I really enjoyed CJ Archer’s Glass and Steel series (and the Glass Library so far). So when I saw Scribd Everand had her Ministry of Curiosities series on audiobook last week, I jumped right on it. I’m really enjoying it 2.5 books in. Victorian England is a fascinating setting, but a lot of books trying to replicate the style just aren’t that pleasant to read. Archer does a good job of using it without shoving it in your face by over explaining, and her magic is presented in a way where staying in the shadows is plausible.

Archer and Sherry Thomas’s Lady Sherlock series are interesting to me because I like the story telling and character development, but they both handle the setting in a way that doesn’t just ignore how actually awful the era was for women. They put their characters in position to directly clash with the harsh restrictions of the society in compelling ways.