Irene is a Librarian, but maybe not like what you would expect. She travels between worlds to collect rare books for the Invisible Library, an enormous, sprawling complex that exists at some intersection between the worlds. Returning from a taxing assignment, she's hoping for some down time before getting sent out again, but no such luck: her supervisor immediately sends her out with a trainee, Kai, on his first assignment. They're looking for a rare edition of a Brothers Grimm collection in a world tainted by Chaos, the natural enemy of the orderly Library. And things just get crazier from there...

I've been hearing about this series here and there for some time, and I was pretty sure I would enjoy it -- and I was correct! I love bookish fantasy, and this one has interesting settings and strongly written characters and a fast-paced plot. It got me through a long car trip, and then I had to keep listening until I finished up, because I was at a point where I didn't want to set it down. I'm pleased to note that it's a series, and have the second book already reserved for future listening. Recommended! ( )

3.5 stars
I almost loved it... and there were sections that I did love, but in the end there are other books in this genre that I will always prefer. ( )

I thought the premise behind why this particular book needed to be retrieved was quite clever and the potential for adventure on limitless alternate universes is exciting.

I think the reason I didn't give this more stars is because I enjoy dark and intense magic where this was almost playful.

The ending made me quite intrigued and I may read the next book to see if any of that darkness find it's way in to the series. ( )

Kui oleksin poolei jätnud, nagu vahepeal tundus, siis oleksin ühe pannud, aga kuna lugesin lõpuni, siis üldmulje kõvasti paranes. Samas polnud kahju käest panna ja järgi ilmselt ka ei loe.
Ma ei teagi, kas asi on selles, et ma ei armasta neid viktoriaanide aega säetud asju ja steampunki eriliselt ("Alaizabel Gray painaja" välja arvatud!).
Lugu polnud üldse halb ja tundub, et järjed võivad rohkem ulmekiri poole kalduda, kenasti oli vihjeid laiemale maailmale raamatukogude taga, mis edaspidi peaks rohkem lahti rulluma ja puha, aga ... tänan, ei. ( )

I'm going with the Goodreads rating "it was OK" because I did finish it but this is really not my kind of book. I'm annoyed by Steampunk and if I knew that was sort of a thing here I'd never even have started reading. Besides that, there's just too much else going on with secret language and vampires and dragons and whatnot. Just too much.

( )