Review: Peril in Paris

Peril in Paris
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

It’s 1911, and the young detectives of TAYLOR & ROSE are turning their talents to ESPIONAGE.

On a case for the mysterious SECRET SERVICE BUREAU, the daring MISS SOPHIE TAYLOR and MISS LILIAN ROSE must leave London for the boulevards and grand hotels of Paris.

But DANGER lurks beneath the bright lights of the city - and INTRIGUE and MURDER lie in store. As aeroplanes soar in the skies overhead, our heroines will need to put all their spy skills to the test to face the PERIL that awaits them... 

As you guys know I freaking loved the Sinclaire's Mysteries series and I was devastated to learn it was coming to an end...until I heard there was going to be a new series continuing Sophie and Lil's adventures! So I've been very excited to crack on with this book! 

Peril in Paris has a very different vibe to the first series. The first series is all solving cases Scooby Doo style, and this one is shifted more towards spies and espionage. It also seems a bit more...professional, in a sense. They're working for the Secret Service Bureau and they have their own detective agency! 

This book gives us a glimpse inside the Taylor and Rose detective agency, before getting to see parts of the fictional Arnovia and plenty of Paris! My one issue with reviewing this, is that it's kind of hard not to spoil the Sinclaire Mysteries....so I'm going to try my hardest not to! 

We get a split POV this book. The first being Anna, who's wary of her new governess. Said governess is a familiar face once you work out who it is. Anna is on to the fact there's something strange about her and is determined to figure out what it is, she's the Princess of Arnovia, by the way. I understand her and why she did what she did but at the same time, I was like.....you little cow! How rude! Because you know...it's only *redacted because spoiler*. If I didn't know who the governess really was, I probably would have been on Anna's side more. 

Sophie is our other POV, and when we meet her she's on her own little mission before she's sent out on a bigger one. To solve a murder in Paris with Tilly. I feel like Sophie becomes a much stronger character in this book, not that she wasn't before, but she...comes in to her own a bit as she's out on her own pretty much, without the group. She has to rely on herself a lot more. Plus she's having to come to terms with a few things, she thinks a lot about how different her life could have been and what her life could have been if her parents where still alive. 

Peril in Paris is nicely paced, with plenty of mystery and intrigue as we have the events in Paris and Arnovia, one being a murder investigation and one a secret mission that's to do with some political plotting. 

There's an air race about to go on in Paris so we get to meet Captain Nakamura who's one of the pilots. I'm hoping we'll get to see more of him in at least the next book, if not more given how this one ends! Miss Russell is another new character...a reporter. I was quite impressed with her, nosy as she was, until she completely blew one of the girls cover like the silly cow she is! Then we have Captain Harry Forsyth. He's just a bit of a prat really. I fully believed he was a snake at one point but...turns out he's just a prat! There's always room for redemption though. 

I'm not sure if the same will be true for the coming books in this series but we only got a little glimpse of Joe, Billy and Mei, and didn't get to see Jack at all. We did get a little bit of Tilly, but the focus was mostly on Sophie and Lil, which I have no problem with! The friendship between them is utterly brilliant, and you can see the bond between them a lot in this book. I'm kinda sad we didn't get to see the whole gang but we did get a nice group of new characters some of whom we'll hopefully see again. 

I enjoyed the storytelling, the way the two stories/POV's slowly came and wove together. It was maddening to see the characters from each POV just miss each other, or a new character catch a glimpse of Sophie, for instance. I was like JUST MEET ALREADY! The plot was built up nicely, with more and more clues being thrown in to add more intrigue and depth. It's brilliantly paced, and has a nice mix of action and smarts when it comes to solving the case. 

I one-hundred percent loved the ending, Lil and Sophie's reunion and working together...I feel like they not necessarily struggled, because they did very well, but didn't enjoy working alone or in pairs as much as they did working together and as a group. There was more pressure, more stress and no backup. They where essentially alone and far away from home and potential backup. At least that's how it seemed from Sophie's POV. 

Everything fantastically links to the previous series, and we're left with a bit of an open ending. While one mission is complete, the other one is left hanging slightly and is on going, and should provide us with lots of interesting adventure I hope! Plus a thread from the previous series rears it's head. The historical detail is once again fantastic, there's a nice amount of detail that builds up an image of what  the time period was like, and the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat. This one has a different vibe to the previous series, and things are definitely stepping up a notch! I'm incredibly excited to see what's going to happen to Sophie and Lil next! 

Review: The Mystery Of The Midnight Peacock

The Mystery of the Midnight Peacock
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy! 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

You are cordially invited to Sinclair's Midnight Peacock Ball! The festive season has come to Sinclair's and Sophie and Lil are spending the holidays at snowy Winter Hall. But it turns out that this is no ordinary house party ...As sinister secrets come to light, our intrepid heroines find themselves faced with a more baffling mystery than ever before! With the help of their friends, can they uncover the truth in time to foil a truly diabolical plot? Or will Mr Sinclair's New Year's Eve Midnight Peacock Ball spell disaster for the dauntless young detectives? Prepare for shocks and surprises in the thrilling conclusion to the Sinclair's Mysteries! 

I don't usually read anything younger than YA, but this is genuinely one of my favourite series and before I started reading this...and you know, while I was reading it, I was so sad that this was the last book! It's all over GoodReads and the back cover that this is the final book, the conclusion. And I was totally devastated because I was hoping the series would go longer! 

But upon completing the book, I discovered a ray of hope! A little page at the back of the book that let's us all know that Sophie and Lil will be back and it shows their business card for their detective agency so I'm guessing my luck is in and this series is going to go longer, but under a new series title! So yaaaaaaaay! I'm going to assume the focus is going to shift towards their detective agency and maybe aware from Sinclaire's a bit! Or at least not feature the store so much, we'll see! Anyway.....

This book has such a creepy opening, and ghosts freak me out so I was immediately shuddering. But everyone's gearing up for Christmas so the creepiness soon faded away from me! Sophie, Lil and Jack head to Leo's family estate and it was interesting to see Leo's home life and what her parents and family are like. I was pleased she had one ally amongst them all. Sophie also has a lead on a possible source to help her solve the mystery surrounding her father. 

Meanwhile, Billy and Joe elect to stay behind because work, and they have a mystery of their own to solve at Sinclaire's. We kind of have a couple of little mysteries and plot threads throughout this book that weave together excellently and come together for the grand finale. It was really well done! 

We get a new character in Tilly, and I loved her! I'm hoping for more of her, she's a servant at Leo's house and her childhood friend and she's interested in cars and mechanics and is intelligent and a brilliant addition to our little team. I really enjoyed seeing Sophie and Lil learning Kung Fu from Mei and Song's father, along with Connie and the other Suffragettes, who, by the way, got to be quite the little badasses at one point in the story. But it showed that there's going to be some more action for Sophie and Lil and that they're perfectly capable of taking care of themselves now! 

One of the things I loved about this book was how it was filled with pretty much everyone we've ever met so far, there's so many familiar faces that we've seen throughout the other books and they all chip and help with the mystery in this one and so it felt like a final book because of that, but I'm hoping some of them will pop up in Sophie and Lil's next adventures! 

I'm not going to lie, there is the plot twist of all plot twists concerning a certain character and I was side eyeing said character for the rest of the book and generally unsure who to trust and then that character did a complete 180 again and surprised me again. This one really kept me on my toes! Although my shipper heart was a little bit broken by Sophie and Lil's comments on their romantic lives, like on the one hand "woooo you go girl! Totally get it!" on the other...I just really ship Sophie and Jack and Lil and Joe. *Sobs* There's a smidge of romance from a couple of characters though that was really sweet! 

The Mystery of the Midnight Peacock is fast paced and we get so many answers to so many questions that we've had building up over the course of the series. The Sinclaire's mysteries have been well and truly wrapped up and wrapped up incredibly well. It's a satisfying ending.....but the Society is still out there, there's still the mystery concerning the paintings and so on! I'm hoping Sophie and Lil's next adventures will give us some answers regarding that! I'm so up for a treasure hunt! All in all, it's another brilliant instalment that kept me guessing, and had me shocked and surprised throughout. The historical detail makes this an authentic read, as well as entertaining! 
SaveSave

Review: The Painted Dragon

The Painted Dragon
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

When a priceless painting is stolen, our dauntless heroines Sophie and Lil find themselves faced with forgery, trickery and deceit on all sides!

Be amazed as the brave duo pit their wits against this perilous puzzle! Marvel at their cunning plan to unmask the villain and prove themselves detectives to be reckoned with – no matter what dangers lie ahead . . .

It’s their most perilous adventure yet! 

I swear I'm getting more and more obsessed with this series with each new book! This is genuinely one of my favourites and I'm so excited by some of the developments in this book and what they could mean for book four! 

One of the things I love about these books are the illustrations, newspaper clippings, notes, and extracts from various books! I love them! They add such a great break to the narrative, and the histories for each of the paintings at the beginning of each part added another dimension to the book too. It's so much fun! 

The opening grabs your attention, and I basically read this in one sitting because I couldn't put it down and I was excited to see what was going to happen next. Sophie and Lil are in high demand by the sounds of it, but Lil's career is also taking off so Sophie's going it alone a few times. We didn't get to see as much of Joe and Billy, and for the first half of the book there wasn't as much Sophie as usual either I don't think, buuuuttt....

We've got new characters! Leo and Jack! Leo is a lady from a wealthy family and her dream is to paint! Managing to win a place at a prestigious art school in London she comes to the city and is a large part of the mystery to do with the painting! I completely loved Lil and I'm excited to see more of her! Jack...oh my. I loved Jack too! He's Lil's older brother and he's supposed to be off at Oxford studying law, but instead he's snuck off to London to attend the same art school that Leo is attending. I loved him. Bless him he totally didn't believe all of Lil's stories obviously, it was fun to see him getting involved! 

I feel kind of weird about the book, because I feel like for a good chunk of the book Sophie was a bit absent, we focused on Leo a lot, and I really loved Sophie and connected with her. I know she goes on about the Baron a bit in this book and it annoys her friends, but I feel like it's justified after everything she went through because of him and the questions she had from the end of the last book. I missed her a little bit, I think! 

I'm not going to lie, I really ship Jack and Sophie. Like...I really, really do. He was such an interesting addition to the groups dynamic and knows nothing about sleuthing, and like I said..he clearly took all of Lil's stories with a pinch of salt. He was amazed at Sophie and Lil's antics more than once! I wasn't sure which way Jack was going to go at one point, but then the end happened and I was squealing, I'm so rooting for them in book four! I was shouting at Sophie at the end and everything! 

We get some appearances from some of our favourite characters, Mei and Song in particular I was so pleased to see! After the last book I was hoping they'd join the group and pop up more because I didn't want to lose them! I cheered when they made their appearance! We also got quick cameos from Phyllis, Hugo and Pendleton! I loved how everyone got involved with this plan towards the end of the book, it was such a brilliant scene! 

We got to learn a little bit about McDermotts past, and it was actually really fun to see Sophie and Lil investigating without his help, they where on their own. We also get to see the Suffragettes! I was wondering if they'd make an appearance and if the girls would meet them and then there they where in this book! I'm hoping we get to see more of them! But I love how well researched the book is, and all these little historical tidbits and facts are woven in to the plot and narrative. 

This book was brilliant throughout, it made you laugh, and I loved trying to put the clues together to find the culprit! There are plot twists and turns that keep you guessing, and there's lots of fun to be had throughout the book! Sophie's very own Moriarty is back and no doubt will be again, so I'm intrigued to see how that's going to carry on and conclude. There's an interesting thread to do with the paintings from this book, and I'm curious to see if that thread will be picked back up in another book and concluded at all! 

Things happen in this book. Developments. Something I think we've all been waiting for finally happens at the end of this book and I'm so excited for it and to see what happens with it in the next book! Not only does Woodfine have a fantastic pace in the books individually, but she has a fantastic pace with the series as a whole. Not to mention how she blends action, adventure, mystery, intrigue, and history with smidges (very small smidges) of romance to create each book! I'm so excited for the next book, and the synopsis for it at the back of this book has intrigued me no end! I'm eagerly awaiting the next instalment! 

SaveSave

Review: Clockwork Sparrow & Jewelled Moth

So, I was lucky enough to be sent both of the books to review and I got to read them back to back and oh my God you guys they where so good! Everyone raves about them, and I'm always kind of wary but I loved them! I've got two reviews in one bumper post for you guys! 

The Mystery of The Clockwork Sparrow
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Egmont! 

You are cordially invited to attend the Grand Opening of Sinclair’s department store!

Enter a world of bonbons, hats, perfumes and MYSTERIES around every corner. WONDER at the daring theft of the priceless CLOCKWORK SPARROW! TREMBLE as the most DASTARDLY criminals in London enact their wicked plans! GASP as our bold heroines, Miss Sophie Taylor and Miss Lilian Rose, CRACK CODES, DEVOUR ICED BUNS and vow to bring the villians to justice…

I don't know why specifically but this gave me such Cat Royal vibes. Cat Royal is a series by Julia Golding and yes I am too old to read them still, but I can't bring myself to throw them out so there. ANYWAY. This gave me some real vibes from those books, possibly the whole gang of people from all walks of life coming together to solve a mystery thing, but I loved it! It's very authentic, there's clearly been a lot of research done and it shows in the book. You can vividly picture Sinclair's, as well as the streets and the lodging house. 

I loved all of the characters, especially Lil, I connected to her as much as I did to Sophie, possibly because of the whole actress thing! But I loved Sophie and I loved Lil, I admired Sophie so much, she kept strong and did what she had to, rather than doing what some people in her position might have, and being completely useless and just unwilling to do a hard days work...she ignores all the jibes and gets on with it. I'm suspecting more to her father's death as well, possibly to do with the Baron!

Anyway, Billy and Joe where brilliant too, I loved how Billy had those stories he loved and was getting to be like the character in real life, and Joe was a brilliant contrast to him. I liked how he was willing to help them even though he didn't know them, and was wary of the Baron. I loved the friendship that forms between the four of them, and especially between Lil and Sophie as poor Sophie was a bit of a loner and Lil just kind of took her under her wing and was like "yep, you're my friend now!" it was beaut! They where all brilliantly brought to life, and have interesting back stories that you want to know more about. There's also a whole load of other colourful characters, the Private Detective, Sinclair himself, and more, all fantastically created to help bring the story to life! 

It's a fun and easy read, and while I did work out who the culprit was....I still hadn't put all of the pieces together that where presented to us and I ended up being surprised more than once! I found myself intrigued and completely gripped to the story trying to work everything out. There where lots of little clues and threads to the story that all came together brilliantly in the end, to create a fantastic plot. There's a larger scheme going on than you first think, and there's a lot at stake. It was wrapped up so well with a few loose threads to set us up for the next book and further adventures! 

As you're reading you find yourself completely lost in the glittering world of the department store, even when it's just behind the scenes, it had a very theatrical feel to it I think! I just love how it was all brought to life. I enjoyed the newspaper clippings and other little pieces that broke up the narrative and gave you a visual, particularly when it involved code! I also liked the different hats at each part of the book, and the writing about them, it really fit with the story and helped bring you in to the time period. It really is a fantastic book! Now I'm off to read book two! 

The Mystery of The Jewelled Moth 

Rating: 5/5

Buy or Borrow: Buy

Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Egmont!

The honour of your company is requested at lord beaucastle's fancy dress ball. Wonder at the puzzling disappearance of the Jewelled Moth! Marvel as our heroines, Sophie and Lil, don cunning disguises, mingle in high society and munch many cucumber sandwiches to solve this curious case! Applaud their bravery as they follow a trail of terrible secrets that leads straight to London's most dangerous criminal mastermind, and could put their own lives at risk...It will be the most thrilling event of the season!

So, I dived straight in to this after the first one, and if it's even possible...it's even better! We get to see a different side to London and there's new characters for us to get to know and enjoy! 

We still get the paper clippings, among other things, to break up the narrative, and each part now has an extract from the Etiquette for Debutantes book, which was oddly fascinating. To see how they where expected to act, and all the rules and things that we find strange and kind of insulting in this day and age! 

New character Mei greets us with her narrative, and it immediately intrigued me. I'd already seen the authors article about her research for this book, so I was excited to read all about this other China Town. Much like most other people...I was completely unaware of this other China town in London, and I'm kinda disappointed in myself because I'm a history nerd and yet I didn't know?! There's even a brilliant authors note at the back of the book with more information, and I'm feeling a trip out to that part of London to have a scout about! 

ANYWAY Mei's POV brought us right in to the story, and things are looking dire, the Baron is back and is extending his reach in to China Town and Mei's family are caught up in it.  She gives us the rather interesting story that her Grandfather told, all about the Moonbeam Diamond and how their family looked after it. Man that story made me angry, because so typical of our people! In other words, Mei ties in perfectly with the story right from the beginning but it's a while before she comes in to play. But I loved her POV and seeing what life was like for her! 

We also have new character Veronica, through her we get all  about the life of a debutante, which, much like the extracts, is oddly fascinating. While she wasn't always the nicest person, I did feel for her because she didn't have a lot of choice in her life, and she was always watched, and she even says at one point she has no choice because that's not how things are done. Then at the end I loved her even more because she did something completely unexpected and it was awesome! 

Much like the first book, the POV switches where brilliant, we just have two more POV's than usual. I love how in these books, they give you an extra insight in to the characters, and helps you to understand them, like Joe and his odd behaviour at points in this book. Each character has a distinctive voice and an entertaining narrative and you can always tell which character is narrating. 

All of our favourite characters are back and better than ever, Sophie is a lot happier, Lil is going for bigger things, and Joe is happy now that he has a job but is still wary of going to the Baron's Boy's territory. Billy in contrast, is just as meticulous with his notes as ever, but at times I wanted to smack him one because he was like "Miss Atwood this, Miss Atwood that" "I can't do that because of so and so" like seriously Billy!? I thought you lived for this stuff!? But then Sophie's probably right about him! 

I loved how everything tied together, especially between Mei and Veronica, from two incredibly separate worlds. It was brilliant! But then I knew from the first book that the author is brilliant at bringing all these different threads together and tying them up! I also like how the author showed the differences between Mei's part of London and the others. The different between Sinclair's and Mei's parent's shop. The difference between Piccadilly/Belgrave Square and  Shadwell/Limehouse. It was fantastically done and very subtle. 

The mystery was solved surprisingly early on in the book...but it didn't end there. With the reveal of the culprit came more questions, and more threads because there was way more going on, than met the eye. The plot was even bigger than the previous book!  There was an entire other mystery to solve, and I was just as gripped by this book, and the mystery. Again I worked out the culprit of the theft, but at the same time...I was surprised a million times because like I said, there was so much more going on that I couldn't even guess at!

The build up to the climax and all the action in the book was brilliant and there were so many absolutely fantastic scenes in this book! The Debutante tea party, the entire ball sequence (which was both funny and full of suspense at the same time), the scene at the end with the Baron and the people of China Town, then McDermott showing up,  and before that Pendleton and Veronica and all the others showing up, pure brilliance. Honestly, there where so many scenes that had me laughing as well as being on edge the very next second! 

This is such a brilliant sequel and every bit as fantastic as the first book, it's just as fun as the first book and just as easy to read, as well as keeping you on your toes! You can read it one go, and get completely lost in the book and I loved exploring a different side to London in this book!  There's still more questions left to be answered, especially as there's some mini mysteries popping up. Like Sophie's parents. I'm convinced even more now that The Baron had something to do with Sophie's father's dodgy will and ya know...death. I'm waiting for it to all come out! But then there's another piece of the puzzle thrown in with her mother! I can't take it with all the mystery! Anyway, I'm sure we'll see the Baron again because he's all ominous like that. I'm so ridiculously excited for the next book because it sounds even more awesome, and I'm looking forward to watching Lil and Sophie become badass lady detectives!