The Janus Affair (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences 2) by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris

Hello to all,

               Today i will make a short break from the historical romance because it was really too much for me, i still have some reviews to finish and post before the end of this month and others books to read later ( if i'm better tomorrow i will perhaps add one more but my bloodpressure it's telling me a big big STOP at the moment so no reading no computer ( oki i'm already doing an exception) and a long rest).

Anyway to be back on the subject, i wanted a book i was sure to enjoy and my discovery of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series really manages to put me in a good mood so  here comes my review of the second book  called The Janus affair" , now i can't wait to read the short stories ( available in pdf - thanks you!-on smashword) it won't be anytime soon since i don't have the files those 4 files to get the complete anthology book1 and can't buy them now but one day!!!

Until then happy reading^^

Publisher: Harper Voyage

Publication: 2012

Genre: steampunk, romance, suspense
Violence: strong

Language: normal
sex: mild

Public: 18+

Source: Won on A. L. Davroe

Short description from goodread :

Evildoers beware Retribution is at hand, thanks to Britain's best-kept secret agents

Certainly no strangers to peculiar occurrences, agents Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are nonetheless stunned to observe a fellow passenger aboard Britain's latest hypersteam train suddenly vanish in a dazzling bolt of lightning. They soon discover this is not the only such disappearance . . . with each case going inexplicably unexamined by the Crown.

The fate of England is once again in the hands of an ingenious archivist paired with a beautiful, fearless lady of adventure. And though their foe be fiendishly clever, so then is Mr. Books . . . and Miss Braun still has a number of useful and unusual devices hidden beneath her petticoats

My opinion:

        I devoured this book and my! It was even better than the first one, this series goes on my “to buy” list without hesitation and I can’t wait for the next one (one year at least that’s too long!!) This is a great book under all aspect and I loved it so much (thank you Amanda for this discovery, thank you!)

Now I will try to refrain from my super enthusiastic mood to try to explain why I’m so passionate about The Janus Affair. To start: the plot.  I was fascinated, completely immersed in the story and I couldn’t guess what was going to happen at all.  We still have the big plot that started in the first book with the mole, the attempt to destroy the ministry etc, that’s the red line of the series in a way but each book is developed around a specific case that Miss Brauwn and Mister Brooks decided to resolve (or to be more precise Eliza decided and Wellington must tag along^^;;).For once, it’s not Eliza who finds the case but the cases that find her because it’s closely related to her past. When she learnt that she can’t be in charge of the investigation, start the secret part of her secret job after all with secret agents it’s not that surprising.

What I particularly enjoyed was the development in the relation between Eliza and Wellington, it’s doesn’t go too quickly at all but this case being in relation to Eliza’s past Wellington is discovering a part of her he didn’t know existed. He also starts to realize what he is feeling when some competition arises.

From Eliza’s point of view, this unexpected meeting with important figures from her past gives her the opportunity to find a closure with her memories and to understand what she really wants. She is discovering that she likes the liberty a secret job is giving her but even more she loves and trusts her partner. She isn’t the same girl that came in London in exile; she is stronger and more determined.

This look in her past is really interesting and instructing; it helped me to understand her even more. For the first time too Wellington really confide in her and it’s the main step he had to makes to start their relationship on a non platonic level. Still we get information more detailed about his past but we still want more (is his father still alive? Where he is? Etc.)

We also are learning more about the ministry of seven, those children are so cute, funny and more intelligent and realistic that they should at their age. For the first time too they express their opinion on Wellington and about the potential relation between him and Eliza. It would be hard to imagine them in a normal house but at least we learn a bit more about their live past and present in this book. ( I want more of them!!!!!)

The villain start his moves but are we really sure of his reasons and identity?  We will see in the next book because the ending is perfect for this book, we get all the information about the special case, we got our favourite characters in a more heated relation and we get a promise of more adventures. Too good.

Really I love this book and series and I want more. I recommend it wholeheartedly to all readers who loves steampunk book with a lot of adventures, a romance blossoming and great investigations and suspense.

If you get the opportunity, don’t forget that there are short stories you can read while waiting for book 3, available in all formats on smashword (there is a complete anthology book 1 divided in 4parts or all stories separated depending on your preference), for the native English speaker, you can also listen to the free podcast ( the others too but in my case I need the written text too!!!!)

Score:5/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge