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sarahmelized_onions's review against another edition
2.0
Such a great concept! Love the aesthetic. The execution/characters/plot/writing....leaves something to be desired. Look, if you want to read something beautifully written about secret magical library worlds for book-lovers, read The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a little ashamed of how long this book has been rotting on the shelf before I decided to read it. Everything about this book seemed made for me. A little bit of time travel, a little bit of dimension travel, some supernatural elements, a murder mystery and a magical library filled with important books. I've been on the brink of picking this one up quite a few times, but it was only a few days ago when I decided that I was gonna read it. For real this time.
This book does its world building the way I love most: Along the way. That means that in the first half of the book it's hard to understand all the technical details behind the library, dimension travel and how time is passing. However, once the characters encounter someone who doesn't know a thing about this world and are forced to explain things, things get clearer and clearer until it slowly starts making sense.
The plot should have been fairly simple. Get the book, get out of the world and bring the book back into the library. And then the traitor is introduced and the murder mystery and another agent being after the same book. At the beginning it all feels a little chaotic and all over the place, as if the author wasn't entirely sure what to focus on, but surprisingly enough everything does connect brilliantly in the end.
And while things are sometimes a little chaotic I loved how much potential this world and concept has! Everything is possible. Everything the author would want to write can happen in one of her dimensions. Nothing is too crazy. Nothing is too weird. Apart from messing with science. Like a really good science-fiction, which this book is, the book doesn't mess with the rules of science. And despite the chaos that does make the base of this book feel very very solid.
I can't wait to dive into the rest of the series.
This book does its world building the way I love most: Along the way. That means that in the first half of the book it's hard to understand all the technical details behind the library, dimension travel and how time is passing. However, once the characters encounter someone who doesn't know a thing about this world and are forced to explain things, things get clearer and clearer until it slowly starts making sense.
The plot should have been fairly simple. Get the book, get out of the world and bring the book back into the library. And then the traitor is introduced and the murder mystery and another agent being after the same book. At the beginning it all feels a little chaotic and all over the place, as if the author wasn't entirely sure what to focus on, but surprisingly enough everything does connect brilliantly in the end.
And while things are sometimes a little chaotic I loved how much potential this world and concept has! Everything is possible. Everything the author would want to write can happen in one of her dimensions. Nothing is too crazy. Nothing is too weird. Apart from messing with science. Like a really good science-fiction, which this book is, the book doesn't mess with the rules of science. And despite the chaos that does make the base of this book feel very very solid.
I can't wait to dive into the rest of the series.
brendalovesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. I think the story was decent, but the world building just didn't really grab me. I don't really like steampunk, and should have realized ahead of time that that's what this was. Because of that, I expected to like it a lot more than I did. I probably wouldn't read on in the series.
ruth24's review against another edition
5.0
Sometimes you find a book that feels like it was written specially for you. [b:The Invisible Library|21416690|The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library, #1)|Genevieve Cogman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1416823893l/21416690._SY75_.jpg|40717845] reminded me of one of my favourite series, the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde (starting with [b:The Eyre Affair|27003|The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, #1)|Jasper Fforde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445540555l/27003._SY75_.jpg|3436605]). They're both about literary detectives/secret agents and have the same whimsy and sense of adventure. [b:The Invisible Library|21416690|The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library, #1)|Genevieve Cogman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1416823893l/21416690._SY75_.jpg|40717845] also reminded me of the cat-filled, mysterious library in the [b:The Starless Sea|43575115|The Starless Sea|Erin Morgenstern|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554996038l/43575115._SY75_.jpg|66444785]. I highly recommend this if you're craving some book-ish, fantasy escapism!
missnatalieann's review against another edition
4.0
This book checked the box on ton of things I love, books, librarians, secret societies, mystery, intrigue, etc. It was a lot of fun to listen to, and I look forward to continuing this series. Where it fell a little short for me was the lack of build up for the possible romantic relationship between Kai and Irene. It just seemed completely out of no where that all the sudden Kai was like "hey girl, you want to do more than sleep?" after pretty much JUST meeting. It felt way too quick and disingenuous. I hope that this changes through out the series and feels a bit more genuine as things progress. I enjoy Kai a lot and want to learn more about his past and his nature. I hope that Irene grows and develops more outside of just being a librarian. I look forward to (hopefully) more character development in the following books in this series.
eirikvii's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.5
I read the last 3/4 on pure spite. This was a messy and chaotic (pun not intended) story. Steampunk and dragons and fairies and detectives out the wazoo. None of the characters gave me any reason to like them. The ending left me unsatisfied, but I do not feel like reading the rest of the series.
edshara's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, so this is a tough one to review. I think this is the type of book that you’ll either love or hate. The Invisible Library features Fae, Dragons, Vampires, magic and multiple worlds all rolled into a very complex plot. On one hand it was great to see all these different elements thrown together, however, their were times so much was happening it was hard to keep everything straight.
The world building and the idea behind how the library exists and functions was intriguing. Irene and Kai were interesting characters, though I am looking forward to learning more about them as I continue the series. Their a few other things that weren’t my favorite but they would be spoilers, so I’ll just admit the book is flawed. Though I’m not really sure how to categorize, The Invisible Library, this was a pleasant surprise and an enjoyable read.
The world building and the idea behind how the library exists and functions was intriguing. Irene and Kai were interesting characters, though I am looking forward to learning more about them as I continue the series. Their a few other things that weren’t my favorite but they would be spoilers, so I’ll just admit the book is flawed. Though I’m not really sure how to categorize, The Invisible Library, this was a pleasant surprise and an enjoyable read.
kaeliwolf's review against another edition
2.0
DNF page 60
The mundane elements are over described and the magical elements of the world are left on a backburner and forgotten. Tremendously boring.
The mundane elements are over described and the magical elements of the world are left on a backburner and forgotten. Tremendously boring.
jsant's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
ratatusk's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5