2 Bloggers 1 Series - The Invisible Library

 

So after skipping a month, because apparently our TBRs were bigger than our ability to read said TBR, Stormi and I are back and starting a new series.  Both of us had read the first installment a few years back and always wanted to continue so we decided to take the plunge.  Read on for my thoughts and then hop over to  Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! and see Stormi's thoughts.

TITLE: The Invisible Library (Invisible Library #1)

AUTHOR: Genevieve Cogman

PUBLISHER: Tor

PUBLISHING DATE: January 15, 2015

FROM GOODREADS: 

 Irene must be at the top of her game or she'll be off the case - permanently...  

Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant Kai, she's posted to an alternative London. Their mission - to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book. 

Adding to the jeopardy, this world is chaos-infested - the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic. Irene's new assistant is also hiding secrets of his own. 

Soon, she's up to her eyebrows in a heady mix of danger, clues and secret societies. Yet failure is not an option - the nature of reality itself is at stake. 

MY THOUGHTS: I vaguely remembered this once I started it and it's really no shock that the main things that stuck in my mind were cyborg alligators and Irene's partner-in-training, Kai.  I didn't remember Kai's true nature early on but once I did, I loved him even more than the first time and I'm even more anxious to see where the series heads.  

This book is slow to start but eventually the action and intrigue picks up and I found it hard to put down.  Irene is a strong female character who isn't afraid to speak her mind and I consider the series great for people who love the Veronica Speedwell or Parasol Protectorate books. And the fact that the series revolves around books, libraries, supernatural beings and secret societies means it checks all the right boxes for me.

Instead of rehashing everything, I'm just going to add my original review below.  I will admit that I initially gave this book a 5/5 rating and this time around, I'm bumping it to 4/5.  I think that despite still loving it, I've just read so much more in the past 5 years that make me reconsider my first-time rating.  That being said, I'm really excited to move on the The Masked City.

RATING: 4 PAWS

REVIEW FROM JUNE 2016: I have seen a few mixed reviews about "The Invisible Library" and for a while, I was seriously questioning what I had signed up for when I requested it for review. However, all I can say is to each his own and I am so glad I gave this book a chance. I loved it! The people, the setting, the action, the mystery. I seriously found that it was one of those books where I knew 6 pages in that I was going to enjoy it tremendously.

Irene works for the mysterious "Invisible Library" and has committed her whole life to time jumping and traveling to various worlds to collect certain manuscripts, novels, etc. which can then be housed and kept safely in the main library. These books are important to literature, history and various other aspects, and should not fall into the wrong hands. Toward the beginning of the book, Irene is assigned a new mission and learns she now must train a new librarian, Kai. The mission they are sent off on is set in alternate London and they are basically looking for a book of Grimm fairy tales. Kai has been working inside the library for 5 years and is anxious to get out into the field. Also, not only is he described basically as very easy on the eyes, Kai has some secrets of his own. Needless to say, there are some others seeking this book as well which makes for a crazy, dangerous, action-packed excursion.

There are so many interesting aspects to this book that honestly, it could have been easily to have become overwhelmed. Except it was so interesting and engaging, that didn't happen. There are spies, detectives, and thieves as well as vampires, werewolves, fae, dragons, zeppelins, and even cyborg alligators....yes I said cyborg alligators. I really don't know how Cogman came up with it all. I was never once bored while reading "The Invisible Library" and now I can't wait until the next book in the series is released.

This book did remind me of some others I have read in the past year, but not in a redundant or bad way. I was sort of reminded of Rachel Caine's "Ink and Bone" and Brenda Drake's "Thief of Lies." Also, probably because of its historical setting, the book was also reminiscent of Deanna Raybourne's "A Curious Beginning" which I loved as well. If you enjoyed any of those books, "The Invisible Library" is a must-read for you.