Review: Competence

Competence
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Accidentally abandoned!

All alone in Singapore, proper Miss Primrose Tunstell must steal helium to save her airship, the Spotted Custard, in a scheme involving a lovesick werecat and a fake fish tail.

When she uncovers rumors of a new kind of vampire, Prim and the Custard crew embark on a mission to Peru. There, they encounter airship pirates and strange atmospheric phenomena, and are mistaken for representatives of the Spanish Inquisition. Forced into extreme subterfuge (and some rather ridiculous outfits) Prim must also answer three of life's most challenging questions:
Can the perfect book club give a man back his soul?
Will her brother ever stop wearing his idiotic velvet fez?
And can the amount of lard in Christmas pudding save an entire species? 

I'm 99% sure that when I reviewed the previous book in this series, I was begging for there to be two new books?! Because originally...this was supposed to be a duology but Gail obviously heard my prayers and now we get two more books...and I couldn't be more thrilled! I think this series is my favourite after the original Parasol Protectorate series and I love the crew of the Spotted Custard! 

It would seem these next two books focus on Prudence's BFF Primrose rather than Rue herself, which I didn't actually realise. It's been a while since I read the other two and I had to scramble a bit to catch up and remember what the situation was! In an ideal world I'd have been able to have a nice little re-read! 

It was nice to get to see Prim front and centre this book and get to know her a bit better, she's Rue's partner in crime. I honestly really, really wanted to shake her throughout this book because she was being so blind and obtuse about Tash and even a bit rude honestly. It says a lot that Percy was the one talking sense, but I did like her journey of self discovery and coming to terms with who she really is as a person, and becoming less concerned with the done thing. I might not love her as much as Rue...I have to say. I did rather miss Rue's narrative voice. 

We get both Prim's POV and her brother Percy's, and Percy's was absolutely hilarious. I just found something about his narrative and his thoughts on the other characters completely hilarious. Plus he's relatable in the sense he's a book nerd and doesn't really like being around other people. He has to go to his library to recharge, as it where. 

All the characters I loved in the previous book are back, Tasherit the werecat who I really do love, she's such a badass and kind of adorable in her own little way. When she's not ripping people's throats out. I got to see my OTP Rue and Quesnel...I got all excited whenever I got to see a cute moment between the two of them, but it didn't stop me from wishing for more. They're going strong and they're still my favourite ship, but it did make me a bit sad we didn't get Rue's POV and get to see more of them. 

We also have Rodrigo. You might remember him from the previous book, he's Rue's cousin...casually tried to kidnap/murder her. He's now joined our gang and everyone is working to reform him via a book club. As you do. He goes from prisoner to finally being included as one of the crew, and it was nice to see that journey for him. He nearly killed Quesnel so I was a bit salty towards him for a while. But I did end up quite liking him. It was nice to see him get closer to Rue, they where quite alike in a few aspects! I also shipped him with Anitra a lot, and we got a lot more insight in to her because of it!  

The book is steadily paced as Prim saves the Spotted Custard by stealing some helium before they decipher a mission letter and head off to save a species of vampires that's dying out and is the last of its kind. Fat sucking vampires. That's definitely a new one. I kinda wish they existed. 

Gail does us a solid with the LGBTQ rep, we have an F/F romance, and a trans character. This book explores sexuality really well, and we see Prim struggling with her identity and sexuality and it was really well done, especially in this kind of setting. I loved seeing this kind of diversity in the book and Carriger certainly explore it thoroughly. My one issue is that while we got all of this, it seemed to be the main focus of the book, as such this book mostly focused on the romance. I was expecting this combined with the usual adventure, excitement and additional world building. But some of these things seemed to slip as the focus was on the romance. 

I really do love how well Carriger merges all of these elements, and like I said...I was excited to see so much diversity and representation in the book...it just seems like other things where lost as a result of it instead of it being in combination with everything else I usually love about the books. I also think it took me a while to warm up to Prim and I still didn't quite love her as much as previous leading ladies in Carriger's books. She also got my back up a bit when she seemingly made a couple of digs at Rue. I usually blitz through her books in one read but it did take me a while to finish this book because a lot of the time there was Prim faffing about being a ninny about things rather than anything actually happening. We spent a lot of time on the journey to Peru, and then everything in Peru was wrapped up rather quickly. 

I was excited to se how Peru looked in the world of this book, with the supernaturals, as it's probably the closest I'll ever get to actual Peru, but I was a bit sad we didn't get to see more of it. The setting was vividly described and as usual the historical detail was mind blowing, I can't imagine the kind of odd and random things Gail had to Google/enquire about at the library in order to get everything spot on. I also enjoy reading about how the Spotted Custard works too! I can't imagine keeping all this kind of information in my brain. 

The usual sense of adventure does lack a bit, but there are bursts of action, the usual doses of humour, and a heavy amount of romance along with the new ships we get to ship! Carriger excellently explores identity and sexuality and provides plenty of diversity, plus there's a nice little twist at the end that heralds everything coming full circle in the final book and presumably wrapping up! I'm hoping for a return to Rue's narrative, and a return to the usual excellent mix of elements we usually get from Carriger, as the one disappointment was plot being forgotten to focus on romance. 

Review: The Iron Wyrm Affair

The Iron Wyrm Affair 
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Emma Bannon, forensic sorceress in the service of the Empire, has a mission: to protect Archibald Clare, a failed, unregistered mentath. His skills of deduction are legendary, and her own sorcery is not inconsiderable. It doesn't help much that they barely tolerate each other, or that Bannon's Shield, Mikal, might just be a traitor himself. Or that the conspiracy killing registered mentaths and sorcerers alike will just as likely kill them as seduce them into treachery toward their Queen. 

In an alternate London where illogical magic has turned the Industrial Revolution on its head, Bannon and Clare now face hostility, treason, cannon fire, black sorcery, and the problem of reliably finding hansom cabs. 

The game is afoot...

I see from GoodReads that I'm one of the few who actually really enjoyed this book?! I read a previous series by the author and it's very different from this so I was curious when I was sent this steampunk offering! I do love a bit of steampunk as you all know and I found this to be brilliantly written, and original. 

I was intrigued from the start of the book, and the book clips along at a fast pace. There's plenty of action to go with the intrigue and never a dull moment. I loved the world of the book, it's so easy to slip in to and to visualise the settings. The world is rich and fascinating and has the history to match it. I'm so curious about the history to the world and I need to know more! It's such an original and unique world, with plenty of quirks on the London we all know and...kind of love. Sometimes. When it's not rush hour. Among other things. 

I really enjoyed our cast of characters, I thought they had depth and where fascinating. I loved Emma, she doesn't take anyone's crap. She's strong and she's very proper and she's kinda badass. She's a Prime Sorceress as she's quite fond of pointing out over and over again. Her particular distinction is towards the...darker death side of magic. Emma's in charge and she very much knows what she's doing and what she's capable of, which made a nice change from the usual female MC's I've come across in books. I felt like we didn't get to know her quite so much as Archibald, but then I think Emma's supposed to be a bit of a mystery. I'm assuming some of her past is going to come out in a future book when they face off with the past. 

As for Archibald Clare, we got to know him quite well. He's a mentath and he's veeerrryyy Sherlock Holmes. He deduces a lot, and so Clare throws his thoughts out left right and centre, something Emma doesn't do so much. So we get a better grasp on Clare and his character and what he's like and so on. He's quite the opposite of Emma so I enjoyed watching them work together. He's very much like the Sherlock from the Robert Downey Jr movies and I wasn't surprised that was the authors inspiration. I loved that Clare wasn't afraid to get stuck in and get his hands dirty. Clare's point of view and his deductions, I found, gave us some additional insight in to Emma and her past and why she acts the way she does and so on, which I thought was an interesting way to let us get to know Emma rather than through her narrative. Like we get to know her, but not to the extent we get to know Clare.

While we only switch between Emma and Archibalds POV's, there's a third main-ish character I want to mention. Mikal. He's Emma's only shield and they have a little something something going on, it became clear. They also have quite the history by the sounds of it. I am so curious about Mikal and his past, but then I'm curious about all the characters pasts, not just our main three, but some of the secondary characters too. I did like Mikal, he's protective of Emma, a little bit dangerous and very strong and silent. 

I totally ship Emma and Mikal but I was really surprised by the relationship between the two of them. I kind of assumed that any romance/relationship would be between Emma and Archibald, but nope. I'm quite intrigued to see Emma and Mikal's relationship grow over the course of the next books because Emma's trying to fight any feelings she might have and Mikal may not even be aware of his. Plus there's their past. There's not any romance as such, I should point out, but rather it's pretty obvious Emma and Mikal like each other, and there's a little moment out of scene. 

I felt like the writing was authentic and rich, at points I did have to re-read because I'd lost something. Emma's point of view provides all the sorcery, and Clare as a mentath provides most of the steampunk aspects. He also talks everything out which was useful throughout the narrative. I enjoyed the switching between the two point of views because they each have a different personality and they each have different elements to their parts. The descriptions for the steampunk elements among other things where fantastic, the writing was vivid and imaginative. As I said the world is rich and the history is fascinating. The plot kept me engaged and intrigued, and it kept me guessing until the end with plenty of twists and turns. 

My one little gripe with this book is that I'm still so curious about the characters and their pasts. The book is fast paced and full of action, and I love that. But at some points as I was reading, past events particularly concerning Emma and Mikal, kept being mentioned and brought up. I'm not sure if I missed something completely, but I did feel at a point or two that I felt like I was reading a second book purely on that front. Because it was so obviously a first book, I was a bit confused. There where just so many allusions to past events that weren't fully explained unless I missed something, it was a bit frustrating at one point. I have a feeling we'll eventually find out as I'm sure there'll be a book that focuses on it. I just felt like it was a tad annoying as the book went on. 

All in all, I found this enjoyable and imaginative, and very original. I'm excited to see what adventure Emma and Archibald go on next, and I'm excited to see Emma and Mikal's relationship develop! 

Review: Swords and Scoundrels

Swords and Scoundrels 
Rating: 4/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Two siblings.
Outcasts for life.... together.
What could possibly go wrong?

Vocho and Kacha are champion duelists: a brother and sister known for the finest swordplay in the city of Reyes. Or at least they used to be-until they were thrown out of the Duelist's Guild.

As a last resort, they turn reluctant highwaymen. But when they pick the wrong carriage to rob, their simple plans to win back fame and fortune go south fast.

After barely besting three armed men and a powerful magician, Vocho and Kacha make off with an immense locked chest. But the contents will bring them much more than they've bargained for when they find themselves embroiled in a dangerous plot to return an angry king to power....

Okay you guys I'm going to be honest with you, the synopsis for this intrigued me so much but I was kinda side eying it a bit because of the title and cover. I wasn't too sure what to expect based on the two, but I kept coming back to the synopsis like...okay this sounds really awesome...and it was! I went in to the book excited to see what it was all about and to have some fun highwaymen hijinks! 

I was pulled in to the book from the beginning by the banter between Kacha and Vocho and the action and the atmosphere! I read this in one sitting because I couldn't find a good place to put it down! I loved the world of the book it was so original, there's clockwork guys and my brain then switched to Steampunk mode! Seriously, there's a Clockwork God, Clockers who have taken the place of Nobles, and the city is built on clockwork and the city changes as the cogs move and it was so awesome! The world of the book was vivid, and original and atmospheric, so I ended up getting pulled right in to the book! Plus there was a tonne of intrigue and mystery going on! 

There's a fairly intricate plot going on, with lots of different threads coming together both past and present. There's political unrest what with the whole, King wanting to be King again and needing to get the prelate out of the way thing, on top of all the intrigue and mystery! I got drawn in to what was going on, coming up with my own theories but mostly I was along for the ride and to see what happened next! There's plenty of action, and I loved reading all the fights, I got a Musketeers vibe from our little group as they fought their way through the book! I loved how some parts of the book where slightly dark but there was plenty of humour too! It was genuinely funny in parts, and I really loved Kacha and Vocho's banter with each other, it cracked me up more than once!

There's three different POVs, Vocho mostly, with Kacha and Petri thrown in to and I really loved this it gave some much needed insight in to each character, and what their motivation was. Petri in particular, it allowed you to get to know him and understand why he was acting the way he was. Plus it helped to add to the relationship between the two siblings, it showed their different sides of things. I really loved the interludes throughout the book, it was a great way to give us a look at Kacha and Vocho's past, how they grew up and so on, how they came to have the complex relationship they do. It also let us see Petri and Bakars past too and how things came to be where they where in the book in the present. It was all well woven together, and I think the changes in time where smooth and didn't upset the narrative. I loved getting the history and the backstory and the insight in to the characters in such an interesting way and it gave you some real OMG moments too! And then the multi POV's came in handy even more. 

I loved reading about the complex relationship Kacha and Vocho had. It's an integral part of the book, I don't have any siblings so I can't say if it was normal or not, but I found it fascinating. They where so protective and loyal of each other, and they both have ambitions and they're competitive to an extent. I loved how Kacha stuck by Vocho. I really liked Kacha, she was a badass, she fought hard to get where she is, she doesn't take any crap from anyone and she's so loyal to Vocho. The pressure she felt to be perfect for everyone was also very relatable. 

Vocho too is relatable, particularly his childhood with Kacha. I understood why he acted like he did, I've felt the same thing with another family member myself, the feelings like you're not good enough compared to that person. I got it and it made me feel for him. I understood why he acted like he did, even if sometimes I wanted to smack him upside the head because Kacha's his sister and she's so loyal to him! He kinda jumps in without thinking, there was such an air of mystery to him because at one point you're not sure what he's really like! Vocho is kind of a loveable idiot I think, and he's hilariously vain! But there's more to him than that. All the characters are complex, and I'm interested to learn more about them, as well as the world of the book, Dom and Petri just as much as Kacha and Vocho! 

Speaking of characters, there's plenty of other characters throughout the book that you come to either love or hate. On the hate front we have Licio, the Idiot King. Sabates, the Evil Magician, although he made a nice change from the usual "I'm magical and aloof because I'm magical" kinda bad guy. It was super cool and creepy how they used their magic! On the love side we have Cospel, poor suffering Cospel. Dom...oh Dom I want to know more about you. Dom isn't at all what he first appears, funny as he is in the beginning. I actually spent most of the book going "Come on Dom, mate, I really want to like you...don't screw it up now!". He didn't let me down in the end, in case you where wondering! Then there's Petri. I'm not sure how to feel about Petri. I kinda thought he was going to be the bad guy, but it was hard to dislike him because I got his motivations and related to it, and he seems to genuinely care about Kacha, he knew everything Vocho did and was protective of her. I'm not entirely sure if I ship them or not, because I'm still not entirely sure what went on with the note thing, because Petri seems genuinely confused about what he did and I don't think he's that much of an arse. Then there was the moment at the end! 

Swords and Scoundrels is a light fantasy, it's fun and has humour as well as it's dark moments. There's plenty of action and mystery, and a brilliant brother/sister duo and relationship to draw you in. The world is original and vivid, and that combined with the characters, action and plot will draw you in and keep you reading! I'm thinking I need to read the next two books in the trilogy ASAP to see what happens next, because it's far from over and the next book has been well set up! 

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Review: Retribution Falls

Retribution Falls 
Rating: 5/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy Courtesy of the Publisher, Gollancz! 

Sky piracy is a bit out of Darian Frey’s league. Fate has not been kind to the captain of the airship Ketty Jay—or his motley crew. They are all running from something. Crake is a daemonist in hiding, traveling with an armored golem and burdened by guilt. Jez is the new navigator, desperate to keep her secret from the rest of the crew. Malvery is a disgraced doctor, drinking himself to death. So when an opportunity arises to steal a chest of gems from a vulnerable airship, Frey can’t pass it up. It’s an easy take—and the payoff will finally make him a rich man.

But when the attack goes horribly wrong, Frey suddenly finds himself the most wanted man in Vardia, trailed by bounty hunters, the elite Century Knights, and the dread queen of the skies, Trinica Dracken. Frey realizes that they’ve been set up to take a fall but doesn’t know the endgame. And the ultimate answer for captain and crew may lie in the legendary hidden pirate town of Retribution Falls. That’s if they can get there without getting blown out of the sky.

"What happened to your last navigator?" 

"Found out he'd been selling off spare engine parts on the side. He navigated himself out the cargo door with the Cap'n's toe up his arse"  

Okay guys, I have a new favourite series/obsession and you're looking right at it! I have a steampunk shaped hole in my life now that there's no more Gail Carriger books in my life and this has filled it and then some! Not that it's anything like Gail Carriger's books, this is brilliantly unique in it's own right! I would have to describe it as what would happen if Pirates of the Caribbean went steampunk. I honestly got such POTC vibes when I was reading and not just from Frey! 

I loved this book from the first page, it immediately throws you in to the world of the book with some action, and you start to get a feel for two of our characters, as well as it being freaking hilarious, it makes you want to know more! You get the chance to get to know the world/settings and the characters before the next piece of action kicks off and it's a rich and intriguing world, it has to be said! I really want to see more of it! It's vivid and extensive and incredibly well described, it's kind of fascinating. 

The characters are an interesting bunch. They're a rag tag group and all of them have secrets and mysteries that are fun to guess at before the big reveal. I particularly loved Frey and Jez, not going to lie! Frey is the Captain, you kinda have to love him, he's a little like Jack Sparrow, and he had some brilliant character development from the start of the book, coming to care for his crew more than usual. Jez was mysterious from the start, I had so much fun trying to work out what her deal was and I was totally wrong, it's going to be interesting to see it play out but she's a complete badass, and intelligent and just brilliant. Crake was interesting, he's the Daemonist, he's kind of funny and you can't help but feel for him when his secret comes out. There's also Malvery...the drunken doctor, Silo who had a  really nice history with Frey and bond, and Harkins and Pinn the two outfliers, Harkins is a little bit of a coward, and Pinn has some little fantasy going on about becoming rich and wealthy and going back to his beloved, he kinda needed a smack. 

"Alright, spit on this place. Let's get out of here and stab some backs!" 

"That's the spirit" 

While she's not part of the crew, I have to mention Trinica because I wasn't really sure what to make of her in the beginning, but as I read more about her and her backstory, I felt for her and everything she went through, I'd be interested to see more of her because she comes across really strong. I loved the characters because they're all a bit of a flawed bunch, and it made them relatable and endearing, plus I loved watching them go from this group of people who kinda just got thrown together and weren't all that down with team work, to this group who had loyalty and camaraderie and ended up becoming a real Captain and Crew. 

Retribution Falls is atmospheric, fast paced, and sprinkled with intrigue as you get hints about the characters and their pasts. It's full of originality, and it's completely action packed thanks to all the various battles. There's a cutlass with a mind of it's own, a golem, sword fights, gun fights, air battles everything you can imagine would be in a steampunk adventure. There's also plenty of magic thanks to the daemonism, and there's even a secret pirate hideaway! Retribution Falls is kind of hard to put down because it's such a brilliant combination of action, adventure, humour and steampunk. There's brilliantly fun characters, including badass females, their relatable and flawed and you end up rooting for the lot of them so badly. I cannot even begin to describe just how funny this book is, but it had me in stitches when I wasn't snorting it and trying to control myself, the world of the book really does suck you in! 

It also has to be said that in the back of the book it explains the rules of Rake and how to play it, giving you a deeper understanding of some scenes, and there's a few pages featuring the log book of the Ketty Jay so you can see what happened before the book started in Frey's hilarious narrative! I honestly was kind of blown away by this book because I wasn't really sure what to expect but it's definitely become one of my new favourites, and I have a burning need to read the other books to see what mischief they're all going to get in to next. 

Review: Imprudence

Imprudence
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Orbit! 

London is in chaos.

Rue and the crew of The Spotted Custard returned from India with revelations that shook the foundations of the scientific community. There is mass political upheaval, the vampires are tetchy, and something is seriously wrong with the local werewolf pack. To top it all off, Rue’s best friend Primrose keeps getting engaged to the most inappropriate military types.

Rue has got personal problems as well. Her vampire father is angry, her werewolf father is crazy, and her obstreperous mother is both. Worst of all, Rue’s beginning to suspect what they all really are… is frightened.

When the Custard is ordered to Egypt, transporting some highly unusual passengers, Rue’s problems go from personal to impossible. Can she get Percy to stop sulking? Will she find the true cause of Primrose’s lovesickness? And what is Quesnel hiding in the boiler room?

Imprudence is one of those books that you fall in to and kind of start to assimilate with the world, so apologies in advance if I sound a bit more...elegant than usual. Shall we say? I am so completely, and utterly in love with Gail Carriger's books. I can't even begin to describe how utterly fantastic they are!  A few years ago, I fell in to an obsession with steampunk when I stumbled across a book at the library. That book was Soulless, the first book in the Parasol Protectorate series which is the series that comes before this one! To be fair, you most likely could get away with reading The Custard Protocol without having read PP, but it's much more fun if you do read PP! There's also the Finishing School series which I still need to read and prequels all of them! ANYWAY. I read all of the PP books in like....five days. So like...a book a day. I was bereft when it ended, and went through a fair few steampunk books but as much as I loved some of them...they could never quite match up to the writing in Carriger's book, to the imaginative world that sucks you in. 

The book carries on from the last book fairly swiftly, we've now made it back to England and Rue is in a smidgen of trouble with our Queen. Oops? Things are starting to get tricky as plot lines from PP start to come in to play among others! That's the thing I love about these books, the plots are always complex, there's a couple of threads, with lots going on, that all weave together and you always end up being surprised. I don't know what I was expecting in this book, but at the end when the pursuers are revealed? It definitely wasn't the incredibly....creepy gentleman. Carriger takes care to make the two series interweave, when you read PP you're aware of something looming in the future and in this book it finally comes in to place and I feel like two of the PP characters have been brilliantly resolved, although I'm hoping to see them again! 

I love getting to see all of the characters I loved from PP, Biffy, Alexia, Lord Maccon, Akeldama, Floote, Quesnel all grown up and so on. We get to see how they're getting on and what's been going on with them and there are mentions of other characters as well, like Ivy and Genevieve! In Quesnel's case it's a chance to see more of him as he's more of a main character than in PP and like I said, he's all grown up now! But as well as the old characters there's a whole host of new characters! Spoo, Virgil, Tasherit, Percy and Primrose being a few. I'm kind of iffy with Aggie! Carriger brings old and new characters together perfectly, giving the old a presence without taking over from the new, and each of her characters is so lively and interesting and brilliantly brought to life with depth and heart and....I just love the characters okay! 

I love Rue, I love her general personality, she doesn't back down easily, she'd not afraid to jump right in to things, and she doesn't dwell on her status in the country as a metanatural and the negativity that goes with it, she's daring and courageous and bold. She's basically a hell of a lot of fun to read about as she narrates through all these crazy adventures, I love how she's determined to kill with kindness as it where with Aggie and I adore her friendship with Prim, and the banter the two share. They really are the perfect pair! I live for their scenes together! I find it very intriguing to see the relationship Rue has with all three of her parents, considering how she had to be raised, and while it's true to character, her relationship with Alexia did make me a little sad, but it also made me chuckle. 

I also completely love Quesnel! He's completely adorable, although I doubt he'd relish being called that. He's just so laid back and flirty and likes to have fun and then when it comes to Rue he's just....adorable. Protective but still let's her do her own thing...after much shouting and gesticulating. I ship Rue and Quesnel so badly, I can't lie, I did since Prudence and in this book I was waiting for things to develop and I fangirled a lot because I love the two of them together, and there where obstacles in the way, and I wanted to bash their heads together because of all the ridiculous fuss from the two being so blind...but I got such intense warm and fuzzies once or twice, I'm trying to decide if I may or may not love them more than Alexia and Conall! 

Imprudence is hugely entertaining, and has plenty of moments that have you chuckling, as well as a few heartbreaking moments like with the pack, and the parasol pledge. It's got a good mix of emotion and ends up being rather like a rollercoaster ride, but then I did read this book mostly in one day, after re-reading Prudence of course because why not?! I love how original the book is, the world Carriger has created, the history and lore to it, the characters and so on. It's incredibly immersive and once you started reading you fall in to the world, everything is so vivid and the author paints a picture with her words. It's an incredibly rich world, one you can't help but wish you could visit. 

It's incredibly well researched, the historical bits that is! And it's obvious from the little details thrown in here and there that make the book so authentic, along with the writing style! I love how Carriger writes these books, the authentic writing, amusing narrative, complex twists and turns and research all combined with many other elements to bring you a unique and hugely engrossing read. The descriptions of the devices and gadgets are spot on so you get an idea for how they look and how they function, and they bring your imagination to life. The book is mostly set on a dirigible and there's a great amount of detail to how it works without overloading you with tonnes of information, it creates an authentic setting and has you feeling like you're right there with the characters. Honestly the attention to detail is amazing! 

Imprudence is a brilliant continuation of The Custard Protocol and I'm excited to see where our crew are going to head next and what trouble they will get themselves in, especially considering the ending of this book! (The rather unladylike words 'effing Templars' may have been muttered). I'm intrigued to see what's going to happen with certain characters and their relationships, Prim for one, Rue another! I'm hoping the wait won't be too long because I'm always sad to leave this world! Plus I have a burning desire to know more about things that a character knows, that even we don't know from the PP books! There's just so much more of this world left to be explored, more of the characters to get to know, and more relationships to cheer on. Things where wrapped up rather nicely, but there's still some things left to intrigue...to make you wonder. I really, really, desperately need the next book! I've come over all bereft! 

Genuinely, I can't even begin to tell you guys how much you should read these books, wether you're a steampunk fan or not, they're a great place to start if you're looking to get in to steampunk books! They're just so brilliant, and they really stand out from other books and please do yourself a favour and check them out! This series just gets better and better and I'm always so excited to see where it's going next! 

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Review: Immorality Engine

The Immorality Engine
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Titan! 

On the surface, life is going well for Victorian special agent Sir Maurice Newbury, who has brilliantly solved several nigh-impossible cases for Queen Victoria with his indomitable assistant, Miss Veronica Hobbes, by his side. But these facts haven’t stopped Newbury from succumbing increasingly frequently to his dire flirtation with the lure of opium. His addiction is fueled in part by his ill-gotten knowledge of Veronica’s secret relationship with the queen, which Newbury fears must be some kind of betrayal. Veronica, consumed by worry and care for her prophetic but physically fragile sister, Amelia, has no idea that she is a catalyst for Newbury’s steadily worsening condition.
Veronica and Newbury’s dear friend Bainbridge, the chief investigator at Scotland Yard, tries to cover for him as much as possible, but when the body of a well-known criminal turns up, Bainbridge and Veronica track Newbury down in an opium den and drag him out to help them with the case. The body clearly, irrefutably, belongs to the man in question, but shortly after his body is brought to the morgue, a crime is discovered that bears all the dead man’s hallmarks. Bainbridge and Veronica fear someone is committing copycat crimes, but Newbury is not sure. Somehow, the details are too perfect for it to be the work of a copycat. But how can a dead man commit a crime?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...I freaking love this series! It's like a steampunk Sherlock Holmes, with Veronica the Watson to Maurice's Holmes. Each book gets better and better as more and more is clearly going on outside of the respective cases of the book. 

The Immorality Engine is atmospheric right from the opening, as soon as you start reading you can feel the fog closing in, everything takes on a slightly darker tinge, you can hear the rain and smell the not entirely pleasant smells of London. You fall in to the book and remain there until the very last page. 

The opening this time was a bit different than usual as we start off in the future, then go back several days. The time jump was brilliantly done, the opening however was a little bit grim. To quote Newbury "The soft loam sucked at his boots, thick and oozing, as if trying to pull him down in to its slick, waterlogged depths, down amongst the corpses and the coffins of the dead." You can see why the book pulled me in to the book, with writing like that! The opening had me panicking a bit actually, being a huge fan of the books! I should have known better than to panic, but panic I did! I had a horrible sense of foreboding and dread for the entire book, a sense that increased steadily the closer we got to the climax of the book, I knew nothing good was going to happen and I was heart broken by the opening. But like I said...I should know better by book three! All is not as it seems in this book! 

As I've just mentioned, Mann creates some fantastic descriptions that really spark your imagination and pull you in to the book, as the setting rises up around you. "A perimeter of uniformed bobbies stood like ghostly sentries, half visible in the vaporous morning." I just love the imagery Mann writes, it creates a specific image in your mind, waking up your imagination, and creating a certain tone and feel to the book. His writing is simply fantastic, and the pace of the book is brilliant. The mystery is always wrapped up expertly, with but a few threads woven in at the end, ready for the next book. His writing never fails to be compelling, atmospheric, cinematic and at times, entertaining. As always we are straight in with the mystery and it's a particularly good one! 

Veronica continues to be one of my favourite characters. She doesn't do or want to do anything a regular lady of the time period would. She walks in to a rather nasty crime scene, determined to do her part. She's daring and courageous, and she doesn't take any of Newbury's crap. She's disappointed in him, but she still believes in him and hopes for the best. I enjoy the fact she's not afraid to get her hands dirty, and will run around and fight just as much as Newbury. She's not your typical Victorian lady and she's brilliant and intelligent and just fantastic! I enjoyed her even more in this book because we see another side to her, with everything going on with her sister, and the thing with the Queen. She's not quite as composed as she usually is at one point. 

Newbury continues to fascinate me. He's a very flawed character, but he's also very likeable and has a certain dramatic flair. He uses opium and we've watched him fall, inevitably, more and more in to addiction over the course of the books. I like that he's flawed, opium addiction was common at the time, I'm fairly certain, and it's being explored so well in these books. In this book, he's pretty heavily under the influence, it's not a pleasant book for him, with withdrawal symptoms and so on. Veronica and Charles's reactions are very realistic and very natural, and I felt a certain sense of pride in Newbury when he determined to get along with out it after a particularly brutal scene. It'll be interesting to see if he actually manages it. His flaw is what makes him so very realistic, but there's so much more to him than his addiction. He's ridiculously intelligent, and I'm rooting for him to finally kick the habit. 

I need to mention Bainbridge because he and Newbury are quite the pair. He cares so much about his friend, but has a bit of a hard time showing softer emotions, and his particular brand of caring is a bit gruff, it was quite amusing, especially as Veronica was on to him. It made me sad in this book, how Newbury and Hobbes weren't entirely sure if they could entrust him with the truth. I'd like to think he'd be on their side, and I'm hoping they'll trust him eventually. 

Amelia has always intrigued me, I like how she won't let her fear show to Calverton. How determined she is to be brave and remain strong. She's not had a brilliant life up until now, and we see more of her this book as she's at the Grayling Institute with Fabian. I don't want to say too much, because it will be too spoilery, but I'm still waiting to see how Mann is going to handle things with Amelia, I'm hoping it'll all end well for her, but I'm not entirely sure. 

I spent the most of the book feeling like Dr. Fabian was incredibly shady. You get such shady vibes from him but it takes a while for you to work out why, or see why, which I actually liked, rather than being told straight out he was shady! It was nice to get a sense of wrongness from him, but not being entirely sure if it's founded or not. Calverton is incredibly creepy. The Queen herself is in this book a hell of a lot more than usual. I've never been entirely sure of her. Like Newbury I assumed some of the stuff she did was a one off, or for the good of everyone. This book does not pain a pleasant picture of her. She is not nice, not that she ever really was a barrel of sunshine and rainbows. But in this book, I feel we see her true colours, and I'm slightly scared by what might come about in the next book, and whatever it is she's planning. I actually found myself agreeing with the bad guys a little smidgen in this book! 

As with the other books, we get more than one POV. In this book we get a lot of Amelia's POV, more so than usual that is, as well as a little bit of Fabian's, which provided in an insight in to what it is, exactly, that he does or rather did for the Queen. As well as being the means to see a rather ugly side to the Queen up close. We also get the usual POV's of Veronica. Maurice and Bainbdridge. Poor old Charles got in a bit of a scrape in this book, and it was brilliant to see him hold his own! Each character has their own distinctive narrative, and each change in point of view is done without a hitch, carrying on the narrative without any trouble. I enjoy seeing the other characters through the eyes of, well, other characters. I like knowing what's going on in each character's head and how it matches up with the others and so on. 

The world of the book is so authentic. The steampunk elements are plentiful, but not in your face, there's no pages and pages of over blown descriptions of the devices/machines/etc or telling you how they work in exact detail for an entire chapter, like I've encountered before. The steampunk elements/devices seem to naturally belong in the world. I love getting lost in these books, it's such an original world, and I love reading about new devices and exploring new areas of this London. 

So much is unsaid between Newbury and Hobbes in this book, that needs to be discussed. I was wondering what would happen after the end of the last book, but it would appear they went the not talking about anything route. I mean, partially it's pushed to the side because of Newbury's little opium problem and the case, but both of them had their reasons for not mentioning things that needed to be mentioned like ya know...the Queen...and feelings. Them being them, they eventually did talk about it...but in the worst possible place after me spending the entire book wishing they'd save themselves some hassle and jus have a chat! 

I genuinely ship them so badly it's not even funny. They're so perfect together, and so good for each other. They suit each other rather. This book had me cheering so badly at some points, and getting all excited, but the romance element, is as ever, subtle and the main focus of the plot is the mystery. The romantic bits that there are, are very well done, and there was one scene that was just so them. Things have been building up over the course of the books and this is the book where it finally all comes together. I'm even more excited for the next book to see what happens with them! 

As usual, Mann manages to weave plenty of plot threads in to one complex plot. Mann is a truly brilliant storyteller and weaves deductions with action, romance with mystery and so on. There are multiple threads, some seemingly unrelated to the case at hand, but involving other things, all woven together to give you a complex plot with multiple things going on, and an over-arcing plot becoming more and more fleshed out. Well, I think there is, because you all mark my words, the Queen is so up to no good. 

I feel like there's higher stakes in this book, considering at one point we have a medieval army meeting steampunk and ready to take down the monarchy. There's also stuff going on with Veronica's sister that involves the Queen and it was truly shocking to me because even I didn't expect the Queen to be THAT bad. It's become obvious she's up to something and there's more going on with her. What I found most interesting is that having staunchly been the Queen's operatives, you see Veronica lose all trust and respect in the Queen, and Newbury struggling with his own thoughts on the Queen. He clearly supports Veronica, at least in this situation, but he isn't sure overall what to do. I found it very interesting watching this all go down with the two of them, especially when Veronica had a little freak out about not being able to leave. 

The Immorality Engine is another thrilling instalment in a brilliant and original series that hooks you in from the beginning. You root for Newbury and Hobbes, you spend the book trying to work out what exactly is going on and how everything fits together, and delight in being completely wrong, because Mann always manages to surprise you at every turn and it's no fun working out a mystery before the characters! The initial mystery leads perfectly in to a much bigger plot, it's merely the first step in a more complex scheme. 

The book ends on a note of foreboding tinged with anticipation all thanks to Amelia and her visions, and there's one last twist at the end that you know will not be at all good. The next book has been perfectly set up, and my mind is racing with all the possibilities for it, that will no doubt end up being wrong. 

The Immorality Engine is a fantastic book, characters continue to have hidden depths, continue to be brilliantly written and come alive as you read about them. The book sucks you in with the continued fantastic world building, that's atmospheric and cinematic in equal turns. Immorality Engine has a world you can truly get lost in, and a plot you become fully invested in and get surprised by at every turn. While the main mystery is left neatly solved, there's an over arcing plot involving the Queen, and some other little threads that set you up for the next book, that you find yourself needing ASAP! I can't wait to see where the characters go next, or what mystery they'll next come face to face with. 

The Osiris Ritual

The Osiris Ritual
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
Check out my review of the first book, The Affinity Bridge! 

When your boss is the Queen of England, you never know what the day will bring. For Gentleman investigator for the Crown, Sir Maurice Newbury, it is likely to involve rooftop chases, sword fights, races through the Underground, and the most terrifying case of murders to ever plague London.

When an Egyptian mummy is unveiled, a string of mysterious murders follows in its wake, drawing Newbury into a web of occult intrigue. Meanwhile, Miss Veronica Hobbes becomes increasingly perplexed by a growing pool of young women who have disappeared after being used as props in a magicians stage act. But what appears to be a straightforward investigation pulls Miss Hobbes into mortal danger. 

I loved the first book in this series to another level, then Titan sent me this book, the second one....I was excited. I read the blurb...and I was even more excited because not only another Newbury and Hobbe investigation.....one that involved a freaking mummy and I was like HELL YES! This series, just from these two books, gets better and better. The first book was awesome, and this book is just as good, if not better. 

The Osiris Ritual takes everything you love from the first book, and brings it back again for this book....and gives you more of it. George Mann has written this book, and the previous one, so beautifully that the descriptions of his creations, and settings and characters come to life around you and you can immerse yourself in it. I just love the London he's created, not going to lie! If you haven't read the first book....you should read it, just because why the hell not?! BUT, you could, if you really wanted to, probably get away with reading this book without having read the first one. But seriously....just read the first book. 

Right from the first page, I was drawn straight back in to the world of Newbury and Hobbes. I was eagerly awaiting the first appearance of one or both of them and I fangirled a little when we finally come across Newbury! Like I said, Mann creates each setting so you can pretty much step inside it. As such, when our intrepid Egyptian explorer started to try to open the sarcophagus...I was right there with Newbury, wincing along and kind of wanting to screech "STOOOPPP". 

One of the things I loved about the first book was the characters. Veronica is no swooning damsel in distress, she's independent, strong and a hero all of her own, not afraid and perfectly capable of looking after herself. Maurice, while still being a hero of the book, isn't perfect what with his drug addiction. I love that he isn't at all perfect, for the time setting it adds a gritty feel to it, making the character more believable and more realistic. He's also a bit geeky to be honest. Both characters where created so well in the first book with plenty of depth, and more to them than meets the eye and in this book that's carried on as you spend more time with them and learn more about them. 

The rest of the colourful and well written cast from the first book are back. We get more of Charles, more of Veronica's sister who gets a rather nice surprise at the end of the book, and I'm excited to see what's in store for her next! We also get to see the Queen herself again. I'm most excited about Amelia to be honest, right now, after the end of the book and everything, I just want to know so much more about her! I'm also incredibly intrigued now by Dr. Fabian. 

Much like the first book there's lots of action in this one, as well as little original quirks. There's a submarine type vessel, the ground train is back, there's mechanical devices all over the place and I love reading all about them. Not to mention what's been going on in the book, that involves automatons and people and yeah. Each is explained in such detail that you can picture if vividly. Although I could have done without certain visuals involving Ashford and the machinery parts and everything. Gross, just gross. Anyway, the steampunk style devices are one of the little things about the book that makes it stand out from the crowd, intrigues you and helps to bring the book to life. Especially as the descriptions are concise, while giving you a clear image of what the author has created. I once read a steampunk book that took pages to describe one device, so Mann's descriptions are completely perfect! 

The world and the characters are very authentic, very realistic and really pull you in to the story. Not to mention how atmospheric the settings are. Especially the creepy theatre. Have you ever been in to a theatre when no-ones about? It doesn't matter whether or not there's something going on like in the book, it's still freaking creepy. There are so many things combining to give you an authentic and immersive experience as you're reading and you find yourself completely engrossed in the book and what's going on. Each setting has a different vibe to it, each is created with as much care as the others. 

The writing continues to be slick and compelling. The chapters end leaving you wanting more, especially when something's happening to Newbury, and the narrative in the next chapter is Veronica where something else is happening and you're like 'I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM I CAN'T TAKE THIS SUSPENSE'. I love the changes in narrative so you know what's going on with both characters and it adds to the suspense and tension and danger. The changeovers are always smooth as well, and each character has an engaging and distinctive voice. 

I love how Mann gives you a couple of mysteries in one go, and then all these little threads. Murders, girls going missing, an agent needing to be tracked down...except he's supposed to be dead. All of these combine together to create a plot that is the right amount of complex, and keeps you occupied as you try to workout who's responsible for one thing, how they tie together and so on. Each plot thread gets it's time in the spotlight as we go through the book, switching between them, and I love how all the different threads throughout the book come together and no matter what you come up with...you're wrong. Plot twists everywhere guys, everywhere. 

This book doesn't half leave you wanting more as well! Newbury finally finds out The Thing. If you've read the books you'll know what I mean. Right at the end. He finds out. I'm like.....you can't leave it there...come on...where's the other pages?! Then with Amelia and Fabian and everything. It's a world I've already come to love so much over the course of two books, and I already didn't want to leave it or the characters, and then the ending of the book happened and I'm like...damn. *looks up when book three is out* *screams no Luke Skywalker style*. On the plus.....March is my birthday month, so like...I get my birthday AND new Newbury and Hobbes...that's kind of a win I suppose?! 

The Osiris Ritual is a fantastic sequel to The Affinity Bridge, it's the sequel you dream about, perfect continuation. Everything you love is back and better. I kind of ship Newbury and Hobbes not going to lie and this book made it worse! There's more steampunk type devices for your imagination to conjure up from the descriptions, more mysteries filled with plot twists you don't see coming. More of our favourite characters, more atmospheric and vivid settings. There's Egyptian myth and mystery. 

The Osiris Ritual is a book you can't put down because you just have to know what happens next. It's original, it's unique, it's just freaking glorious okay?! It's basically perfect, except for the ending and the wait for the next book! 

The Affinity Bridge

The Affinity Bridge
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!

Welcome to the bizarre and dangerous world of Victorian London. Airships soar in the skies, whilst ground trains rumble through the streets. But beneath this shiny veneer of progress lurks a sinister side. Queen Victoria is kept alive by a primitive life-support system while her agents Sir Maurice Newbury and his assistant, Miss Veronica Hobbes, do battle with enemies of the crown, both physical and supernatural...

Newbury is currently investigating a series of murders, strangulations of the poor, in Whitechapel, assisting his old friend Charles Bainbridge. But it's not long before he's called away by the Queen herself, an airship has crashed in Finsbury Park in suspicious circumstances and the pilot is missing. A pilot that isn't exactly what it appears to be. 

On top of all that another helper of Newbury's, Miss Coulthard, has a missing brother, and there's revenants roaming in the fog, eager to pass on the zombie like plague to others. Not to mention the malfunctioning automatons, and automaton assassins in general. The question is, could any of these cases be intertwined? 

Halloo new favourite series. Seriously. I can't wait for the next book, and this book is seriously awesome, like read for hours and forget what the time is and forget that food is a thing you need, kind of awesome. I devoured this in a couple of sittings and I would have finished it a lot faster if I hadn't had other work to do! It's definitely a series I'll be re-reading, because it's so much more than the mystery, the writing is fantastic, the characters come alive and I enjoy the relationships between all of the characters and the world itself. 

The books begin in a suitably creepy yet intriguing setting, letting you know straight away that this book is original and has quirks to make it stand out from the crowd. It draws you in and sets up one plot thread straight away, as well as immediately starting up an intrigue. That's seriously just the prologue. The actual first chapter is even better, and gives you a feel for Newbury straight away, entertaining and amusing you before the real action kicks off. 

What I found really interesting, is that as we start the book Newbury and Hobbes have already met and been working together for some weeks. But you don't feel as if you've missed out, you can immediately see their connection and get a feel for their partnership, as well as a feel for them individually. You miss the awkward jut met stage and of straight to the "I kind of know you but I've still got a way to go" stage which is always interesting and over the course of the book they get to know each other better. 

Likewise we join the book as Newbury is helping helping his friend, Chief Inspector Bainbridge, investigate a series of murders and we're up to body number seven as we join. Again, you don't feel like you're missing something as some genius dialogue fills you in on what's going on, and it's not the only instance. You get a concise overview of what's been going on. 

While there's the whole strangling case going on, another one comes to light almost immediately and is of an entirely different nature. So one investigation ends up taking a backseat to the other as well as a third mystery of an associates missing brother. While one or other may take a backseat, it's not for long, and it's not a plot point that's forgotten about until later. It's still mentioned in dialogue of passing characters, and you're still kept up to date, so the intrigue is kept alive. 

There's a lot going on in the book plot wise and action wise, but each plot thread is woven together and there's no confusion. They are threaded together that seamlessly, and with the fast pace, that's literally the perfect kind of fast pace, the plotting and the story are just fantastically on point. 

Veronica is an interesting character, and one of my favourites! I feel she's quite forward thinking for a woman of her time, she's running about trying to help chase down criminals and not overly concerned with what's proper for a woman. She's not insipid, she's a bit of a fighter. There's also plenty more to her but....spoiler alert. 

Newbury is also an interesting character, I actually really liked both of our main characters because they where so well written and had so much depth to them and there's still so much to learn about them. I'm so intrigued by Newbury and his backstory, he dabbles in the occult and is an agent for the Queen, how could I not be?! I loved the fact that while Newbury was a hero/did heroic things, he was not your average type of hero. He's kind of the geeky type being an anthropologist who practically lives at the museum. He's also delightfully flawed, which frankly, made him all the more realistic and believable, especially as his flaw was a very appropriate one of the time. His laudanum addiction is a very well written element to the book, and it's a very interesting struggle to watch and I have a feeling it's going to develop more and be more of a problem in the future. Newbury is such a likeable character that you don't end up disliking him or being pitying of him or anything. 

It's not just the main characters that are well written, there's an entire cast of colourful and lively characters to enjoy. Bainbridge is also incredibly well written, and I'm so intrigued by him and his past, I also really want his lightening cane. Not to mention the Fixer, Miss Coulthard, the Queen herself, Amelia and various other characters that are well written, but you don't see that much of, but you know there's depth to them that you're just waiting to find out about. Amelia is a particular character that I'm desperate to see more of and find out more about, she has visions and due to that and the nature of her visions she's locked up in an asylum, which also offers an interesting insight in to the time, now that you mention it! 

Like I said the book is full of action and there's so many original little quirks. There's zombie like creatures shuffling about in the fog, spreading a plague about. Automatons and airships and steam carriages and ground trains and I could go on and on. I loved the steampunk elements it was very well done. I've just given you an example of a few things, but there where other things as well and it made the book so magical to read. I looked forward to seeing what other things there where in it. The thing I loved most about the steampunk elements was how it wasn't overdone. 

Each steampunk device/invention and so on, was explained in enough detail that you can imagine it and understand how it works but without long, over complicated and stuffy explanations that leave you confused, which I've experienced in a few other books. Seriously fantastically done keeping up the pace of the book and the enjoyment.

You really get an authentic feel for the time despite the fact that it's an alternate London. The way of thinking and so on was so realistic and authentic that it really helped to suck you in to the world of the book so you completely lose track of reality. I also liked Veronica's stance on progress, she doesn't seem to like it much. She dislikes the steam carriages, and with the automatons I found her thoughts so fascinating. She was worried about people's jobs being taken over by the automatons and I found it a concern that echos in the modern day with all this AI stuff that people are getting involved in, despite every bad thing that has ever happened because of AI in films, but there you go. Anyway, she considers the consequences of progress, whereas Newbury is all for it and it was an interesting difference between the two. 

Like I said, it's a very immersive world with incredibly vivid and engaging settings, each different to the last, and each will stick in your mind. Each setting was also incredibly atmospheric, particularly the creepy scene in the fog. The atmosphere in that particular chapter could be cut with a knife the way it was coming off the page and enveloping  you. You felt like you where in the fog with them. Likewise the suspense was another palpable atmosphere/element whenever it made itself known. Towards the end, you could feel the urgency as the pace pounded towards the end of the book. (That was a rubbish sentence but I couldn't think of the word I was looking for!)

I enjoyed the writing a lot, it's slick to go with the fast pace, and each chapter leaves you wanting more. The author has an interesting way of keeping the book streamlined and keeping it pacey and on track. Like I said earlier about the opening, where you're caught up to what's been going by the dialogue. There'a a few other instances of this, like for example, one chapter ends with them discussing finding a person at a party. Then in the next chapter it's an entirely different setting, but a conversation with another character yielded results and answers. I loved whenever the book did this as it kept things fresh and interesting as well. 

The Affinity Bridge is a delightful and enchanting read. The plotting is fantastically done, there's lots of threads that twine together and flow towards a satisfying conclusion, while keeping you intrigued and the book has many unpredictable twists and turns. You end up frantically reading to see what happens next and struggling for a place to put it down. It's fast paced, action packed, and there's lots going on to keep you hooked. There's a nice little twist at the end that made me smile, everything was wrapped up nicely and then right there at the end....another little intrigue. I'm incredibly intrigued for the next book and what adventure our characters will be going on next. 

The Affinity Bridge is entertaining, dramatic, richly created with a fantastic plot and pace. There's never a dull moment and you'll find yourself desperately wishing to go back to the world of the book and the characters. This is a must read book to be honest, and like I said, I'm desperate to get my hands on the next one!