What do you think?
Rate this book
The Complete Ministry of Curiosities Series: 10-Book Boxed Set
- GenresFantasyParanormalRomance
Kindle Edition
Published August 11, 2020
32 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
C.J. Archer
97 books5,658 followersC.J. Archer is the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of historical mystery and historical fantasy novels including the GLASS AND STEELE series, the CLEOPATRA FOX MYSTERIES, the MINISTRY OF CURIOSITIES and THE GLASS LIBRARY series.
She has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two. She has at various times worked as a librarian, IT support person and technical writer but in her heart has always been a fiction writer. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, 2 children and Coco the black and white cat.
Subscribe to C.J.'s newsletter to be notified when she releases a new book. Join via her website: www.cjarcher.com
You can follow her on social media to get the latest updates on her books:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CJArcherAuthorPage
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorcjarc...
She has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two. She has at various times worked as a librarian, IT support person and technical writer but in her heart has always been a fiction writer. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, 2 children and Coco the black and white cat.
Subscribe to C.J.'s newsletter to be notified when she releases a new book. Join via her website: www.cjarcher.com
You can follow her on social media to get the latest updates on her books:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CJArcherAuthorPage
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorcjarc...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 15, 2020
this series is great. Ive really enjoyed reading it as an entire series with no breaks for other books. Its been an excellent read and has kept me awake for hours as i didnt want to put it down for the night.
November 16, 2020
Fun Fast Read & Great Brain Break!
Mostly Clean supernatural murder mystery romance series. In a couple of the books, a 4 letter word surprisingly popped up, but not egregiously or speciously.
Very glad I had the full 10 book set so I could go on to the next one! The books don't really end in cliffhangers, but you want to find out the next stage.
Ms. Archer writes very well, the books have been edited and very few, if any, misspelled, wrong word used, grammatical or other errors.
Others have given plenty of reviews on the story content, so this is just on the pleasure of reading good, well written & pleasurable books.
Mostly Clean supernatural murder mystery romance series. In a couple of the books, a 4 letter word surprisingly popped up, but not egregiously or speciously.
Very glad I had the full 10 book set so I could go on to the next one! The books don't really end in cliffhangers, but you want to find out the next stage.
Ms. Archer writes very well, the books have been edited and very few, if any, misspelled, wrong word used, grammatical or other errors.
Others have given plenty of reviews on the story content, so this is just on the pleasure of reading good, well written & pleasurable books.
May 28, 2022
Not a bad series. I do read it as a romance series taking place in an alternative historical fantasy world. The main plot is based on the romance, but with the surface topics on fantastical problems.
The characters have good development, sometimes it feels slow, however, I also think it's more realistic development when it's not too fast.
The main characters grow and change into better people. There are a few sudden curveballs that I feel could've been fleshed out more, such as the time in the school and the Alice and her dreams sections. The murder suicide near the end of two characters was not unwelcome (they were horrible beings) but a little abrupt.
My main criticism is on the complaints of corsets and skirts. While that is left to individual preferences, tight lacing was only practiced by a select few the same as today. Anyone doing research on historical dress would find plenty of research showing that corsets were worn during laborious tasks and during work outs without causing distress. So the frequent reminders of how horrible Victorian clothing was does take away from the story a bit.
The characters have good development, sometimes it feels slow, however, I also think it's more realistic development when it's not too fast.
The main characters grow and change into better people. There are a few sudden curveballs that I feel could've been fleshed out more, such as the time in the school and the Alice and her dreams sections. The murder suicide near the end of two characters was not unwelcome (they were horrible beings) but a little abrupt.
My main criticism is on the complaints of corsets and skirts. While that is left to individual preferences, tight lacing was only practiced by a select few the same as today. Anyone doing research on historical dress would find plenty of research showing that corsets were worn during laborious tasks and during work outs without causing distress. So the frequent reminders of how horrible Victorian clothing was does take away from the story a bit.
March 9, 2023
Reviewing the entire book series because I finished all of it before remembering to write a review.
~~~
If you're wondering why I finished a full 10 part book series despite rating it 3 stars, it's because I listen to audiobooks while I study and this was one of the few audiobook series available to me on a library subscription.
It's not bad, but it was difficult to finish.
The first and second to last book in the series were the best.
The actual plot progresses maddeningly slow, I almost couldn't bear starting up the next book in the series out of sheer frustration, but there is enough suraface-level action going on throughout that helped me get through.
My ultimate verdict?
That this is an objectively well written series that goes on so many tangents off the main plot that the finale doesn't tie up all the loose ends. That was the frustrating part- even after bearing all the filler and side quests I never got full resolution on aspects of the main story/mystery. Perhaps that is a realistic ending for readead and I don't discourage people from reading this series! Just keep that in mind & brace yourself for the filler & deadspace.
~~~
If you're wondering why I finished a full 10 part book series despite rating it 3 stars, it's because I listen to audiobooks while I study and this was one of the few audiobook series available to me on a library subscription.
It's not bad, but it was difficult to finish.
The first and second to last book in the series were the best.
The actual plot progresses maddeningly slow, I almost couldn't bear starting up the next book in the series out of sheer frustration, but there is enough suraface-level action going on throughout that helped me get through.
My ultimate verdict?
That this is an objectively well written series that goes on so many tangents off the main plot that the finale doesn't tie up all the loose ends. That was the frustrating part- even after bearing all the filler and side quests I never got full resolution on aspects of the main story/mystery. Perhaps that is a realistic ending for readead and I don't discourage people from reading this series! Just keep that in mind & brace yourself for the filler & deadspace.
August 25, 2025
The series starts out rough with an awful MMC. Throughout the series Lincoln is self centered and lacks emotion and personality. While I never liked him I eventually stopped HATING him. Charlie the FMC is much more likeable. Thankfully, she, as well as every other character have depth.
I purchased the first three books as an audiobook bundle. I am also a fan of CJ Archer's other books. So, I chose to finish the bundle before deciding if I would continue with the series. Im glad I continued. The series does get much better in later books.
I did like the integration of characters from classics. Frankenstein appears in book 1. Alice in Wonderland is a theme in the later books but in book 10 Alice is the primary character. You also meet Werewolves and various other magically gifted people along the way. If you can get past the terrible MMC then, I think you will like this cozy mystery/adventure series.
I purchased the first three books as an audiobook bundle. I am also a fan of CJ Archer's other books. So, I chose to finish the bundle before deciding if I would continue with the series. Im glad I continued. The series does get much better in later books.
I did like the integration of characters from classics. Frankenstein appears in book 1. Alice in Wonderland is a theme in the later books but in book 10 Alice is the primary character. You also meet Werewolves and various other magically gifted people along the way. If you can get past the terrible MMC then, I think you will like this cozy mystery/adventure series.
October 1, 2020
What a fantastic urban fantasy series! C.J. Archer has a great talent for creating relatable characters and oh my gosh, the twists and turns are incredible!!! The writing is fantastic and a must have for urban fantasy fans!
February 21, 2023
amazing
I loved this series, CJ Archer is one of the authors that helped me to fall in love with reading it was so nice to go back into this world and I loved it immensely! The twist and turns where so could I couldn't stop my self reading even if I id tried
I loved this series, CJ Archer is one of the authors that helped me to fall in love with reading it was so nice to go back into this world and I loved it immensely! The twist and turns where so could I couldn't stop my self reading even if I id tried
September 7, 2023
Overall an entertaining seriess, a bit repetitive that at the end of most of the chapters the kissing scene, once that happens!
Didn't love the characters like in the Glass and Steele series or the Glass library, but overall a charming series.
Didn't love the characters like in the Glass and Steele series or the Glass library, but overall a charming series.
September 5, 2021
This series was great. I read it because I really enjoyed a different series by CJ Archer. This one did not disappoint. I loved that the different books had different villains from multiple books; Frankenstein and the Queen of hearts army. So glad I chose to read it. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews