Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥'s Reviews > Moon Over Soho

If I had to describe this series in a few words it probably would be the following:

Dark, magical, creepy, humorous, intriguing and unique.

I love the fact that Ben Aaronovitch just took the usual fantasy wizard tropes and placed them in the setting of present-day London. He mixed them up with vampires, history, creepy immortals, Jazz and a more than just good portion of very British humour.

”The space is crisscrossed at random intervals by escalators, presumably because the architects felt that disorientation and an inability to find the toilets were integral parts of the shopping experience.”

In short he somehow managed to write a very unique and interesting story. ;-P
Plus the many different characters in this book were all so intriguing and human. Well, despite the fact that some of them actually weren’t human. *lol*

Anyway! I think Peter Grant is a very likeable and cute main character and his naiveté and innocence sometimes really made me laugh. That poor boy has no idea what he got himself into when he signed up to be the apprentice of Nightingale and even though he’s very young and inexperienced his heart is still in the right place. XD I guess sometimes he’s too honest and tender-hearted for his own good, but to me this only makes him even more amiable. ;-)
(view spoiler)[I loved the moment when he tried to convince Nightingale that they should let the Jazz vampires live. He’s such a good guy and always believes in the best of people. AND he stands by his convictions, which is actually pretty amazing! <333 (hide spoiler)]

”For a terrifying moment I thought he was going to hug me, but fortunately we both remembered we were English just in time. Still, it was a close call.”

I wish we could have seen more of Thomas Nightingale and Molly but considering their current situation it was logical that Thomas wouldn’t be all too active in “Moon over Soho”. Still, I kind of soaked up every moment he was mentioned in the book and he’ll forever be my hero! XD I just love that man, I have no idea why but I guess it might be his British charms. ;-P Haha!
(view spoiler)[It was amazing to find out more about his past and to see how he works. I was kind of worried about him though. The shot wound seems to have affected him badly and I really hope he’ll get well better soon. Especially because Peter seems to need him more than ever! (hide spoiler)]

What else?

I l.o.v.e.d Ash’s brief appearances! *lol* He’s such an easy going guy and the fact he had no prejudices against other sexualities (view spoiler)[Yes, he actually slept with a transgender girl!!! (hide spoiler)] just made him even more appealing and lovable! =)) <333

Concerning the case:

There were again some pretty scary and disgusting scenes and the moment with Larry really gave me the creeps!!! *shudders* Ben Aaronovitch definitely has a gift to write disturbing moments that really get under your skin. In general this time around the plot wasn’t as interesting as in “Rivers of London”, it was nice enough to keep me entertained though. (view spoiler)[I guess the main reason for that was because the second book was used to build up a new villain and I can’t wait to read more about the “Faceless man”. I’m really curious who he might be and knowing Aaronovitch’s soft spot for plot twists I’m sure that I’m in for a treat. XD (hide spoiler)]

The bottom line:

I really enjoyed “Moon over Soho”. It was a nice and quick read that kept me entertained and if I’m entirely honest I’m more than just curious if Peter’s love life is ever going to improve! *lol*

”I decided to invent some rules just so I could add a new rule to the rules: Never diss somebody’s mum, never play chess with the Kurdish mafia, and never lie down with a woman who’s more magical than you are.”

Guess we’ll find out in the next books! ;-P