Like its predecessor, Book # 2 in the York series is a wonderful combination of steampunk, mystery and alternate history. With their upper west side apartment building destroyed in the last book, the lead trio (twins Tess, Theo and friend Jaime) are separated: the twins live in Queens now with their parents, and Jaime with his grandmother in New Jersey.) They spend all of their time together to finish solving the Morningstarrs’ cipher, plenty of which is with surprising Aunt Esther. The disappearance of hybrid animal chimeras, including Tess's beloved cat (Nine) and Cricket's beloved raccoon (Karl), is one of the main plotlines as is Theo's mysterious gray-cloaked female superhero. And, who are the mysterious blondes with the red dresses and what is their deal? One of the best additions to the series is the tiny robot (called Ono) who alternately babbles "Land of Kings" or "Oh no", and is full of surprises. Kudos to Laura Ruby for keeping it fresh and exciting, with both new and development of existing characters. ( )

review here ( )

I really enjoyed this second installment in the York series a lot. This volume presents a number of new mysteries which are very intriguing but doesn't really provide any answers yet.

Tess, Theo, and Jaime continue to follow the secrets of the Morningstarrs’ cipher. This leads them to new and interesting discoveries. Along the way they encounter resistance from strange women in red dresses. Eventually things get so dangerous that their very lives may be at stake.

I continue to really enjoy the world-building, characters, and mystery in this series. All the strange adventures Tess, Theo and Jaimie have are fun and I love the weird contraptions they run in to. I love this world and really enjoy how this mystery is unraveling.

My main complaint about this book is that the story doesn’t seem to make a ton of progress. More and more twists and turns are added but nothing is really resolved and the story ends up a huge cliffhanger.

I really enjoy Ruby’s writing style. The story is fast-paced and Ruby does a great job with imagery and really bring the world alive. I also really enjoy learning about all of the different types of ciphers.

Overall this is a very well done continuation of this series. I continue to love the world, the characters, and the mystery and enjoy the writing style as well. My only complaint is that this novel just presented us with more questions and nothing was resolved. I would recommend to those who enjoy mysteries, puzzles, and intriguing sci-fi/steampunk worlds. I definitely plan on continuing the series. ( )