The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman

The Masked City (The Invisible Library, #2)

by Genevieve Cogman

The second title in Genevieve Cogman's The Invisible Library series, The Masked City is a wonderful read for all those who enjoyed Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair or Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London.

Librarian-spy Irene is working undercover in an alternative London when her assistant Kai goes missing. She discovers he's been kidnapped by the fae faction and the repercussions could be fatal. Not just for Kai, but for whole worlds.

Kai's dragon heritage means he has powerful allies, but also powerful enemies in the form of the fae. With this act of aggression, the fae are determined to trigger a war between their people – and the forces of order and chaos themselves.

Irene's mission to save Kai and avert Armageddon will take her to a dark, alternate Venice where it's always Carnival. Here Irene will be forced to blackmail, fast talk, and fight. Or face death.

The Masked City contains bonus extra content – secrets from the Library!

Continue the bookish magic with The Burning Page. Genevieve is also the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Scarlet - which reimagines the tale of the Scarlet Pimpernel, but with vampires, mages and magic . . .

Reviewed by wyvernfriend on

4 of 5 stars

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Irene has to rescue Kai, he's been abducted by the Fae in an apparent plot to start war, it's not a totally sanctioned action but her loyalty to Kai and her understanding of the far-reaching implications of a fae/dragon war on humanity override her caution. She has allies but also has enemies and it won't lack consequences for her into the next book.

I like this series, Irene has to work hard at getting her goals and be aware of the politics and implications and occasionally has to make some hard decisions, and she knows it. I'm looking forward to more.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 22 April, 2016: Finished reading
  • 22 April, 2016: Reviewed