It takes a while to get going but when it does a great story emerges. It feels a little repetitive at times and could have done with some more editing but the characters and world managed to keep me hooked until the end.

This is the second novel in Jim Butcher’s Cinder Spires series, and I think you really do need to read The Aeronaut’s Windlass first to get the full understanding of the worldbuilding and characters, as this book starts with the characters dealing with the aftermath of the previous book’s finale.

I am aware that there are a few continuity errors between books 1 and 2, but it honestly didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story, as I was utterly gripped from beginning to end and thoroughly rooting for my favourite characters (most of them!) to succeed.

Expect betrayals, epic duels, ambushes, weird crystal-zombies, an airborne monster, terrible injuries, inevitable looming war… basically plenty of action and excitement to keep you turning the pages. And I am desperate to know more about the Archangels and the Tyranima now, after the intriguing hints seeded towards the ending!

Basically, I was already hooked into this series from the first by the interesting worldbuilding, and the overall charm and thrills of the story and its characters, and this instalment builds on those aspects, so I am happy to ignore minor flaws and just enjoy the solid fantasy read.

The Olympian Affair is a fantastic continuation of the Cinder Spires series.

I was delayed in reading this sequel because it’s been so long since I read the first book that I started it and remembered absolutely nothing. I had to go back and reread the first book!

Once I got into the story, I loved the way the world and characters developed from book 1, and the various openings left for book 3 were engaging.

The magic system of this series is fascinating, and I was intrigued by the way that the dystopian aspect was discussed in this book.

I would absolutely recommend this for fans of Jim Butcher and the first book - even if you read it 8 years ago! - and I can’t wait for the story to continue.

I'm a fan of Jim Butcher but I struggled with Windlass even if I was curious about this new part as I read the first book ages ago.
I found it entertaining, there's more actions and less long description even if you have to patient because the author took his sweet time to prepare us for a second part which was exciting and entertaining.
I loved the talking cats and loved the action when it started.
One of those book that requires to be patient but you will be rewarded.

This did not work. The cover is perfect for a Romantasy novel.

Reading the second book right after the first book I noticed that a lot had changed within the two years of book timeline between Windlass and Olympian Affair.

Characters act very differently from how they acted in book 1, like friends suddenly hating each other - did I miss something?

There is more naked flesh and sexual content in this book than I expected. I'm not saying I expected a 'clean' book, but compared to the first book this came as a surprise.

The story dragged on for too long. It could have been trimmed down.

“Maker of Ways, save me from men and their pride,”

"The Olympian Affair" is the highly anticipated second book in "The Cinder Spires" series and after an eight-year wait, Butcher's fans were eager to dive back into this fantastical world. I read two books and a novella this year (many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK via NetGalley for ARC) and I found it to be both entertaining and engaging.

Besides being a fantasy book with flying ships, magical crystals, and battles fought for countries and kings, what really captured my attention were the characters of Rowl and Fenli, are most to my delight in this book, and please do remember that in this non-Dresden Butcher world, cats are treated as equals to humans, oh no please forgive my mistake, of course from their point of view (and mine), cats are superior to many of stupid humans.

Overall, there was a refreshing twist that added a new layer of complexity to the story and the characters are well-developed and memorable. I like to see where the series goes next.

the ginger cat said magnanimously. “But then, humans do not seem to function well under pressure.”
“Present company excepted, of course,” Fenli said hurriedly.
“Oh, of course,” Rowl said, patting Bridget’s (injured, she noted) leg absently with one paw. “But where would they be without man‑ agement?”
“Where, indeed?”

****

“Finally,” Rowl said, and promptly heaved himself up from Bridget’s lap. “Fenli, we must go. They’re going to mate, and I do not wish to embarrass Littlemouse by laughing.”
“Rowl!” Bridget exclaimed.
Fenli rose , stretched, and said, “Oh, of course. It’s . . . unfortunate when humans mate. So awkward. But I also find it endearing. They have no idea how foolish they look, so they feel very confident afterward.”

This is the second book in the Author's Cinders Spires series and in my opinion reading the first book is essential to set the characters and worldbuilding in place .... an Urban Fantasy series with elements of Steam Punk

The Spires are hovering on the brink of war , alliances are going to be needed - a trading summit on Spire Olympia provides Spire Albion's Lord with such an opportunity . He tasks privateer , Captain Francis Grimm, and his crew to travel with his diplomats to provide support ............ for without alliances they stand no chance against Spire Aurora's armada and it's new weapon , a weapon that can destroy entire Spire populations

All the characters from book one are back , especially the cats - and we meet more who will have an effect on the upcoming battles .......

This is a wonderfully written series full of characters ( especially the temperamental cats ) you can invest in, great unique worldbuilding ........ fast paced and full of twists and turns

I look forward to the next book - but please let it be sooner than the eight years this second book took

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

No review because the indd file provided was unreadable. Whoever was responsible for uploading the file obviously didn't bother checking the readability of the output. The text was riddled with layout instructions, weird hyphenation, extra line spacing, and embedded metadata. I got about 2 pages in before giving up in disgust.

6/10

Kinda disappointing. I imagine someone waiting 8 years for this sequel and I'm just appalled. Half the book is people preparing for duels I found pretty uninteresting, and the character dynamics in this one are just...static? I'm not sure how to describe it. The cats are also much less charming. In general, the whole book just felt half-assed to me, which is a huge shame. The last 20% or so was really good, though.

The anticipated sequel of The Aeronaut’s Windlass is here! 2 years after the attack on Spire Albion, the gang is back but still fighting its old Enemies. With an imminent attack from Spire Aurora expected and colonies disappearing, the crew have a race against time to work out what the heck is going on, how to sweet-talk a new pack of kittens, and duel an undefeated Auroran. This sequel was delightfully even better than the first instalment of The Cinder Spires. The events are interwoven wonderfully and you always know exactly where each character is and why - it’s writing at its finest.

The character development is adorable - we meet all our original characters again, and add a few more but never to the extent that the reader gets confused. It’s such a well thought out book that has an answer to every side note, every question, and every loose end - barring the slight cliffhanger of course! Bridget, Rowl, and Benedict return as close as ever, Gwen and Captain Grimm have a clearer outlook on their lives now, and Folly and Master Ferris are equally as quirky as they ever were. Captain Espira really does deserve a holiday though, bless him!

Set two years after the events of the Aeronaut’s Windlass, The Olympian Affair follows Grimm and the crew of the Predator as they are sent to assist at a trading summit at Spire Olympia.

I really enjoyed this book. It does the key thing that you want a sequel to do, namely to expand and build on the world introduced during book one. Sure enough, we spend very little time at Spire Albion, venturing instead to Spire Olympia as well as… the surface!

The character of Grimm receives quite a bit of attention here and is further fleshed out. Gwen finds herself somewhat relegated to side character status – which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your view of her during the Aeronaut’s Windlass. If I were to nitpick, I’d have liked there to have been a little more for Bridget, Benedict and Rowl to do, but they do at least feature!

If you liked the Aeronaut’s Windlass, you’ll adore this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, Orbit, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you loved Butcher's first Cinder Spires book, The Aeronaut's Windlass, you'll love this long-awaited second book in the series. Get ready for another adventure in this unique world.

Absolutey superb. I was fortunate enough to read books 1 and 2 back-to-back and the books flowed well from one into the other. Although its not really necessary to re-read The Aeronaut's Windlass before reading The Olympian Affair, it will work in your favour if you do. There are a lot of references to the first book which will make more sense. The Olympian Affair takes place 2 years after The Aeronaut's Windlass. Plenty of action, wonderful characters and the cats are difficult as ever! I hope there'll be many more installments in this series.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Part of a series of The Cinder Spires. This is the second book in a series, but the story and characters are so vivid you can read as a stand-alone. You will be finding the first story immediately like me to revisit these wonderful characters.
This fantasy is set on great airships defending the Spires from civil war. There is a new weapon which can end all Spire life. Standing in the way is Privateer Grimm and his ship the Predator. Cats will make you laugh in this story. Humans will need their superior help to survive.
Thank you NetGalley and (publisher, Little Brown Book Group UK) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Hurrah, the wait is over! My joy at being able to view and ARC and get my hands on The Olympian Affair might have involved a small happy dance. This is the next instalment in the Cinder Spires sequence and picks up two years after the events in the Aeronaut's Windlass.
We reconnect with Bridget, Rowl, Benedict, Gwen, Miss Folly Master Ferus, Captain Grimm and his ship Predator and see how their lives have changed in the intervening years. Spire Albion (home/habble of our main characters) is on the cusp of war as incursions from Spire Aurora increase in frequency, and disquietingly appear to have a new weapon which has wiped out outlying colonies. The only witnesses to this atrocity are a small colony of kittens, who in return for the answer to what caused the colonies demise want an assured territory withing Spire Albion. Bridget and Benedict are sent off to seek out answers to these questions as Bridget is the main conduit to the cat colonies with her relationship with Rowl (a prince of a cat clan) and her ability to speak cat. This involves a dangerous trip to the surface, however this has benefits for the development of Bridget and Benedicts relationship.
Gwen is now XO on Predator and has taken to airship life. Predator is sent to accompany a diplomatic mission to a trade conference on Spire Olympia and are accompanied by the etherialists Master Ferus and Folly who are able to combat an old foe. Sycorax Cavendish. Cavendish is still on the Mistshark and is the key to the Aurorans new weapon.
I loved the pacing of the book, the development of our cast (though personally could do with more depth for Bridget) and the aerial battles, duels and political machinations are gripping. A book I would wholeheartedly recommend but I would say that reading the Aeronauts's Windlass first is essential, however only my view.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for access to this ARC, one of my favourite books of the year so far.
M

Superb fantasy. Could be read as a stand alone, but you will have missed out on an equally good read in book one of the series. The relationships and interactions between the humans and with the cats, sorry got that wrong way - cats are much more important! - the cats interaction gives the reader such an enjoyable read and the human ones pale into a maybe slightly significant second place (read the book and you will understand). A story where a few well chosen words cut as painfully as a sharp edged sword and made me smile time and again. I am so glad that Jim Butcher has come back to these characters, and hope I don’t have to wait so long for the next. Thank you to Little, Brown Book UK and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Had no clue if i'd enjoy this but happy to see I liked it, overall! It's a fun time and has a lot of my favourite tropes. Will be keep an eye out for the next one.