Meh. These books could be so good, but they’re not quite. Problem number 1: the cover art makes them look like fantasy magic books, but these are firmly set in the period right after WWI in London, heading into the 20s, in a London still reeling from the Great War. Even the magic is not portrayed as something fantastical. It’s far more practical and almost industrial, and we don’t actually know much about magic even after 3 books.
Problem number 2: the pacing. Each book should really just be a section of a larger story. One mystery gets solved in each book, but the over-arching mystery of who Sylvia is develops very slowly, and the romance is slow too. I guess the reality of publishing may be that this is the only format that works to get these stories out there, but I would love to read this as one well edited novel. I think some of the over-explaining could be edited out. In the book’s timeline I think Sylvia and Gabe have known each other less than a month. Sylvia only learned certain important things last week or two weeks ago but they’re so detailed (granular?) that they feel slow.
I like the setting, I like most of the characters, I will probably continue reading these books, but they are a little frustrating.