Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Invisible Library

This was a fun concept, although a little light on the execution.

We're dropped into the secret society of the Library, which exists between alternate worlds and collects unique works of fiction. We follow Librarian Irene and her fresh assistant Kai as they attempt to recover a stolen book, unravel a mystery, & get out of a whole lot of trouble.

It's a playful mystery story, though it suffers a bit from underdeveloped/simple characters who lack the insight they perhaps should have had. I can imagine it would be more fun for perhaps young readers who don't catch on to the (fairly obvious) clues and suspicious situations.

The worldbuilding was intriguing and I actually liked being dropped RIGHT into the action and catching up as we went along. And of course - as a person who loves to read - a book about a mysterious society of Librarians is a pretty delightful concept. This is a long series with spin offs and I would consider reading more tales set in the world! Maybe the plotting & characterization has greater depth as we go on?

CW: body horror, injury, blood, death, violence, murder, animal death, sexual content, ableism, sexism

Content Warnings

stwriter92's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I bought this book on a whim back in 2019 and did not think to pick it up until this year. I've always adored books about books and this was no different. I was drawn to the idea of librarians that are super badass and travel to alternate worlds as spies to ~~steal~~ acquire books to keep in the Library, which is a place that exists between worlds as a sort of archive for said books. When I bought this book (and then started reading it three years after said buying), I did not realize that this was a part of an eight book series. However, after reading this book, I am definitely justifying myself buying each subsequent part of the series as needed.

The Invisible Library introduces us to the world of the Library as well as the politics involved. We are introduced to the Librarian Irene and her new, mysterious assistant, Kai. They have been sent on a seemingly innocuous and mundane mission to retrieve a book of Grimms' Fairy Tales from an alternative Victorian England. However, once they reach their destination, they realize that they are working with forces far stronger, darker, and more dangerous than they had expected. With the help of a (very Sherlock Holmes-esque) detective named Vale and Bradamant, a rival Librarian, they must work together to go up against a mysterious and evil adversary.

We get a good introduction to the world, but a lot of it went wanting. However, I think this will probably be rectified in the rest of the books, which I look forward to reading. There were some parts of the book that fell a little flat for me, but there were far more that had me having a physical reaction of surprise, amusement, and shock. I finished reading this book in a cafe and immediately went to the bookshop round the corner to get the second one, which I intend to start reading as soon as I finish typing up this review.

I really look forward to seeing the characters develop and I really really look forward to learning more about the Library. It is obviously more than just an archive for books from parallel worlds and I can't wait to uncover all the mysteries that lie in its corridors.

Content Warnings

More...