Review: The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman

Title:  The Masked City
Author: Genevieve Cogman
Genre: fantasy
Publisher: Roc
Date:  September 6, 2016

When you work for a massive library that transcends space and time, the word librarian doesn’t really mean what the image usually evokes. This is heavy duty spy work rather than simply checking books in and out. Irene and Kai are both fully aware of the dangers inherent in working for the library. They have seen death up close more often than anyone really should. And though Irene and Kai may have succeeded in their previous library adventures, that doesn’t mean life will settle back down into peaceful librarian status.  In fact, they are firmly in the middle of absolute chaos. They just don’t realize it yet.

But when Kai goes missing and Irene needs to let his family know, she realizes some of the dangers involved. His family are, after all, not only royalty. Kai is a dragon. More than that, the library is unable to officially help in the retrieval of Kai from this kidnapping. So Irene must go it on her own.

Overflowing with adventure, mystery, intrigue and fascinating settings, The Masked City picks up beautifully where the Invisible City left off. Without a bump in pacing at all, the story takes off and keeps running at a breakneck speed until the very last word. Literally. When I got to the end of this one, I went straight to Twitter to make sure Genevieve Cogman knew that I would be waiting, fingers tapping impatiently, for the next installment.

The characters in these books are fully developed, three dimensional, and FABULOUS. You will find no cardboard caricatures here that are attempting playing a role. Irene, Kai, and their oddly ragtag group of associates are wonderfully diverse, rich, and more than all of that, fun to follow. It’s nearly impossible to keep yourself from getting emotionally involved in their adventures. Much like the Invisible Library can transport you from world to world in a moment, cracking the cover of Genevieve Cogman’s books will do the same. You’ll find yourself in a variety of different worlds, each of them with their own cultures, mannerisms and mysteries. Irene must know and understand them all while trying to navigate through the plot around Kai’s kidnapping. But it’s worse than that. A war of massive proportions looms over them all if Irene isn’t able to find Kai and rescue him.

If you are a fan of mystery, adventure, science fiction or fantasy, you MUST own these books. You’ll want to dive into them again and again and again. Cogman’s worlds will challenge your imagination in the best way possible. Trust me when I say that these books ARE the books you’ve been looking for!

Now if you don’t mind, I’m  going to go sit in the corner and frantically tap my fingers in the most annoying manner until I’m able to get the next book. It’s supposed to be coming early 2017, but I’m hoping someone with Library connections might take pity on me.