Reviews

Arabella and the Battle of Venus by David D. Levine

davidreyno's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Another entertaining episode featuring Arabella, though not as attention-holding as the first.

shays's review against another edition

4.0

Some quibbles about the romantic subplot notwithstanding, Arabella and the Battle of Venus is an excellent second outing in Levine’s original series, which combines adventure and intrigue with alternate history, as well as considerable character growth for the heroine. I’m thoroughly looking forward to the trilogy’s conclusion, which will hopefully be released next year. more

jelouha's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

4.0

casvelyn's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

reynoldsreads's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Book 2 of the Arabella sci-fi series!

It’s bad enough when Arabella learns that her fiancé, Captain Prakash Singh of the Honorable Mars Trading Company, has been captured as a prisoner of war by French troops on Venus. But when she discovers that Joseph Fouché, the “Executioner of Lyon,” is on his way to take over the running of the prison camp, she cannot sit idly by. She secures the assistance of privateer Captain Fox to make the journey to Venus before Fouché arrives and stages a rescue!

Once again, Arabella gets to demonstrate her skills as a navigator and her knack for unconventional problem-solving, which is something I love about her character! I also appreciate how the Venusians — and the Martians in the previous book — have their own culture, languages, and history, of which we get relevant snippets without being bogged down with lengthy explanations. This series is just a lot of fun and I’m excited to read the third and final book! 

fictionadventurer's review against another edition

4.0

Came very close to giving this five stars for the pure enjoyment level. A fun, extremely readable Regency science fantasy adventure. I loved the ship combat and the privateering details and the POW storyline. Several of the characters went in disappointingly cliche directions (especially Lady Corey), but these familiar archetypes still provided likeable characters. The love triangle was presented and resolved clumsily, but otherwise the ending was exciting and satisfying. A good read, with bonus points for a great cameo appearance from Doctor Who's Ninth Doctor.

bethmitcham's review

3.0

I'm still liking the setting but Arabella's flirtations with the rascally Captain Fox bored me. It ended up boring the author too, as in the last chapter it was just declared over. But at least they are back in space, and Arabella has another incentive to stay there, so I will look for the third book.

karenteacher's review

4.0

I was looking forward to the sequel to Arabella of Mars, and it was worth the wait! Arabella continues to flout the traditional norms of her society in a variety of ways - for good and worthy reasons, with good and worthy results. I greatly enjoyed reading this book, and will be rereading Arabella of Mars to remind myself of the details in the first volume, and then rereading this one - both in the near future.

plantedreading's review

2.0

The things that I liked least in the first book became more central in this book, lackluster one-sided relationships and sluggish politics.
The relationships between the characters are frustrating or dull for the majority of the book. Also, I could've skipped their time in the prison camp, which slowed the pace of the story to a crawl. I'm glad that I finished it, because the last bit of the book returned to what I enjoyed in the first. I'm debating on if I'd try the next book in the series.

bookwormmichelle's review

4.0

I LOVED the first Arabella book, and was pretty excited for this one. But in the first part of the book, I was pretty disappointed. When the action picked up later I was much happier. But the early part, about Arabella and her chaperone (ugh) and flirting with the new character, Captain Fox--argh. I wanted to shake that girl. Also this one seemed sometimes over the "improbability" line into "ridiculous" territory---Venusian animals that fart hydrogen that can be used to fly metal ships? OK. Um. I am also still having trouble "seeing" these ships and how they fight in my head, I guess. My mental movie stalls out here sometimes. LOL. But in the end it was fun enough that I mostly forgot the problems and just enjoyed the book.