June 26, 2011

REVIEW: PHOENIX RISING BY PIP BALLANTINE & TEE MORRIS




Evil is most assuredly afoot—and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade . . . and a librarian.

These are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences—the Crown’s clandestine organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling—will not allow its agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however, with her bulletproof corset and a disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to let the matter rest, and she’s prepared to drag her timorous new partner, Wellington Books, along with her into the perilous fray.

Mass Market Paperback: 402 pages
Published: May 1st 2011 by Eos
Series: Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences #1

I am so excited to write about this book because it is one that I would never have normally picked up! To be fair, I do judge books by their covers, and this one just didn't catch my eye at all. But this is one of those times where I can say that I was definitely pleasantly surprised.

The story of Phoenix Rising follows two agents in the Ministry of Peculiar Occurences (think of it as an FBI for anything mysterious). The two agents names are Eliza D. Braun and Wellington Books...get it? Books & Brawn? Yes, number one: it is incredibly cheesy, but I think it's done in an adorable way. But number two: I love the fact that the woman is the "brawn" in the relationship. Meanwhile, our male character (who happens to be incredibly smart) is the one who can barely lift a gun throughout the entire novel.

In the very first chapter, we meet our pair of characters. Agent Books, being held hostage, and Agent Braun getting ready to save him. The scene is filled with action, suspense and most of all, humor. I found this book to be absolutely hilarious!

I think Phoenix Rising is such an amazing and fun throwback to the classic modes story-telling that you just don't see anymore. It was straightforward, exciting and I look forward to reading more adventures from Agents Books & Braun.

5 out of 5 stars

READ IT - AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!!


3 comments:

  1. I actually just picked up a copy of this, so I'm thrilled to see a positive review! I'm really looking forward to reading it now.

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  2. Whoo hoo! Let me know what you think when you're done!

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  3. I love cheesy things! I loev the review-just saw this in the library, I'll go pick it up :)

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