The Masked City

The exciting new sequel to The Invisible Library starts off with Irene's usual task of acquiring a book – this time in a not so legal auction. Irene and Kai intend to find the persons who are trying to steal the book from them but before they do, Kai is kidnapped by the Fae. The remainder of the book deals with how Irene navigates the extreme chaos infested city of Venice where the lines between reality and fantasy are blurred and eventually rescues Kai, preventing a war between the dragons and the Fae in the process.

Irene was delightful in the first book but we get to know her more in this adventure. She is so brave, responsible and thinks quickly on her feet to get out of tricky situations. Her thoughtful words when dealing with Kai's royal uncle or the Fae kidnappers Lord and Lady Guantes are a treat to read. The innovative ways in which she uses the Language to help Kai and escape Venice is also very interesting. Irene is turning into a great literary heroine and hopefully, we will see her in more adventures in the series. There is not much to any of the other characters except some interesting conversations which are few and far between.

Overall, the book is an enjoyable adventure with a female protagonist we can root for and the multiple worlds in the series are quite fascinating. The only disappointment with the book is that we get to know hardly anything more about the Library and there is not much plot revolving around books (which is what I was really hoping for).