Looking at my book list, it appears that I've read the first three books in this series and accidentally skipped ahead to the seventh. The fact that I didn't immediately realize that probably says something. There was one character I wasn't familiar with, but the other character relationships felt the same and the goals of the characters seemed to be the same too.

I started reading this book and just kind of drifted away from it. I'd describe it as sort of Whovian- there are alternate dimensions that our heroes travel through and there are lots of episodic hijinks, capers, and action scenes. It's fun and light, but just not what caught my attention at the time. I'll probably leave this series until I need something like that again.

Although her writing style remains tight and enjoyable, the books seem to be relying more heavily on intrigue and drama and less on character interplay, which I really enjoyed.

Irene is a Librarian, which is to say that she is a spy for the Library - gathering special books from other locations, including alternate worlds and realities. Irene has been doing this for a number of years and is now teaching an assistant, a Fae, the ins and outs of being a Librarian. Due to Irene's success as a spy, however, there are many, many others out there looking to assassinate her. She and her assistant, Catherine, only narrowly escape an assassination attempt (it doesn't hurt that Irene's boyfriend, Kai, is a Dragon) and Irene decides that Catherine might as well learn this part of being a Librarian first-hand.

A good defense is knowledge and Irene and Catherine (and Kai) will do what they do best being Librarians ... research. They must uncover who it is who is looking to have them killed, and why. But in doing so, Irene will have to dig into her own past, which is something she has avoided until now.

This is the 7th book in the Invisible Library series, and before you even think about reading this volume you really probably should have a better of understanding of the characters and the world this is set in.

I found this book to be a little ... 'off' ... from the rest of the series that I've read. There was still a lot of action and adventure and cool fantasy things going on (let's face it, use of The Language is a really great concept) but the story here didn't have the feel of being a part of a larger story arc the way most of the other books did. This felt like it could easily have been any fantasy story that was slightly adapted with these characters and world in mind, whereas my recollection is that the other books felt uniquely suited to the Invisible Library.

The character of Catherine has a lot of potential. She's the niece of Lord Silver and while a teenager and maybe not as enthusiastic about training with Irene as one would hope, this feels very much like a set-up for future books and she certainly makes a nice counterpart to the ambitious Irene and her partner, the Dragon Kai. But this feels a lot like establishing the character so that she can be used more efficiently in future books.

We're seven books in to the series now, and this is a series that I've recommended successfully to others, but this is probably my least favorite of the Invisible Library books that I've read. But how do you not read it if you are reading the series? If you skipped this one, you might wonder who Catherine is in the next one?

This is not a book to recommend on its own, but I do recommend the series.

Looking for a good book? The Dark Archive is the seventh book in Genevieve Cogman's Invisible Library series. This volume appears to act as a 'reset' for a future storyline and as part of the series it's worth reading.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Dark Archive is the seventh book in The Invisible Library series. In this fantasy series Librarians of the Invisible Library pursue their assigned missions in the multiverse, collecting and preserving rare books, frequently by stealing them. They also work to protect the worlds and preserve the balance between the chaotic Fae and the hyper-rational Dragons.

The book opens with a brief summary of the main character Irene Winter's current situation in the form of a letter from Senior Librarian Coppelia. Irene's friendship with Detective Peregrine Vale, in a Victorian-era world's London where he essentially is Sherlock Holmes, has led to multiple kidnappings and assassination attempts. Irene has requested permission to take a teenage Fae as her new apprentice, but no Fae has ever managed to enter the Library (and she would pose a security risk if she succeeds).

The plot immediately begins with Irene and Vale fighting for their lives against mind-controlled Navy men in underwater tunnels. After defeating them through Irene's Language-based magic, Irene finds a portal to a futuristic world and discovers that Lord Guantes, a Fae enemy she had killed in a previous book, has somehow returned to life only to die again in front of Irene, leaving a warning as his final words.

Meanwhile, Irene's former apprentice (and current lover) the Dragon Prince Kai, and Irene's current apprentice Catherine are conducting a secret meeting to purchase a rare book for the Library when their waitress says she just poisoned them. They still purchase the book and escape with Irene's help (via zeppelin naturally) in time for them to find a cure. Gradually, as they survive fires, threats, werewolf kidnappings, assassins, and more (at times the book seems almost like The Perils of Pauline) they learn that the real mastermind behind Lord and Lady Guantes is someone Irene has dealt with in earlier books, a former librarian who uses the Language for evil.

By this point, Irene, a survivor of six previous novels, has been kidnapped, escaped death, and saved the various worlds so many times that she is more than a little jaded. Cogman deals with this in three main ways. First, she has introduced a naive apprentice, Catherine, the niece of Fae spymaster Lord Silver, who just wants to be a regular librarian who reads and recommends books. Catherine is constantly surprised that, instead of a serene life of reading and study, the Invisible Library calls on its Librarians to spend far more time acting as spies, detectives, thieves, and action heroines. Second, the author teams up past villains to present Irene with a greater challenge than a single opponent. And third, Cogman takes full humorous advantage of having a more experienced heroine with lines like "It was a sad commentary on Irene's life that, on waking up in chains, her first thought was Oh no, not again." Even her Librarian superior has to remind her that "having half a dozen werewolves try to snatch you out of your cab is not normal."

Although the seventh volume of a continuing series, Cogman puts enough background details into The Dark Archive that new readers can understand what is happening. But such readers will have missed a lot of fun in the previous volumes. I recommend readers start with the first book, The Invisible Library. All the books in this series are quick reads with lots of excitement and action paired with a deft, light tone. The books are enjoyable romps, not deep but with enough characterization to make readers care about the people and enough background to keep things interesting.

Readers who enjoy a capable and snarky heroine who succeeds as much through her wits as her magic will enjoy The Dark Archive and the whole series.

This book was nothing special. It was the like the rest sorta a good read but weird dialog and human reactions. But it had excellent world building so that sorta balances the plot. . Almost enough to.make it a good read.

If you've enjoyed the previous 6 installments of the Invisible Library series, this book will not disappoint. Be prepared for an epilogue that will leave you longing for more. Irene and Kai are back, as well as Catherine, the fae librarian. The action scenes bring assassination attempts, disappearing doors, and more, all within the initial chapters. This book would be easy to spoil, so I won't say much about the reveal. Don't attempt this one by itself, it builds on the previous worldbuilding that takes place in earlier books.

Fast Paced and full of action. Once again old enemies are out to bet our friends from the Library. As they are drawn into another mystery and as people are again trying to kill them they have to move fast to stop disaster. In the end another mystery appears - one just for us the readers.

The Dark Archive is the seventh book in this series, and I didn't realize that when I requested, so I read the entire series in preparation. At the end of the sixth book, I felt fatigued at this series, but The Dark Archive came along and breathed new life into this series.
Irene's position as a spy for the Library and as a representative of the treaty between the Fae and the Dragons have her dodging an assortment of assassination atttempts that doesn't just place her life in jeopardy, but the lives of everyone she cares about. When she discovers who is behind the attempts on her life, Irene discovers old enemies of her past have returned and teamed up in a dastardly plot that could destroy the fragile piece between the worlds that she has worked so hard to preserve. But to defeat her enemies once and for all, Irene must decide what lines she is willing to cross and who she's willing to betray to survive, and whether she can bear the truth that the secrets of her past will reveal.
I didn't have super high hopes for this book as I didn't enjoy the book before it, but The Dark Archive took me by surprise by being everything I loved about the first 3 books. I haven't enjoyed this series quite as much after the Alberich storyline came to an end in book 3, and I am delighted that that storyline has made a return in this book. I love the intrigue and the mystery between the connection and villain/hero relationship between Irene and Alberich, and there's a twist towards the end of this book that I really really loved and that reinvested me into this series. I enjoyed the ways Irene was challenged in this book, and the deeply personal those challenges were, forcing her to question everything she knows about herself and the Library. This book also has better pacing than the last 3 book in this series, the intrigue and the action capturing my attention from the start. As always with an Invisible Library novel, the world-building was impeccable, but this book was much more character driven than the best. The Dark Archive is a story about the lengths a person will go to for love, revenge and power, and how the journey to do so can test long-held truths we hold about identity and duty.

I am a fan of this series and though I have not read all of them I had no problem being able to immerse myself in this latest installment. Our usual cast of characters are again involved in mystery and intrigue but this time something is different. This time the dead seem reluctant to observe the niceties and stay dead. Lord Guantes has returned and so has his lovely wife. Creepy crawlies are creating deadly zombies, and plots to assassinate the treaty representatves are in the works. And just to make matters worse someone has an eye on our lovely Librarian and they are very interested in her capabilities indeed. Being popular is becoming more deadly by the day and when history begins to repeat itself its up for grabs exactly who is betraying who for what purpose. All roads lead back to the library and the Librarian.

Another great book in the series!
I loved this book from cover to cover.
Great plot with plenty of paranormal themes.
You need to start reading these series from book one. You won't be disappointed!!

This book was a phenomenal touch to this series! Everything I was expecting and a whole lot more. It was nice to revisit the world and characters i grew to know. Will highly recommend this book.

Irene and Kai have just survived securing a peace treaty between the Fae and Dragons. Kai is no longer her apprentice, and the Fae are up in arms about not having a Fae in the library. Fae is chaos-driven, so they’re complicated to bring into the library. Never the less Irene has been granted the opportunity to train Catherine and has two years to get her into the library. As a fae, Catherine takes on her narrative, and it is not seeing being a librarian as Irene the spy librarian does. She wants to be a librarian who shares and stores books in a library. Though I suspect by the end of the series, she will be changing and adapting that narrative.

As usual, irene is on a mission off to fetch a rare document, and Irene is tasked with the librarian who can do anything. While on a mission, some old enemies come to light under the control of a Dr. Bartumus rather odd experiments. Some science fiction added into our fantasy world where these experiments can take over bodies and clone them. The idea of an experiment attacking a central nervous system and controlling made for some exciting chapters.

As always is the case in this series, as we move through the book, we gather more clues about Irene’s past, and now that we know she was adopted, some real earth shattering truth bombs explode toward the end of the story. You need to pick this one up as it becomes an eye-opener to what we witnessed over the last few books.

This is a fantastic addition to the invisible library series! I absolutely adore Irene and Kai and loved seeing them "parenting" Catherine! I do wish there had been more group scenes together but I also love all the individual quests the characters went on. ALSO who know that villian was coming back?? I knew it and I loved the twist so much. Can't wait to read the next one!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing an arc for an honest review!

I will continue to read everything Genevieve writes! I love her storytelling and character arcs. Fairies, dragons, and libraries, oh my! It's just wonderful. I'll be sad to see the series end.

Genevieve Cogman continues the high fantasy Invisible Library series with The Dark Archive. Irene, the Librarian, is teaching her fae apprentice Librarian skills when she falls down the rabbit hole of assassination and kidnapping attempts against them and her ally the dragon Kai. She discovers Alberich the traitor Librarian and other evil actors are trying to subvert the treaty between Dragons and the Fae. Danger, intrigues and books. What a great combination.

I received a free copy for review from NetGalley. I have really enjoyed this series, and they are generally delightful. There's just something about an action Librarian that really appeals to me, and this book does not disappoint. From the very beginning, Irene and her crew of dragons, fae, vampires, and detectives hit the ground running with the action, and the mystery literally begins with a bang. The story is well paced, and the characters are given enough time to show some new facets of their personalities. While the mystery was not completely surprising, the variety of adventures the characters encounter kept the story going. There is a good twist at the end, and I cannot wait to see what the next book holds.

I loved this latest addition to Cogman's Invisible Library series! There was quirkiness, wit, and a return of our favourite group of characters. And I thank god that I don't work with Irene. While I've definitely muttered "I didn't become a librarian for this" it has never been because of murder.

The Dark Archive picks up fairly quickly after events of the previous book and readers are immediately thrown in the action as our indomitable heroes have all been experiencing assassination attempts, except, quite curiously, for Irene. After the return of an old foe, Irene and co. find themselves embroiled in another intrigue with the fate of the Library-Fae-Dragon treaty on the line.

The novel moves at a breakneck pace with much to love for those who enjoy action-based stories. For me, what I really loved about this novel was the author's choice to include more from Kai's perspective. I love shifting point of views and for me, this really made The Dark Archive all the more entertaining.

Given the revelations at the end of the book, there is no way that I won't be back for the next (and final?) book in the series.

In my review of the last book, The Secret Chapter, I hoped we'd see more of Vale in the next book and while Vale was in this book, I'd still like more of him. Maybe he needs his own short story. Although, he did provide a crucial revelation late in the book. It was one I'd already guessed but it was good to see it out in the open, and whoo boy, it is going to have ramifications. One thing about these stories is they are not stagnant; every book moves the overall series arc along. Developments in one book are seen and felt in the following books. Cogman is an incredible plotter; details are rarely unimportant or minor. She reminds me of Seanan McGuire in that regard. They both build complex, rich worlds where events have consequences and everything matters, nothing is unimportant.

In addition to the usual cast of Irene, Kai, and Vale, we see Inspector Singh but not Lord Silver. I actually missed him. Silver's niece Catherine, however, is Irene's new apprentice and ooo, she was annoying; so rude, and impatient, and entitled. I warmed up a bit during the story but she's not a favorite, not yet. We also have the return of several villains who kept Irene and companions busy trying to stay alive and mostly unharmed. It felt, this time around, as if Irene and gang were more reactive than proactive and when they were proactive, things did not go according to plan. Although, to be fair, they rarely do. Irene's life is spy first, then thief, then librarian, something that Catherine complains about extensively. Being a Librarian is not what she had imagined. Honestly, it's a lot more exciting that I ever expected, lol.

The story was exciting, with lots of action, some twists, intriguing characters, and politics, though less of that than usual. The epilogue was full of twists and I am anxious for the next book to see how they play out. I expect it will play out over several books. Cogman is keeping the series fresh and interesting. I'm looking forward to more.

Librarian and spy Irene, her new Fae assistant, friend and Detective Vale, and her lover and dragon Prince Kai have had repeated attempts upon their lives. When those attempts escalate to include kidnapping they must do everything to find out who’s responsible, including unlocking secrets that could change their lives forever.

The above synopsis is a bit short but is the gist of the novel. What it leaves out are all of the murder attempts, escapes, and revealing conversations. The only certain thing for Irene is that she doesn’t want anything to happen to those she cares for and she’ll upend multiple world to keep them from harm.

The Dark Archive is not fluff or filler in the storyline of Irene’s life, instead we find out some of the delicious details that we’ve been dying to know. How is Kai’s standing in his family, does Silver’s niece really want to be a librarian or is this just part of a Fae plot, and who are really Irene’s parents? We have been leading up to some of these answers for quite a while and whereas I like a good adventure as much as the next reader I was getting tired of being led by a carrot through multiple books. In The Dark Archive, we finally find out the answers and unfortunately that leaves me little to talk about in this review. What I can say is that this novel was interesting, it was filled with multiple twists, and Irene and Kai’s relationship seems to include a lot of feelings that Irene may be slightly uncomfortable revealing. After all, she is a spy and needs to keep some things close.

If you’re a fan of this series you’re not going to be felt let down by this novel. Finally, you’ll receive some of the answers you’ve been looking for, but unfortunately this series is not wrapped up yet. Or is that fortunately? Hmmm. In any case, this is not the end for Irene, Kai and her friends. There are more secrets yet to be revealed!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this ARC through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

The Invisible Library series could also be titled, “The Perils of Irene” – without any sort of a stretch at all. Irene’s adventures aren’t just “out of the frying pan into the fire” but frying pans and fires all the way down. Until the last jump lands Irene (and company) straight into a pit where it’s always darkest just before things turn completely black. Then a light shines at the end of the tunnel and it’s always an oncoming train.

Which Irene and her friends manage to board and escape – only to have both the train and the station it crashes into transform into another frying pan and another fire. Each and every one bigger and hotter than the last.

And so it goes with this seventh book in the series, as Irene and her friends are still dealing with the fallout from the previous adventure in The Secret Chapter, only to discover that the mess that they thought they’d wrapped up hasn’t really begun. It’s just moved itself to a new home. Theirs.

Irene’s adventures tend to be caper stories. Well, they at least begin as caper stories. The opening scenes are of Irene sent somewhere questionable and doing something slightly dodgy, in order to “acquire” a book that the Library needs and that Irene has been ordered to get.

Sometimes (rarely) Irene’s methods of acquisition are on the relatively up and up – either an exchange of money or an exchange of more-or-less above board favors. When this story begins, Irene is in Guernsey in her analog of Victorian London intending to buy a copy – or possibly THE copy, of Le Morte de Merlin by Thomas Malory. (If the title sounds familiar, that’s because it’s this particular world’s foundational book of the Arthurian legends – except they’re based around Merlin instead. As if Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave were both rare and historical canon.)

Howsomever, as so often happens in the parts of Irene’s life that we are privileged to witness, the slightly clandestine but otherwise above board goes pear-shaped. The meeting place is attacked, the sellers are assassinated and Irene and her new apprentice escape the clutches of evil by the skin of their teeth – WITH the book firmly in hand.

While the beginning of this story is far from atypical for the series – and very much part of the reason that I love it so much – the farrago of death, danger and derring-do that Irene and her friends find themselves in this time turns out to be a walk through some very dark places.

Because it’s not just a book or even the future of the Library that’s at stake this time. What opens as just another one of Irene’s “little” adventures turns out to be the opening act in a fight for her very soul.

Escape Rating B: This turned out to be more of a mixed-feelings read than I was expecting. Because I absolutely adore this series and have been waiting all year for this book, so I expected to fall into instantly and love every minute of reading it.

But, but, but, it took me a while to get stuck back into Irene’s world, longer than usual. That may partly be ‘tis the season as well as ‘tis the year 2020 and everything is weird. I think it was also that the opening of this story reads like so many of the other books with tiny variations, that it felt like it started a bit in the middle – as in the opening is very dependent on events in the previous book – and that this book represents a change in direction for the series – or at least an expansion in scope as well as a contraction in focus – and it took a bit to switch from just another caper to “the end of the world as we know it” to “the end of Irene’s world as she knows it”. Which is not the same thing at all.

Also, Irene spends a lot of this story not just being reactive instead of proactive – because that’s normal – but because she’s reacting in confusion and obfuscation to the point where I as the reader felt more confused and obfuscated than I either liked or expected. Irene has a reputation for “getting shit done” but spent the beginning and middle of this book flailing around and worrying about her new apprentice instead of just dealing with shit.

At least it felt that way.

Then all of the various enemies’ schemes collapsed into (finally) one big ball of wrong instead of a whole lot of bouncing little balls of wrong and the whole story took flight even as Irene’s life crashed and burned.

The ending pushes the whole story off the original “light” rail and onto a much deeper and darker track. It’s going to be marvelous and probably heartbreaking and I can’t wait until this time next year when we’ll probably (hopefully) get book 8 in the series.

One final note, when I saw the title of this entry in the series, it sounded familiar – only because the title is oh-so-similar to another book that came out this fall, written by a real-world librarian and archivist. That similarly titled but not similar in subject book is Dark Archives: A Librarian’s Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin by Megan Rosenbloom. You’d think it wouldn’t be remotely relevant. But it sorta/kinda is in a much creepier way than I could ever have expected.

Read this series, starting with The Invisible Library, and you’ll see.