Book Review: “The Rising Rooks” by Celine Jeanjean

Title: The Rising Rooks (The Viper and the Urchin #9)
Author: Celine Jeanjean
Genre: Steampunk/fantasy
Intended audience: Adult
Date Read: 04/01/2021 – 07/01/21
Rating: ★★★★

Review:

I can’t believe this is the last book in the Viper and the Urchin series! What a journey it has been.

This is a fitting finale for this series. There’s action and high stakes as our ragtag favourites attempt to take back Damsport from invaders. The action begins straight away, with a sabotage attempt failing due to the characteristic grudges of the Rookery folks preventing them from working together.

A lot of strands from previous books are brought back and tied up. We get to find out a little more about Rory’s origins, and old foes with questionable loyalties reappear.

Some things did seem to get tied up a little too quickly at the end, but I was left with a smile on my face, sad to say goodbye to my favourite characters but knowing that there’s so much more possibility for them (and maybe a new series?) on the horizon.

I truly recommend the whole Viper and the Urchin series if you enjoy light-hearted fantasy/steampunk. There’s such a great cast of characters, banter, adventure, all tied up in fantastic, well-written stories.

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Thank you to Celine Jeanjean for a gratis copy of The Rising Rooks in exchange for a review.

You can read my reviews of The Bloodless Assassin (book 1),  The Black Orchid (book 2), The Slave City (book 3), The Doll Maker (book 4), The White Hornet (book 5), The Shadow Palace (book 6), The Opium Smuggler (book 7) and The Veiled War (book 8) by clicking their titles.

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Book Review: “The Veiled War” by Celine Jeanjean

Title: The Veiled War (The Viper and the Urchin #8)
Author: Celine Jeanjean
Genre: Steampunk/fantasy
Intended audience: Adult
Date Read: 05/10/20 – 07/10/20
Rating: ★★★★★

Review:

Please note: this review may contain minor spoilers for the previous books in this series.

Argh, I’m a terrible ARC reviewer, I swear with each time a new book in this series comes out, my review is even later.

After a brief foray into Adelma’s backstory in the previous book, The Veiled War reunites us with our favourite ragtag group of spies. Celine was quite smart in inserting The Opium Smuggler into the series where she did. Characters introduced in The Opium Smuggler had parts to play in this next installment and it was good to already be familiar with them; it would have slowed things down to give them the introduction they needed in this setting.

Once again, we get to see more of Damsport. This time, it’s the Mansion where the Marchioness lives, along with the Damsport prison. The world-building just keeps getting bigger and better in this series.

Character-wise, I think Rafe and Cruickshank were my favourites this time around, even if I did keep wanting to shake Rafe into Just. Talking. To. Rory. But still, I enjoyed the way his arc progressed. Ditto for Cruickshank, as one of the older characters, it was hard seeing her wrestle with the new war coming to their shores.

The political intrigue was also great, especially when you realise how long things have been going on under the characters’ noses. I’m looking forward to seeing how this all pans out.

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Thank you to Celine Jeanjean for a gratis copy of The Veiled War in exchange for a review.

You can read my reviews of The Bloodless Assassin (book 1),  The Black Orchid (book 2), The Slave City (book 3), The Doll Maker (book 4), The White Hornet (book 5), The Shadow Palace (book 6) and The Opium Smuggler (book 7) by clicking their titles.

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Book Review: “The Opium Smuggler” by Celine Jeanjean

Title: The Opium Smuggler (The Viper and the Urchin #7)
Author: Celine Jeanjean
Genre: Steampunk/fantasy
Intended audience: Adult
Date Read: 19/07/20 – 25/07/20
Rating: ★★★★

Review:

Please note: this review may contain minor spoilers for the previous books in this series.

When Celine first offered me an ARC of The Opium Smuggler, warning me that it was not a continuation of the Viper and the Urchin series but in fact an origin story for our favourite smuggler, Adelma, I was still keen to read it. I thought it was be a rollicking, fun romp. I did not expect to get quite so invested!

As usual, the world building is brilliant, from Adelma’s father’s clever method of ensuring lobster pots remained underwater and away from thieving hands, to the quarantine systems in the docks of the various countries. Once again we get to visit a new country, this time Terraverre, run by a benevolent dictator, and seemingly almost perfect. But as usual, there is something darker beneath the surface. 

I loved Adelma’s plans to be the first person to successfully smuggle opium into Terraverre, and I loved how in character some of her terrible decisions were.   

I also absolutely adored her burgeoning relationship with Radish! She was so in denial about any feelings she had. Radish had to put up with a lot, but he wasn’t perfect either. And knowing how deeply they came to care for each other just made it extra enjoyable.

While I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to the usual cast of characters with the next book in the series, I very much enjoyed this diversion! Thanks again Celine for such consistently great books!

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(Thank you to Celine Jeanjean for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. This did not affect my opinions in any way)

You can read my reviews of The Bloodless Assassin (book 1),  The Black Orchid (book 2), The Slave City (book 3), The Doll Maker (book 4), The White Hornet (book 5) and The Shadow Palace (book 6) by clicking their titles.

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Book Review: “The Shadow Palace” by Celine Jeanjean

Title: The Shadow Palace (The Viper and the Urchin #6)
Author: Celine Jeanjean
Genre: Steampunk/fantasy
Intended audience: Upper YA/Adult
Date Read: 28/01/20 – 01/02/20
Rating: ★★★☆

Review:

Please note: this review may contain minor spoilers for the previous books in this series.

It took me a little while to get into this next Viper and the Urchin book, but I think that is because I was feeling a bit reading slumpy. Having said that, I think the story itself did pick up in the second half and that did help me to become more engaged.

This instalment picks up where the previous one left off, with Rory and Rafe trying to snag a meeting with the Minister Voynia in order to aid their mission for the Old Girl back in Damsport.

One thing I really enjoy about this series, especially the books not set in Damsport, is trying to spot the real-life cultures that inspired the ones in the books. I was imagining the Airnian Court much like Versailles – ridiculously wide dresses, wigs, powedered faces, vacuous courtiers… Celine Jeanjean’s descriptions are once again strong and vibrant and I had a really clear picture in my head.

I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, but there was a particular aspect of Longinus’ arc that had me genuinely wondering how he would get himself out of the tight spot he was in. It was very touch and go for a while. He also had some really great character development as a result of what happens to him in Airnia. I love seeing a favourite character evolve.

We also learned a few things about Rafe that we didn’t know before and I think that’s going to play a bigger part in the upcoming books – he’s going to have to learn to be honest with Rory or she’s going to ditch him.

There’s big political stuff going on, too, and now that the team have found some answers in AIrnia, it’s going to be interesting to see how things play out in Damsport.

Even though this book wasn’t my favourite in the series, it was still highly readable and as always, I’ll be eagerly awaiting the follow-up!

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(Thank you to Celine Jeanjean for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. This did not affect my opinions in any way)

You can read my reviews of The Bloodless Assassin (book 1),  The Black Orchid (book 2), The Slave City (book 3), The Doll Maker (book 4) and The White Hornet (book 5) by clicking their titles.

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Book Review: “White Hornet” by Celine Jeanjean

Title: White Hornet (The Viper and the Urchin #5)
Author: Celine Jeanjean
Genre: Steampunk/fantasy
Intended audience: Upper YA/Adult
Date Read: 13/10/19 – 17/10/19
Rating: ★★★★★

Review:

Please note: this review contains minor spoilers for the previous four books in this series.

If you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you’ll know that there is very little negative I have to say about the Viper and the Urchin series. This instalment is no different.

In White Hornet, the gang are undercover in the neighbouring country of Airnia, on a spy mission for the Old Girl. They have no idea who they can trust, and at any moment, their covers could be blown…

There was so much intrigue going on. I loved seeing the political machinations inside the House of Bel, even as I hated basically everyone there.

There are some really great character moments, from Adelma using alcohol to try to hide how much recent conflicts in Damsport have affected her (and the others noticing anyway), to Rory and Rafe setting some ground rules in their burgeoning relationship and Longinus finding out more about his family.

I really enjoyed Rory dealing with the Airnian fashions. Rory is no noblewoman, so having to put up with bustles and corsets was very much not to her liking and it was incredibly entertaining. XD

Speaking of Airnia, the descriptions were fantastic. I felt like I was in the middle of a steampunk Imperial Russia with all the descriptions of cold and snow and heated carriages, and enormous coats and pelts. A far cry from muggy Damsport.

This is the first book in the series to end on a cliffhanger, and the next book will be out in a few months. I’m intrigued to see how our team goes as they continue to navigate among their enemies!

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(Thank you to Celine Jeanjean for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. This did not affect my opinions in any way)

You can read my reviews of The Bloodless Assassin (book 1),  The Black Orchid (book 2), The Slave City (book 3) and The Doll Maker (book 4) by clicking their titles.

Find me on:
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“Even if tonight goes all belly-up, I’ll still be very glad today happened the way it did.” // Review of “The Doll Maker” by Celine Jeanjean

Title: The Doll Maker (The Viper and the Urchin #4)
Author: Celine Jeanjean
Genre: Steampunk/fantasy
Intended audience: YA
Date Read: 21/04/19 – 24/04/19
Rating: ★★★★★

Review:

Celine Jeanjean is spoiling us. After a gap of several years, we’ve received two Viper and the Urchin books within a few months of one another. And I have to say I really loved this one. I may have caught myself making silly noises a couple of times.

One thing I enjoyed about this book particularly was that a lot of the stakes were really personal. Friendships were betrayed, loyalties were tested and feelings had to be faced.

We also got to learn more about the history of Damsport, and how the Marchioness and Lady Martha operate. Revolution is in the air and that got quite tense at times. It was interesting to see Rory having to reconcile her loyalties in Damsport with the political situation she sought to dissolve in Azyr in the previous book.

Rafe grows on me more with every book and in this instalment we got to learn a bit more about the family he’s unwilling to talk about. I also really loved the dynamic between him and Rory here. I won’t say anymore. 😉

Longinus once again needs all the hugs for various reasons. He’s still the Longinus we know and love from book one, but he’s learning to overcome some of his issues, though they are certainly still haunting him (and that’s going to be a major part of the next book, I expect).

I pretty much read this book in one sitting, so now I’ve got to wait the maximum amount of time for the next one. But I think it will be worth the wait.

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(Thank you to Celine Jeanjean for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. This did not affect my opinions in any way)

You can read my reviews of The Bloodless Assassin (book 1),  The Black Orchid (book 2) and The Slave City (book 3) by clicking their titles.

Find me on:
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#WWW Wednesday – 13 February 2019

It’s time for WWW Wednesday! This blog hop is hosted by Sam over at A World Of Words. Link up with us by commenting on Sam’s post for this week, and just answer the three questions.

First of all, a bit of a plug!

So do you remember in my last WWW post, I mentioned I was contemplating starting a Booktube channel to talk about Australian authors? Well, I didn’t think about it for too long and I started one! I’ve already put up two videos, so check it out if you feel inclined.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled WWW post.

What have you recently finished reading?

This was a good reading week!

I finished The Slave City, the third Viper and the Urchin book by Celine Jeanjean. I enjoyed seeing the world of the first two books expanded as the characters travelled to a new country. I reviewed it here.

After that, I read my ARC of In Another Life by C. C. Hunter, which comes out at the end of March.  This is a YA contemporary about an adopted girl who finds out that her adoption may not have been strictly legal…

Then I read Finding Aurora by Rebecca Langham, which is queer retelling of Sleeping Beauty.  This was really good except I didn’t realise it was a novella, so it was really short! I reviewed it here.

Lastly, I read The Zigzag Effect by Lili Wilkinson. This is a YA contemporary about a teen who gets a summer job working for a magician and I had hoped to really love it. It was enjoyable but not my favourite.

I’ve got to get a few reviews written but I also posted my review of Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor here.

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading an ARC of Second Star by J. M. Sullivan, which is a sci-fi retelling of Peter Pan. It has some really strong aspects and some… not so. Like Harry Potter references in the very far future? Except some of the character dynamics feel more like they are from the time period of the original story… so. Still, I am enjoying it. I’m about 40% of the way through and at the moment it’s feeling like a solid 4 star read.

I think I went at least a week without listening to Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor, but I’ve started up again with it this week. Minya was frustrating me for a while but we are now getting to know her a bit more, which is good. But at the same time, as with the first book, I can tell the different story threads will intersect at some point and I kind of wish they’d hurry up about it!

What do you think you will read next?

I should probably start focusing on my Australian Women Writers Challenge, since I upped my goal to twenty for this year (the previous few years I’ve only offficially aimed for twelve) and I’ve only read two. It’d be good to get ahead in case i start lagging around uni and travel times later in the year.

What are you reading this week? 🙂

Book Review: “The Slave City” by Celine Jeanjean

Title: The Slave City (The Viper and the Urchin #3)
Author: Celine Jeanjean
Genre: Steampunk/fantasy
Intended audience: YA
Date Read: 24/01/19 – 01/02/19
Rating: ★★★★

Review:

I’ve got to say, I was pretty excited when I got an out of the blue email from Celine Jeanjean offering me an ARC of this book, as it had been a while! I re-read the first two in antipcation and then dived into this third one, where we are not only reunited with all the fabulous characters from this series, but also get to  see what this world is like beyond Damsport.

In this instalment,  Rory and Linginus, along with a ragtag group of friends, are sent to the nation of Azyr to rescue a Damsian machinist, and assist with the rebellion against the ignorant Prelate and evil Seneschal. Of course, nothing goes to plan…

In this book, Jeanjean diverges from the pattern in the first two books of only having Rory and Longinus as POV characters. We get to see what Cruickshank is doing, along with some of the new characters from Azyr. Sometimes I felt that it let us know what was going on a bit too too early, but it definitely made sense later when nearly all the characters were separated from one another.

I really enjoyed Rory’s character growth.  She realises over the course of the book that you can’t always hold onto things from the past, and sometimes you have to let go of things that once seemed the most important things in the world.

The plot is once again tightly structured. Having read all three books in the series in quick succession, I have to say I’m jealous of Jeanjean’s ability to craft a story. Things are foreshadowed and references made in the beginning of the book come full circle by the end.

I’m gather Celine Jeanjean has plenty more ideas left for these characters and I’m definitely looking forward to continuing adventures in this series.

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(Thank you to Celine Jeanjean for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. This did not affect my opinions in any way)

You can read my reviews of The Bloodless Assassin and The Black Orchid by clicking their titles.

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#WWW Wednesday – 29 January 2019

It’s time for WWW Wednesday! This blog hop is hosted by Sam over at A World Of Words. Link up with us by commenting on Sam’s post for this week, and just answer the three questions.

What have you recently finished reading?

I finished The Black Orchid, which is #2 in Celine Jeanjean’s The Viper and the Urchin series. I remembered a fair bit of it from the first time I read it, but I still enjoyed all the little details I had forgotten. l

I am behind on my reviews, so nothing new posted this week.

What are you currently reading?

I am making progress with Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor. I get the reasons for Minya’s single-mindedness but it is still irritating me. But Lazlo and Sarai are still great.

Also reading The Slave City, the third Viper and the Urchin book. It hasn’t quite grabbed me the way the other two did but I remain jealous of Celine Jeanjean’s ability to craft a world and structure a plot.

What do you think you will read next?

I have no idea! I haven’t read anything for my Australian Women Writers Challenge yet and considering I upped my goal this year, I should probably get on that. I’m also contemplating starting a BookTube channel focusing on Australian authors, so if I want to do that any time soon, I’ll need to get started.

Short and sweet post this week! What are you reading? 

#WWW Wednesday – 23 January 2019

It’s time for WWW Wednesday! This blog hop is hosted by Sam over at A World Of Words. Link up with us by commenting on Sam’s post for this week, and just answer the three questions.

What have you recently finished reading?

I finished my re-read of The Bloodless Assassin by Celine Jeanjean. I only remembered a few little details and so I enjoyed revisiting this story a lot. Definitely recommend this series for any steampunk fans. I’m not reviewing this again but you can read my original 2015 review here.

I also finished Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor on audio and didn’t even need to get the e-book in the end! This is a great fantasy book, and I’ll have a review up soon. If I try to express any thoughts here, I am sure I will start rambling.

What are you currently reading?

I have moved on to The Black Orchid, which is #2 in Celine Jeanjean’s The Viper and the Urchin series. I am remembering a little bit more of this one than I did of the first, but that’s not hampering the experience too much.

I have also started Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor. I decided to get the audio book because it is a few hours shorter than Strange the Dreamer so I don’t think I’ll have quite as much trouble getting through it.

What do you think you will read next?

I have an ARC of The Slave City, the third Viper and the Urchin book, which comes out on January 31 (hence the re-read of the first two). Going by the summary, it looks like the characters will be venturing out of their home of Damsport, and I am excited to see Jeanjean expand on the world she has built.

It feels slightly strange to have only two authors represented in a whole WWW post, but there we are! Not gonna lie, I’m a little bit proud of the layout of this post, lol!

What are you reading this week?