The Secret Chapter

The Secret Chapter is the sixth book in Genevieve Cogman's Invisible Library series, which follows the adventures of Librarian Irene Winters (spy, book thief, alternate world traveler). When a world Irene holds dear is threatened, she ends up being recruited for a heist. She'll be given the book that can save it: if she and the team successfully steal a gargantuan painting from a museum with top-notch security.

This series is a lot of fun, and I felt that although this didn't quite have the same charm as the first four books, it also was better than the previous book. There's a villain lair, run-ins with criminals, a heist, and some dragon secrets...

3 1/2 stars (7/10)

Full Review on My Website

Every new book in the Invisible Library always brings me delight and it was no different since the time I got to know the series would be extended. And obviously receiving the ARC made me very happy. What a great way to have some fun on a weekend.

The one thing guaranteed in this series is that the story moves at a great pace, throwing one sticky situation after another at the characters, not giving them time to get complacent. This ensures that we as readers are always on our toes as well, worried what's gonna happen next and never wanting to keep the book down. As always, there is another heist this time but involving a larger crew and I enjoyed seeing the typical heist tropes used so effectively. We get a 80s style Bond villain who is the mastermind, a master thief, a muscle, a hacker and the one running the show on the ground. It felt like watching a movie with lots of twists, not being able to guess initially who might betray whom, but ultimately figuring it all out and delighting in the knowledge. We also get us a bit more allusion to the dragon's history which has been going on for the past couple of books now. And while I was enjoying an entertaining and predictable ride, the author completely blew my mind with the epilogue and I can only wonder what the long term consequences of those revelations are going to be.

Irene has always been a favorite character of mine and reading more about her only made me happy. While she is her smart, witty and resourceful self when trying to get out of tricky messes, I liked getting to know her a bit more personally this time around. Her dysfunctional relationship with her parents and being involved in a task which means something personal to her showed us a bit of introspective and vulnerable side to her, and it definitely made me appreciate her more for being the kind and loyal person she is.

We see that her relationship with Kai is going well but as we've come to expect, it's the slowest burn romance ever and I don't expect that to change anytime soon. We also get quite a few Fae and Dragon cameos from the previous books, so that was fun but I missed having Vale again. The rest of the heist crew was fun to follow as well, but mostly I enjoyed watching Irene try to work with such a diverse team and figure out how to handle each of their idiosyncrasies.

Finally, this is a thoroughly entertaining and sometimes predictable heist novel with an explosive ending and I promise you'll have fun reading it. If you're a fan of the series, then I would obviously recommend you to continue on this journey. If you have never read the Invisible Library series, but you love novels full of adventures and heists, supernatural creatures and an extremely smart Librarian protagonist, you should totally check this out. From the way the story ended, I hope we'll get to know a lot more about the Library's origins in the later books and I can't wait.

The Invisible Library series is truly something special. It has good mysteries to puzzle over, a sense of fun, likeable characters, great action scenes, and is aimed at those who appreciate the value of a good read. It also has universe-hopping book-collecting hero/spy librarians - which I view as always a good thing.

I was concerned whether the series could keep up the quality - especially considering the excellent mysteries and rip-roaring endings of the last few volumes - how to top that? Well the puzzles, humour and action shift in a fresh direction and from the very first few pages I was sucked in with a silly grin on my face.

Quality stuff. Bravo Ms Cogman!

Now the frustrating wait for Book Seven....

“Stories matter – telling them, sharing them, preserving them, changing them, learning from them, and escaping with and through them. We learn about ourselves and the world that we live in through fiction just as much as through facts. Empathy, perception and understanding are never wasted. All libraries are a gateway into other worlds, including the past – and the future.”It's been a while since I've read a book that featured a passage good enough for an opening quote. And the above passage is just from the Cogman's acknowledgements at the very beginning. Fortunately, the implicit promise given holds true for this sixth instalment of the series.Originally, I intended to give this book four stars, maybe mention it's more like 4.5 but when I thought about what's missing in this book for the fifth full star, I couldn't really think of anything. Yes, there's not much “philosophical depth” to be found in “The Secret Chapter” but when I contemplated that, I realised I'm perfectly fine with that - the entire series is a lot of fun and yet gives some food for thought and sometimes that's enough. “The Secret Chapter” is much like its predecessors: Irene's and Kai's dynamics are there and some of the others, e. g. Silver and Vale, are making an appearance. Vale, unfortunately, doesn't feature prominently in this book but considering what it's about, this makes sense.Because this time, Irene is sent to acquire a book by doing a Fae lord a favour by stealing a painting. Doesn't sound very exciting? Well, Irene needs the book to save an entire world; in fact, a world that used to be her safe haven in complicated times - she went to school there and it helped in lot in shaping her.Thus, a heist is planned in the vein of the heist films of old, e. g. “Rififi” or “The Sting”, with a gang consisting of Fae, Irene, Kai - and a rogue dragon! Starts sounding more interesting, eh?The job seems to go quite well up to a certain turning point at which an already suspenseful novel takes a turn into a fast-paced action thriller which is quite refreshing. Nevertheless, just as I would have hoped and expected, the aptly-named “The Secret Chapter” ultimately turns out to be much more than “just” a heist story or an action thriller.Satisfyingly, it succeeds as well in incorporating Irene's parents into the story in a good and believable way.As if all that wasn't enough, the trademark humour of the series is there as well:“‘Kai! There's been a palace revolution and the peasants are attacking!' Kai gave a deep shuddering sigh and finally opened his eyes properly. ‘Execute them all in the public square,' he mumbled, clearly still half-asleep.”If I had to find fault with this book, I'd probably point out that while Irene and Kai are obviously devoted to each other, there are reservations on both their parts. They keep secrets from each other and that's fine - we all do. The motivation is what counts, though, and at least Irene's reason to hold back is - at least in part - mistrust or maybe insecurity. I can't really define it but by the sixth book, I would have wished for more trust and intimacy.I also like Cogman's take on Brexit - especially in the grim light of the result of yesterday's (12.12.2019) general election in the UK:“‘The United Kingdom?' ‘Very strongly tied to Europe, which is why CENSOR has an English name and acronym. It did attempt to leave the European Union last year, but apparently that was prompted by demonic interference. A lot of politicians were subsequently tried for treason and beheaded at the Tower of London.'”While I don't condone the beheading, I certainly think the divisive short-sighted tactics of a certain hare-brained prime minister will lead to disaster for those who just elected him.Anyway, coming back to the book, it ends with a twist that I didn't see coming at all - a twist that isn't a big deal in an immediate or urgent sense but it has the potential to upset the precious balance that has only so recently been achieved among the worlds and factions. And yet, it all fits satisfyingly together naturally and in a strangely uplifting way. It's probably helped by the personal growth Irene shows at the end:“‘Mother, please, hear me out. If there's something I've learned over the last few years, it's that everything people do is important. I happen to have chosen this particular thing to do with my life, and I was lucky enough to have the choice.” Whole-heartedly recommended without reservation to any fan of the series; recommend with minor reservations to those who haven't read “The Secret Chapter”'s predecessors yet. You would miss out on a lot of minor things so go and read this entire series. “‘Life was much easier before I had to worry about everyone else worrying,' Irene muttered. ‘It's called growing up, dear. It comes with staying alive.'” Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram