Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books 
 Now that was fun! The Invisible Library is not a book with a large amount of heavy emotion or thought or character development, but it's a solidly crafted adventure story with appealing characters, in which book lovers run amok in an alternate universe where they have to deal with skin-stealing villains, cranky zeppelin pilots, and swarms of silverfish (eww). 
 There's no romance in this book although there are some flickers that make me wonder if love will grow in the sequel (The Masked City will be published on September 6, 2016 in the US). I found the lack of romance to be somewhat refreshing given that everyone is really too busy for romance to develop. This is not stopping me from madly shipping Irene with Vale, the detective. 
 Very little of the book takes place in the Library, possibly because reading about people reading is not as exciting as reading about sword fighting with cyborg alligators in a ballroom. I would have liked a bit more time in The Library, though. Given the fact that not only is it a vast repository of rare books but it's also a place where many people live for decades, what is it like? Is there a cafeteria? How's the food? Do people have apartments? Do they fight over space? The fact that we leave the Library setting about two minutes after the book starts seems like a missed opportunity. Frankly, fantasy worlds that are infused with magic and with a steampunk sensibility are a dime a dozen, but Libraries that are also homes to what I assume are hundreds of people are rare. 
 While I genuinely loved the characters and concepts of the book, it's played strictly for fun adventure. This isn't a philosophical book. There's some character development, but it's not huge. It's basically just an excuse to have smart people fight cyborg alligators in a ballroom and werewolves in a museum. Luckily during the week that I read this book I was stressed out so it was just what I needed. It's smart, well-written fluff and I ate it up with a spoon. I am avidly waiting for the sequel. 
 - Carrie S.