Irene is an unusual
librarian. Her job is to steal books and bring them back to the
library, a place located between alternate worlds. The librarians are
tasked with finding and retrieving special books that will be kept in
the library for the librarians to study.
After successfully
completing a difficult assignment, Irene is hoping for some rest.
However, her supervisor, Coppelia, has other plans. Irene no sooner
sends an email to Coppelia telling her of the successful completion
of her mission than she receives a reply telling her to prepare for
another top secret assignment and to get ready to receive an
inexperienced trainee. Kai, the trainee, turns out to be quite a
handsome young man, and Irene begins to think that having him along
may not be so bad. On their way to get more particulars on the
mission, they meet Bradamant, a beautiful librarian who tries to take
over the assignment and the trainee.
The assignment lands
the pair in an alternate version of London in the Victorian era with
magical creatures and filled with chaos. Here the pair meet Vale, a
detective, and start off on a search for the book of Grimm's
Fairy-tales that becomes far more dangerous than Irene envisioned.
If you enjoy fantasy
liberally laced with mystery, this is a wonderful book. Irene and Kai
are likable characters, although Irene seems quite bossy at times,
and Kai's background is mysterious. Vale is reminiscent of Sherlock
Holmes but stands out as a unique character. Altogether this is a
great cast of characters, including the wicked Bradamant.
The author makes the
alternate reality come to life. The writing is clear and the plot,
although somewhat unbelievable, is great fun.
I received this book
from Penguin for this review.
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