heidihyde779's review
4.0
Books and Braun National Lampoon American Vacay! Devoured this can't wait for next installment!
Good job New Zealand: Flight of the Concords, Lord of the Rings movies, Karl Urban, my elementary English teacher-thank you Mrs. Ricks & your chocolate biscuits and and these books good job!
Good job New Zealand: Flight of the Concords, Lord of the Rings movies, Karl Urban, my elementary English teacher-thank you Mrs. Ricks & your chocolate biscuits and and these books good job!
avsfan08's review
3.0
Fun read but the interludes really bugged me in this one. Still looking forward to the next one.
orangesloth1's review
3.0
The exposition and setup was too long. The relationship conflicts went on for too long. These are my best guesses why I felt the book was too long. There was always high action but by about 80% through, I had no desire to finish,despite the conclusion clearly being up ahead.
The ending held a lot of surprises, of which I might have never gotten to. Oh and, Books’ car/invention and the weapons the team receives seemed a little too convenient. For items still under testing, particularly in the field, they worked awfully well and consistently.
The ending held a lot of surprises, of which I might have never gotten to. Oh and, Books’ car/invention and the weapons the team receives seemed a little too convenient. For items still under testing, particularly in the field, they worked awfully well and consistently.
mspris's review
4.0
I made very quick work of this audio book, mostly because by the time I started this 3rd book in the series I've been well hooked into the story and enjoying it. There were some predictable bits in the character development, and some bits that weren't quite so predictable that left me pleasantly surprised. (I was expecting a tediously drawn out love triangle (or square) and was very pleased to be largely spared of that.) The pace of action was good and the insertion of a few key historical figures was especially fun (The Wright Brothers, Henry Ford, Tesla!). I do recommend this series! And now on to the 4th book!
mercyblue's review
3.0
Overall I think I would give this book 3.5 stars. I hate to say it (since I greatly enjoyed the other novels in this series) but this book was probably my least favorite so far. The beginning took to long to get off the ground and by the time I started to get into it, I had to deal with Eliza's jealousy over Felicity and vice versa. I wasn't happy about the American "counterparts" that were placed into this book. Mostly because it felt like they were put there just to put a rift between Eliza and Wellington. It also felt like the little Interludes that have been a fixture in every novel so far were especially annoying in this book. They kept on coming in when they weren't wanted and I felt like I had to muscle my way through them just to get back to the good bits. In the end though it was still a very well crafted novel and I look forward to reading the next one. I just hope it's been more well done then this one... And is a little less lengthy.
prgchrqltma's review
4.0
I love these stories, but the improper word usage and/or spelling issues take me right out of the experience. For example, one does not collapse onto a "chez lounge." And one certainly does not "surmise" a room. These problems were so obvious in the first book, that my first assumption was that it was written in another language and badly translated.
A proper job of editing would take care of this, I think.
A proper job of editing would take care of this, I think.
tricky's review
3.0
I have long been a fan of this series and have immersed myself into the world by downloading the podcasts as well. Yet I was somewhat disappointed by this book and that was a real surprise.
Our intrepid heroes Eliza Braun and Wellington Books are out of the archives and in the field. They are let loose on the unsuspecting Americans and that makes for lots of fun. There is some unresolved sexual tension being carried over from the last book between Books and Braun but if you have not read the Janus Affair, do not panic, this book does stand alone. Assisting Braun and Books are two American agents Felicity Lovelace and 'Wild Bill' Wheatley and they add some extra dynamics into the story. The action is thick and fast, plenty of humour and an array of gadgets are used. I mean you have to love a gun that has a setting called ‘pub brawl’. The supporting characters are interesting and the use of historical characters is very well done. There is some wonderful hints/reveals in the last twenty pages or so that set up the next book with a lot of promise.
However there is something just does not click on the deeper levels. The disappointment for me was the lack of character development of Braun and Books. Braun is still gung-ho and hell bent on forcing an issue. Books is remains a stiff upper lip Brit and still not how sure to express himself. Even though they spend quite a bit of the book apart when they came together the sparks just were not there. Both were constrained by not being able to discuss their feelings for a variety of reasons and some of those reasons seemed contrived. When Books and Braun finally sort everything out it was a bit of a letdown.
It is a rollicking tale, fun to read but this one just was not as good as the previous two.
Our intrepid heroes Eliza Braun and Wellington Books are out of the archives and in the field. They are let loose on the unsuspecting Americans and that makes for lots of fun. There is some unresolved sexual tension being carried over from the last book between Books and Braun but if you have not read the Janus Affair, do not panic, this book does stand alone. Assisting Braun and Books are two American agents Felicity Lovelace and 'Wild Bill' Wheatley and they add some extra dynamics into the story. The action is thick and fast, plenty of humour and an array of gadgets are used. I mean you have to love a gun that has a setting called ‘pub brawl’. The supporting characters are interesting and the use of historical characters is very well done. There is some wonderful hints/reveals in the last twenty pages or so that set up the next book with a lot of promise.
However there is something just does not click on the deeper levels. The disappointment for me was the lack of character development of Braun and Books. Braun is still gung-ho and hell bent on forcing an issue. Books is remains a stiff upper lip Brit and still not how sure to express himself. Even though they spend quite a bit of the book apart when they came together the sparks just were not there. Both were constrained by not being able to discuss their feelings for a variety of reasons and some of those reasons seemed contrived. When Books and Braun finally sort everything out it was a bit of a letdown.
It is a rollicking tale, fun to read but this one just was not as good as the previous two.
kiraly's review
4.0
Do you like steampunk adventure novels with hints of romance? Do you like anachronistic weapons and bulletproof corsets? How about intelligence agents who spend nearly as much time arguing with each other as they do investigating peculiar occurrences? Of course you do. And that being the case, you will like this book. It's the third in the series though, so check out "Phoenix Rising" first to get started on the full Books/Braun experience.
sadie487's review
4.0
Books and Braun National Lampoon American Vacay! Devoured this can't wait for next installment!
Good job New Zealand: Flight of the Concords, Lord of the Rings movies, Karl Urban, my elementary English teacher-thank you Mrs. Ricks & your chocolate biscuits and and these books good job!
Good job New Zealand: Flight of the Concords, Lord of the Rings movies, Karl Urban, my elementary English teacher-thank you Mrs. Ricks & your chocolate biscuits and and these books good job!