Bronze Gods by A. A. Aguirre
(Book #1 of the Apparatus Infernum series)
Rating: 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁
Overall: Holy crap, you guys. This book is amazing! Excellent writing, excellent world-building, excellent characters with excellent chemistry, all wrapped up in an intelligent plot that kept me turning pages well past the time I should have been sleeping. I've already ordered book two!
The Good Stuff:
1) Yes, the "steampunk duo who investigates crime" trope isn't exactly new or revolutionary at this point, but A. A. Aguirre really makes it work for them in this series opener. Mikani and Ritsuko are wonderfully complex characters, each with flaws and strengths that made them immediately likeable and believable. They complement each other well, both professionally and personally. I liked the little glimpses we got into their pasts as well - not so much that it distracted from the story, but enough to create nuance and depth of character, and also to pique my interest in finding out more!
2) The same can be said about the world-building. There is no info-dumping anywhere in this book. So refreshing! Instead, the reader is given just enough information to understand what is going on and why. This may be frustrating to someone who's more invested in the world than in the characters or plot, but for me - I loved it! And what a world they created! It's a completely original concept (as far as I know anyway) involving the intermingling of the Fae and humans. What would such a society look like? How would it function? Fascinating stuff.
3) Also refreshing was the slow build-up of sexual tension between Mikani and Ritsuko. I mean, we get to the end of the book and they haven't had sex or even admitted their feelings to each other, beyond what their actions make clear, and yet their relationship is bursting with chemistry. One of the best parts of the book was their witty, often innuendo-laden banter. It was very reminiscent of Emma Peel and John Steed from the cult classic TV series The Avengers.
4) The mystery was well-done. I don't want to say too much because it's far too easy to unintentionally give something away, but it was well paced and intelligent.
The Not-So-Good Stuff:
1) The book started off a little slowly, which is understandable in the first book of a series. It took a little bit for my mind to wrap around the world/people enough to start investing in them. But things picked up pretty quickly after the first couple of chapters, so hang in there - it's well worth it.
2) I found the transitions from the various POVs to be confusing at times, particularly between Mikani and Ritsuko. It wasn't made clear when the POV changed, and I found myself having to go back and re-read a couple of paragraphs when I realized I'd been in the wrong character's head.
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