Book Review – The Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman

12 January 2021 /
the dark archive cover

A mysterious archive. A powerful enemy. And a cunning plan.

Danger is part of the day job for a Librarian spy. So Irene’s hoping for a relaxing weekend. However, her jaunt to Guernsey proves no such thing. Instead of retrieving a rare book, she’s almost assassinated, Kai is poisoned and Vale barely escapes with his life. Then the attacks continue in London – targeting those connected with the Fae-dragon peace treaty.

Irene knows she must stop the plot before the treaty fails. Or someone dies. But when Irene and friends are trapped underground, in a secret archive, things don’t look so good. Then an old enemy demands vengeance, and a shocking secret is revealed. Can Irene really seize victory from chaos?

The Dark Archive is the seventh book in the Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman.

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My rating:

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
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I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

So this series is a rollercoaster of spying and intrigue from early on, but this book is definitely ramping up the action! I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it had less time for us to sit and rest and figure out what was going on.

Irene is thrown in at the deep end from the start, with a bombing attempt, and it continues from there. This is probably the book that is the least concerned with Irene’s “acquisitions” and more about the politics of the wider universes, especially for those who don’t like the treaty. We get to see factions on both sides who are unhappy, and the consequences of having signed it. We also get to see some things play out from earlier in the series that I think a number of fans like me will have been waiting for! Well played, Ms Cogman 😀

In addition, this time around we fold in Kai’s brother and Catherine, who actually both worked really well by representing the dragons and the fae more on page. Despite having a regular in Kai, his brother really brought to bear the wider dragon politics and sterner beliefs. And Catherine provided a much needed gentler fae experience, despite being caught up in wanting to play out her own story.

I’m really enjoying the action this brought, and the twists and revelations at the end. The next book can’t come fast enough. 4.5 stars.

Buy The Dark Archive from Waterstones.

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