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cjdawn236's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! I've had it in my to-read pile for over a year and just finally got to it. I'm so glad I finally did. It was definitely a fun read and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series. I highly recommend if you're interested in Steampunk.
lorialdenholuta's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED it. Sassy dialogue, an intriguing plot, and two main characters that are seriously difficult not to love. Just got the second book and will be reading it very soon!
ingypingy2000's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It's a great action-adventure steampunk with enough comedy to keep it going. The narration of it was a great addition and lent to the feel of the genre. What at first started a little bit slow, quickly picked up the pace into something I didn't want to stop listening to. Well done and I look forward to the next in the series.
m_is_for_awesome's review against another edition
1.0
Admittedly, I have not FINISHED this book yet, but honestly if I weren't reading it for a book club I likely would have given it the toss by now.
I can't stand books that tell instead of showing, or throw so many affectations into the characters that it is nearly impossible to figure out why they do the things they do, or how their brains work.
That said others might like it a lot - the devices are clever, the characters glib, the authors show a great sense of fun. I find the main characters names - 'Books' for the nerdy one and 'Braun' for the physical one eye-rollingly cliche, but that is just my taste. The names are clearly chosen BECAUSE they are cliche, and the authors work it well.
The bones of the book are great, but it needs EDITING, and a good, hard pruning.
***
UPDATE - this reviewer says everything I was getting at, but did it better. Take a look.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/251068137
I can't stand books that tell instead of showing, or throw so many affectations into the characters that it is nearly impossible to figure out why they do the things they do, or how their brains work.
That said others might like it a lot - the devices are clever, the characters glib, the authors show a great sense of fun. I find the main characters names - 'Books' for the nerdy one and 'Braun' for the physical one eye-rollingly cliche, but that is just my taste. The names are clearly chosen BECAUSE they are cliche, and the authors work it well.
The bones of the book are great, but it needs EDITING, and a good, hard pruning.
***
UPDATE - this reviewer says everything I was getting at, but did it better. Take a look.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/251068137
r3ader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Medical content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
abeautytoyourbeast's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
rankkaapina's review against another edition
5.0
I just couldn't put this down. It was fun and exiting and maybe not the most surprising turn of events, but I'm totally ok with that. I just want to read all these stories now. And I like the way they're handling the romance stuff. Very believable (no insta-romance!). I always have a lot less to say when I really like something. This is one of those cases...
nina1117's review against another edition
4.0
The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is a secret agency that works for the Crown and solves cases involving, well, peculiar occurrences. When bodies are being found without blood and bones, slightly disgraced field agent Eliza Braun decides to solve a case she is not assigned to. Dragging along her partner/unwilling victim archivist Wellington Books, the two get themselves into trouble involving hansom chases, opera fiascos and explosions, lots of explosions. Can the two solve the case without getting killed or worse... fired?
I really, really enjoyed this book. I am a big fan of steampunk and this book really hit the spot. The story was smooth and extremely humorous, which is always gets points in my book. Personally, I feel the best part of this book is the characters. The rapport between Books and Braun (Books and Braun, how clever) is amazing and I wish I knew them. (I secretly believe that their personalities reflect the authors themselves, but perhaps that's just being hopeful.) They made me laugh so much, I was starting to get strange looks.
I was slightly annoyed that there were a few story lines that didn't get addressed, but I can see that they will come up in the sequels. I can now say that I can absolutely cannot wait until the next Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences book!
I really, really enjoyed this book. I am a big fan of steampunk and this book really hit the spot. The story was smooth and extremely humorous, which is always gets points in my book. Personally, I feel the best part of this book is the characters. The rapport between Books and Braun (Books and Braun, how clever) is amazing and I wish I knew them. (I secretly believe that their personalities reflect the authors themselves, but perhaps that's just being hopeful.) They made me laugh so much, I was starting to get strange looks.
I was slightly annoyed that there were a few story lines that didn't get addressed, but I can see that they will come up in the sequels. I can now say that I can absolutely cannot wait until the next Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences book!
ladyhighwayman's review against another edition
4.0
When I started this book, it seems as though I was ready for something fun and witty and action-packed, because I completely loved this.
I like steampunk, but I haven't read a lot of the genre, mostly because there's so much now, and I can't separate what looks good from what doesn't. Thank goodness for goodreads, or I never would have stumbled onto this gem. Just from reading the summary, I decided to give it a go. Right from the first page we are hit with action and witty dialog.
The interactions between the action hungry and crass Eliza Braun and the bookish Wellington Books are amusing and intriguing. Both are agents at the Ministry of Peculiar Occurences, but while Eliza is an experience field agent, Wellington prefers his job as Archivist. The two are thrown together as punishment for Eliza when she goes off on her own against the Ministry's orders. And they find themselves in a rather interesting case that Eliza's former partner was investigating on his own, before he went mad and was thrown into Bedlam.
This book had it all: undercover work, concealed weapons, fancy gadgets, explosions, secret societies, you name it! There was also a rather fabulous Italian lady assassin running about, causing trouble, and I just loved her. I'm not sure if that's a common reaction to her character, but she was so interesting. I hope to see more of her in the next book. Really, this book had some strong female characters, and that's always a plus for me. In the partnership of Books & Braun, it was refreshing to see the woman be the muscle for a change.
The only qualm I had was that sometimes I had to go back and reread things to catch something. Sometimes, something wasn't properly explained until later, and I would become confused, because I'd almost forgotten about it. Other than that, I really had no other problems with it.
Set in an alternate 1890s London, this was a rather refreshing change from what I usually read, and I'm glad I took the chance.
Oh, and a note about the cover: Eliza wears nothing like this. The cover of the next book [b:The Janus Affair|13085609|The Janus Affair (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, #2)|Philippa Ballantine|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328960260s/13085609.jpg|18256337] is much more accurate to what Eliza looks like and wears.
I like steampunk, but I haven't read a lot of the genre, mostly because there's so much now, and I can't separate what looks good from what doesn't. Thank goodness for goodreads, or I never would have stumbled onto this gem. Just from reading the summary, I decided to give it a go. Right from the first page we are hit with action and witty dialog.
The interactions between the action hungry and crass Eliza Braun and the bookish Wellington Books are amusing and intriguing. Both are agents at the Ministry of Peculiar Occurences, but while Eliza is an experience field agent, Wellington prefers his job as Archivist. The two are thrown together as punishment for Eliza when she goes off on her own against the Ministry's orders. And they find themselves in a rather interesting case that Eliza's former partner was investigating on his own, before he went mad and was thrown into Bedlam.
This book had it all: undercover work, concealed weapons, fancy gadgets, explosions, secret societies, you name it! There was also a rather fabulous Italian lady assassin running about, causing trouble, and I just loved her. I'm not sure if that's a common reaction to her character, but she was so interesting. I hope to see more of her in the next book. Really, this book had some strong female characters, and that's always a plus for me. In the partnership of Books & Braun, it was refreshing to see the woman be the muscle for a change.
The only qualm I had was that sometimes I had to go back and reread things to catch something. Sometimes, something wasn't properly explained until later, and I would become confused, because I'd almost forgotten about it. Other than that, I really had no other problems with it.
Set in an alternate 1890s London, this was a rather refreshing change from what I usually read, and I'm glad I took the chance.
Oh, and a note about the cover: Eliza wears nothing like this. The cover of the next book [b:The Janus Affair|13085609|The Janus Affair (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, #2)|Philippa Ballantine|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328960260s/13085609.jpg|18256337] is much more accurate to what Eliza looks like and wears.