Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguirre (thoughts)

Bronze Gods started off a bit slowly for me but by the end I found myself enchanted with the story in such a way that I didn't want to see the book end.  I'm a huge fan of steampunk and what I really appreciate is that this book was different from other series out there by adding a layer of fantasy to the storyline.  Before I get started on my thoughts though I better let you know a little bit of what this book is about.

Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko are lead detectives that are assigned to investigate when the daughter of one of the houses goes missing.  Their search uncovers lots of questions and a killer that seems to appear/disappear from thin air while doing the impossible.  Their jobs are about to get even harder though as the young girl's family helps to throw the entire city in an uproar over her death.  The pressure is on: now they need to figure out who the killer is, find them fast, or lose their jobs.  It's going to take a little bit of Mikani's magic and a lot of Ritsuko's determined patience to get the job done.

What really worked for me in this book was the chemistry between Mikani and Ritsuko.  I'm not sure why but I wasn't expecting it so when the attraction started to hit I was almost surprised.  Pleasantly surprised but surprised nonetheless.  Even now I'm eager to get my hands on the second book because I'm so curious to see what happens next between them.  I thought that the authors (this is a husband/wife duo that wrote this) did a really good job in creating a book that is different from others in this genre.  I liked that the Fae are tied into the storyline even though I felt like this area of the book could have been explored more.  I'm guessing that it will be in future books which is exciting.  In the world they created, some individuals have magical ties and abilities thanks to their Fae ancestors and others don't.  I loved that Ritsuko didn't have any magical skills but instead used plain old hard nosed detective work while Mikano had magical abilities.  They worked so well together because of it (and this was another reason why they clicked so well for me).  The authors also hinted at the history of the Fae and the Ferishers which I'm hoping they will also expand on in future books in this series.  The mystery was pretty darn good and I definitely didn't see the end coming.  I wanted more when the book ended and I wasn't ready for it to be done.  The book did start off slowly for me for a variety of reasons with the main one being that I kept getting Mikani and Ritsuko confused.  Obviously I've gotten it figured out now but when you only use the last names of your main characters it is easy to do at the beginning.  The characters would also switch viewpoints throughout the chapters which didn't help.  Once I really settled down into the story though I was completely hooked.  But I have to admit it took a little bit which is why I mentioned it.

Overall, a really solid beginning to a new steampunk series.  While the book wasn't a perfect read for me it was pretty darn good and I'm eager for more.  The only bad part is waiting for the next book to come out because I am not a patient person.  LOL!  I have high hopes for Mikani and Ritsuko figuring out their feelings for each other (please, please let them figure out their feelings) and am eager to see what kind of trouble they get caught up in next.  Because I definitely think that there were a few tiny questions left unanswered in this one that could become storylines in future books.  Definitely a book that I would recommend!

Bottom Line:  An interesting beginning to a steampunk series that I have high hopes for!  Read it!

Disclosure:  Checked out my copy of this book from my local library!