Review: Excellent steampunk romance novella
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 31, 2012
My Rating: 4 stars: Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)The Invisible City is a lovely epilogue, yet completely stand alone novella, to the first book in Ms. Brook's Iron Seas series, The Iron Duke. Newcomers to this marvelous series could read and enjoy this story, but it is a real treat to fans of Mina and Rhys... seeing them in action after they've been married for a few months.The story centers around the daily lives of newly married couple Inspector Mina Wentworth and "The Iron Duke," Rhys Trahaearn. The pair have a deep and richly full backstory which makes upThe Iron Duke (A Novel of the Iron Seas), so I will not go into that here. Although Rhys has always been the center of public attention (being hailed as the country's savior from the Horde occupation), now Mina must endure similar notoriety. There is humor in how Mina deals with the press and society, and even more so in how she adapts to Rhys's oppressive concern for Mina's well-being. It is a joy to watch the pair continue to adjust to one another, learning to deal with the quirks and to love whole-heartedly.Mina is called in to investigate the murder of Viscount Redditch, a man who was very vocal about wanting to prevent factories from installing automatons. The novella follows the inspector as she pieces the clues together. Tied into the murder is Mina and Rhys's "adopted daughter," Anne, which creates a personal component to the story. This added "glitch" gives heart to what could be just another murder mystery. Overall, the clues are easy to follow and the whodunit entertaining, even providing a couple twists despite the shortened length of the story.The best part of the book is following Mina and Rhys as they continue to struggle with insecurities over marriage and their place in one another's lives. For fans of the series, it's more than an epilogue - there is no "riding off into the sunset," but rather a glimpse at a favorite couple as they proceed forward in life. The Invisible City is an delightful novella for both fans of the series and newbies alike.