By Genevieve Cogman
I did not expect this book to hit me as much as it did, but wow. My hands were shaking when I finished it, and I just hugged it against my chest for a bit, trying to process the powerful ending. The Burning Page is the incredible third book in the Invisible Library series, and so far the best yet.
Summary
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 of finding 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…
I thought this was going to be the last in the series, so I was ready for a final showdown. Or, at least, I told myself I was ready: I didn’t want the fun to end. But the great news is that there are at least two more books in the works, so we can keep enjoying it! It also means that while there is a brilliant showdown, it will not be the last.
Those of you who have read my reviews of The Invisible Library and The Masked City know the gist of why I love this series so much: the idea of secret-agent-book -lover-librarians is just so brilliant! I love the universe that Cogman has created, with multiple alternate realities all connected by this library, with logic and reason at one end of the spectrum, and chaos at the other. You have Order, or reality, incarnated by the Dragons, and you have Stories and Narrative, embodied by the Fae. The library maintains balance by collecting important books from these worlds, and the Librarians don’t always retrieve them legally.
Irene and Kai are brilliant characters whom I love to follow in their adventures. They’re smart and resourceful, and above all, they love their books. But since the events of the Masked City, they’ve been getting the worst assignments: punishment for Irene leaving her post to save Kai, and stop a war. But now they’re in for an adventure they never expected: the library is under siege, by the evil traitor Alberich, and it could very well die. Not to mention someone has been trying to kill off Irene and Kai!
The pacing is so much faster in this third installment: it’s as if every book was speeding up. There’s love and betrayal, there’s magical worlds and terrifying words, huge twists and an enormous reveal at the very end. Some of our favorite characters are back, and hinting at a large secretive plot that runs through the novels so far. There’s mystery and intrigue, and magic and danger. And an ending that will leave you clutching your bookshelf and whispering promises of love and devotion to it.
All in all – this is the best book of the series so far. It’s fast paced and breathless, with lives on the line. And I seriously can’t wait for more.
Expected publication: January 10th 2017 by Roc. Thank you Roc for sending me a copy!
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