The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman

My Chronicle Book Box Review:

This is the third in this fantasy series and builds on the success of the first two novels, the first of which is The Invisible Library.

Irene takes the lead as protagonist, a capable, intelligent, field Librarian with a wry sense of humour. She is currently Librarian in Residence in a Victoriana style alternate London complete with a great detective resident at 221b Baker Street, Peregrine Vale with whom Irene is of course good friends. She is also supported by trainee Librarian Kai who also happens to be a dragon prince and of whose true nature and power we get to see more of in this novel.

Irene, Kai and Vale make a formidable trio however, the stakes are even higher in this novel with the very Library itself under threat of destruction from the insane, power hungry, traitor Alberich. And this is no ordinary library, it is the ultimate library, which sits outside of time and space and is connected to alternate worlds through the possession of unique books from these worlds. As a result of her previous encounters with Alberich it falls to Irene to try and save the Library and her friends and throw herself into danger against Kai and Vale’s wishes.

Genevieve Cogman has created a wondrous fantasy universe for her characters with alternate worlds varying on the spectrum from order to chaos with consequently different characteristics. Dragons in this universe are creatures of order and the Fae are creatures of chaos with the Library acting as a neutral balance between the two and humans considered minor players by the dragons and Fae. The tensions between these opposing forces are part of what makes these books so successful in my opinion.

This is a gripping, fast paced, page turner of a book which I could not put down. The urgency Cogman conveys through her writing is palpable and even the heroically unflappable Irene seems to be close to panicking as she tries desperately to prioritise and save everyone in time.

I loved this, a great, fun read - highly recommended!

Hi, I'm Louise the founder of My Chronicle Book Box and I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog post.

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