The Burning Page is the third book in Genevieve Cogman‘s Invisible Library series and therefore this review may contain spoilers for the previous books.

“Someone out there wants to kill you.”

It was rather sad that Irene’s first reaction was not so much shock as resignation. Then she wondered whether there was a queue, and if someone was selling tickets.

After rescuing her assistant, Kai, from an alternate Venice ruled by the fae, things aren’t really going back to normal for librarian Irene. Vale’s still suffering from contamination from the high chaos world, even if he’d be the last to admit anything’s wrong, and Irene suspects the library’s put her on probation. When a door to the library spontaneously combusts, nearly taking Irene and Kai with it, they soon learn that there’s something bigger going on, something that could threaten the existence of the library itself.

Give me an inefficient murderer any day. I’d far rather have someone trying to kill me by shoving spiders through my letterbox.

Our favourite librarian is back in this third instalment of a wonderfully fun and inventive fantasy series. Irene’s job is to steal books from different realities, not only to preserve rare versions, but also to keep the bonds between the libraries and those worlds strong. If you’ve not read The Invisible Library yet, do check out my review for a better explanation of this universe.

Irene is caught between wanting to be a good librarian and wanting to help her friends. Something needs to be done about Vale, but she has no idea what the right answer is and whether he will thank her for it. With the library under threat, all librarians are deployed and Irene must travel to a version of St Petersberg where magic is outlawed. At least the Language still works.

Panic is the antithesis to good organization. Panic is messy. I am against panic on a point of principle

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And Alberich is still out there and he’s focused on Irene. Can she possible stay safe from him, do her job and keep her friends safe, all at the same time? It’s such a fun series, you should definitely give it a go!

The Burning Page is published by Tor and is available now in paperback and ebook editions. Thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy for review.

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Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free of charge for review purposes only. Receipt of a book does not guarantee a review or endorsement. My reviews are my honest opinion and are not biased for the purpose of personal gain.