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abbey_ford's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kailajay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
5.0
Wrote this once and then while fiddling with my dates read, managed to delete it, so here goes:
I love this series, I find it a really fun and usually easy romp in a rich universe where the idea that Chaos = bad and Order = good is pushed as a fact of life- but isn't- and I stormed through the first 4 books of this series when I first read them, and again on re-reading.
And then I hit this one. The first where Kai and Irene aren't working directly and closely together, this book goes from the light dusting of politics that sometimes drives the plot to politics as the plot. The mystery is still interesting and while I wasn't astounded by the reveal, it still felt natural and like it was an uncovering.
Even though Irene and Kai finally do the do- in a complete fade to black that isn't by favourite, a tiny bit of spice would have been good after so much building up- they feel so much more distant in this book than they have before, even in books where Kai is literally absent for most of it. The end of the previous book seemed to have severed something.
I'm hopeful that the situation at the end of the book leads to this relationship going back to normal- I'll be reading it after I've finished my current in progress kindle book- and that the high level politics calm down for a while.
There are a lot of little bits of references here, that definitely make me intrigued for the next book/s in the series. I love seeing Vale in his natural habitat- solving a real mystery- and he's always fun to bounce off of Kai and Silver. Silver's return, along with the introduction of his Draconic counterpart in the mystery-solving gang, is also appreciated.
All in all, this was harder to read than the previous books in the series, but I still recommend it.
I love this series, I find it a really fun and usually easy romp in a rich universe where the idea that Chaos = bad and Order = good is pushed as a fact of life- but isn't- and I stormed through the first 4 books of this series when I first read them, and again on re-reading.
And then I hit this one. The first where Kai and Irene aren't working directly and closely together, this book goes from the light dusting of politics that sometimes drives the plot to politics as the plot. The mystery is still interesting and while I wasn't astounded by the reveal, it still felt natural and like it was an uncovering.
Even though Irene and Kai finally do the do- in a complete fade to black that isn't by favourite, a tiny bit of spice would have been good after so much building up- they feel so much more distant in this book than they have before, even in books where Kai is literally absent for most of it. The end of the previous book seemed to have severed something.
I'm hopeful that the situation at the end of the book leads to this relationship going back to normal- I'll be reading it after I've finished my current in progress kindle book- and that the high level politics calm down for a while.
There are a lot of little bits of references here, that definitely make me intrigued for the next book/s in the series. I love seeing Vale in his natural habitat- solving a real mystery- and he's always fun to bounce off of Kai and Silver. Silver's return, along with the introduction of his Draconic counterpart in the mystery-solving gang, is also appreciated.
All in all, this was harder to read than the previous books in the series, but I still recommend it.
lazwright's review against another edition
4.0
Much better than the last installment of the series, but still heavy on the political aspect. Also does a good job of setting up a possible return of Albrecht...curious to see if that happens at the end of the next book.
irenevh's review against another edition
4.0
A murder mystery in a fantastical setting, The Mortal Word is a nice follow up in the Invisible Library series, and easy to follow even if the earlier parts of the series aren't as fresh in your mind.
It's been a while since I have delved into the world of the Invisible Library series, which has unbeknownst to me gotten much longer than expected. And although I often roll my eyes at the repetition of content from earlier books, this time I was happy to have the reminders as it's been quite long since i read the first 4 books.
But even so, the story is easy to get swept up in. A murder mystery surrounding a peace treaty, with Irene at the lead of the investigative team. Vale has taken over the role of her usual sidekick, with Kai taking a smaller part this time around.
The overall story is intriguing and entertaining, and befitting the established world building. The murder mystery/detective combined with fantasy might not be for everyone but as a lover of both genres, the combination is perfect.
But overall there isn't much to say. If you loved the earlier installments in the book you will probably like this one.
bahnhofsblumen's review against another edition
5.0
This was basically just politics but surprisingly I really liked it. The Paris setting was very nice, I loved the weather effects one side was responsible for and I loved how shady this entire book was.
mendacium's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
blamelucy's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
helenamt's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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? No
4.25
mleiv's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
My favorite so far. A pretty standard murder mystery with political intrigue, combined with the flavor of old fairy tales, where scary magical creatures following different social rules treat humans as little more than insects.
luisaroesch's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5