Book 18: The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
Book 18: The Invisible Library (Invisible Library #1) .
Author: Genevieve Cogman, 2015.
Genre: Fantasy. Steampunk. Alternative Realities.
Other Details: ebook. 337 pages.
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. - synopsis from author's website.
This proved a highly engaging novel with lots of potential in terms of characters and setting for an enjoyable series. I was quickly hooked and found it a great deal of fun as well as thrilling. The world in which Irene finds herself with elements of Victorian steampunk, vampires and werewolves did remind me a little of the popular Parasol Protectorate series though Irene and others are visitors to it.
This was a reading group selection and enjoyed very much by those in the group who read fantasy.