#8: Django Wexler, The Forbidden Library (Forbidden Library #1)

[kareila]

Finally getting around to reading some other Django Wexler books while I wait for my hold on Siege of Rage and Ruin to arrive at the library. This is a juvenile series about a cabal of book magicians called Readers that remind me of the D'ni from Myst. They create and hoard magic books that can imprison magic creatures or lead to other worlds, and they can gain the powers of the imprisoned creatures by defeating them within their books. The Reader ability is rare, but the protagonist, Alice, discovers she has it when she is sent to live with an unfamiliar relative under mysterious circumstances. She encounters other Readers and magical creatures who each have their own hidden agenda, and she doesn’t really know who to trust. It’s clear that she is going to become unusually powerful, but will she be able to stay true to herself in the process?

#9: Django Wexler, The Mad Apprentice (Forbidden Library #2)

[kareila]

"Alice can easily lose herself in a book. It's getting out that's dangerous."

Six months later, Alice's magical training is interrupted by the news of a death among the elder Readers, a murder apparently committed by the Reader's own apprentice. Tradition dictates that a group of fellow Readers' apprentices should travel to the dead Reader's domain and bring the murderer to justice. Alice and five other apprentices are sent on what is supposed to be a straightforward task, but unexpected dangers lurk, and Alice will have to call on the strength of her most powerful magical allies to survive.