it collects books.  Irene and her assistant/trainee Kai have established themselves in an alternate Victorian London and just when Irene is sure things have settled down- they get interesting again.  Kai is abducted, and chances are good its about more than their latest book acquisition.  Irene and Vale (this world's Sherlock Holmes) have to face magic, mystery, and chaos to try and get him back and head off a war.  Caught between the dragons on one side and the Fae on the other, Irene has to decide how far she is willing to go, and how much she is willing to give up, to balance the Library's neutrality with a very personal situation.

Readers who start with this book instead of The Invisible Library will be able to catch up on main characters and basic world building pretty quickly.  The Masked City pitches Irene, Vale, and Kai straight into danger and never really lets them catch their breath as they travel to a high-chaos realm of old Venice constantly in Carnival season.  It's a world poisonous to dragons and closed off from the Library.  Along with Irene we meet several dragons and learn more about the Fae.  Not only does Lord Silver play a slightly larger role here, but new Fae- both enemies and potential allies- are introduced.  Because this Venice is so high-chaos, the power of stories plays a large role in the adventure.  The trick is hoping the story works in your favor: making you the hero, having someone helpful appear just when needed, etc.  Irene needs to not only figure out Fae politics and alliances but also how to manipulate the story to work in her favor.

The Masked City is a fast-paced, witty, clever adventure.  I didn't find it quite as absorbing as The Invisible Library but I enjoyed delving more into Cogman's world(s).  This Venice was a perfect version of everyone's image of Old Venice.  The Fae were a lot of fun, and it was nice seeing a few become allies (at least temporarily). Irene continues to be wonderful- practical, clever, and great in a crisis.  She may not think of herself as a heroine but I certainly do!

Although there were sadly no remote controlled alligators- or their Venice equivalent- in The Masked City, it was still a great continuation of the series.  Readers be warned, while it doesn't end on a cliff-hanger, The Masked City will definitely leave you desperately waiting for the next book!  


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

Invisible Library- Genevieve Cogman

The Invisible Library- Genevieve Cogman
Roc Press (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: June 14, 2016

Synopsis: Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, a shadowy organization that collects important works of fiction from all of the different realities. Most recently, she and her enigmatic assistant Kai have been sent to an alternative London. Their mission: Retrieve a particularly dangerous book. The problem: By the time they arrive, it's already been stolen.  London's underground factions are prepared to fight to the death to find the tome before Irene and Kai do, a problem compounded by the fact that this world is chaos-infested—the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic to run rampant. To make matters worse, Kai is hiding something—secrets that could be just as volatile as the chaos-filled world itself. Now Irene is caught in a puzzling web of deadly danger, conflicting clues, and sinister secret societies. And failure is not an option—because it isn’t just Irene’s reputation at stake, it’s the nature of reality itself...

The Invisible Library is a mix of mystery, magic, science, humor, and books. An incredibly rich world of alternate universes and the Librarians who gather important works of fiction from all of them.

The main character, Irene, is a wonderfully complex character- a true bibliophile who wants nothing more than to protect books and read them.  Clever and quick-witted, she returns from one mission only to be sent out instantly on another- this time with an apprentice.  Things go from complicated to seriously complicated in the alternate world they've landed in when murder, book thieves, Fae, rogue Librarians, werewolves, centipedes, and alligators become involved.  This alternate reality is a delightful blend of steampunk and fantasy, vampires and zeppelins, science and magic. Irene is sure there's more to this story than what she's been told, but she'll have to stay alive before she can worry about what she isn't being told!  Her apprentice, Kai, is hiding some big secrets of his own, a competing Librarian keeps getting in the way, and their only ally is this world's version of Sherlock Holmes, who may have his own agenda.

This was a brilliant debut novel by Genevieve Cogman.  The worlds are detailed, all her characters are rich and three-dimensional, the plots and intrigues keep you guessing without overly complicating the storyline, and the humor is snarky and dry.  I couldn't bear to put this book down once I'd started, but as much as I wanted to reach the end to see how everything was solved I didn't want to reach the end and have to leave the world of the mysterious Invisible Library.  Fortunately, there are at least two more books scheduled for release, and I hope this series lasts for many more books to come.

Fans of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, Deborah Harkness' Discovery of Witches trilogy, TNT's The Librarians tv series, and book lovers in general will fall in love with the world of The Invisible Library.

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