About the Book
-
Author:
- Genevieve Cogman
Cover Story: In Keeping
BFF Charm: Yay
Talky Talk: Escalation
Bonus Factor: Badasses
Anti-Bonus Factor: Book Burning
Relationship Status: Platonic Love
Danger, Will Robinson! The Burning Page is the third book in the Invisible Library series. If you have not read the first two books—The Invisible Library and The Masked City—turn away now. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. If you have read the first books, however, feel free to continue below. I will refrain from major spoilers in my review, but there might be hints at plot points and details about the larger story.
Cover Story: In Keeping
I appreciate that the cover designers have been consistent with this series. There’s nothing super standout about them, but they work extremely well for a series about a library.
The Deal:
After saving Kai from the clutches of the Fae—and going against the will of the Library in the process—Irene finds herself on probation. She and Kai are tasked with missions that other Librarians wouldn’t want (i.e., they’re super difficult or overly dangerous), but they carry them out to the best of their ability to prove that they’re loyal agents. (Nevermind their grumbling when they’re alone.)
But then Irene sees a message that could only have been sent by Alberich. And when she returns to the Library to report, she finds that she’s not the only Librarian to have experienced out of the ordinary events. The Library heightens security and puts out alerts, but Irene worries that time is running short and Alberich is finally making his move to destroy them all for good.
BFF Charm: Yay
Irene’s love of books and her loyalty to the Library—a loyalty that is, thankfully, tempered by common sense—is admirable. I waver on whether I would want to be in her shoes; I certainly love the idea of being a secret agent whose sole purpose is to rescue rare literature and in the process save the multiverse, but am very wary of the lengths to which Irene must go to perform her job. So I think I’ve come to a solid conclusion that we can be great friends, and she can take me with her on less dangerous missions, but otherwise I’ll be content to welcome her with tea upon her return.
Swoonworthy Scale: 4
Irene makes a play for one of the gentlemen characters in The Burning Page—I’m not saying whom!—but it doesn’t end well. I really wish it would have.
Talky Talk: Escalation
If you’ve read the first two books in this series, you know that Irene’s career often takes her into dangerous situations. She inevitably finds a way out, either through the assistance of Kai or Vale or another of the secondary series characters. In The Burning Page, however, was the first time I ever truly worried that Irene wasn’t going to make it. (Knowing that there are two more books in the series decreased that fear, of course, but it was there nonetheless.) In this third book, Genevieve Cogman has upped the action of the series to a breaking point—and I’m not sure where things will go from here.
On a different note, I wish I understood the various worlds (or “spheres,” as the Fae call them) better. I love the way Cogman describes these strange places that are so different from our own, but I get a bit lost when trying to get my brain to fully wrap around the differences, and what exactly high-chaos and high-order realms are like.
Bonus Factor: Badasses
Irene, for all her unassuming nature, begins to realize in The Burning Page that maybe being invisible isn’t the way she wants to live her life, and is possibly not the best way to get what she wants. She begins to realize this while taking charge of a situation that could have easily led to herself being injured (or worse) and being totally kickass while doing so. Major pants to Cogman for this character growth.
Anti-Bonus Factor: Book Burning
I can’t describe what happens in the book to lead to said burning, and it’s not done without reason, but it’s truly heartbreaking to imagine all those words going up in flames.
Relationship Status: Platonic Love
I feel strongly about you, Book. But our love is the kind that’s shared between great friends, rather than the kind that’s shared between lovers. I don’t want to run away with you, mostly because you’re always getting into treacherous situations and I value my hide, but I never want to stop hearing about your adventures.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Roc, but got neither a private dance party with Tom Hiddleston nor money in exchange for this review. The Burning Page is available now.
