Silver Mirrors (Apparatus Infernum) by A. A. Aguirre

Paranormal/Fantasy

From Goodreads:

As powerful magic comes creeping back, dangerous days are dawning…...

Criminal Investigation Division inspectors Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko were lucky to make it out of their last mission alive. Since then, strange troubles have plagued the city of steam and shadows, apparently as a result of magic released during the CID inspectors’ desperate interruption of an ancient ritual. The fabric of the world has been unsettled, and the Council has assigned Mikani and Ritsuko to investigate.

They soon discover that matters are worse than they imagined. Machines have developed minds of their own, cragger pirates are raiding the seas with relentless aggression, and mad elementals are running amok. As the chaos builds to a crescendo, Mikani and Ritsuko must fight a war on two fronts—and this time, they may not be able to turn the deadly tide….

I loved Bronze Gods, book #1 in the Apparatus Infernum series and was looking forward to seeing Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko again.  The two partners are once again put in danger.  This time they are sent north to find out what is causing the elementals to break free.  They find much more than they expected.  While the danger is a larger part of the story the relationship between Mikani and Ritsuko plays another important part in the story. 

There is a lot of character development in Silver Mirrors. While Mikani and Ritsuko's characters continue to grow they do not carry the entire story. Saskia Braelan and the crew of her ship The Gull are also important. Saskia and Mikani were once lovers and that adds to the tension in Silver Mirrors. 

While the characters continue to be fleshed out so does the world Mikani and Ritsuko live in.  There is additional information about past history and the physical features that play an important part in the story.

The book does not end with a cliff hanger but it does end with Mikani and Ritsuko in danger because of their actions in finding and stopping the damage the elementals are causing.  It is a great set up for book 3.

Silver Mirrors does not do that well as a stand-alone.  Read Bronze Gods first.

Ace Fantasy published Silver Mirrors by A. A. Aguirre in 2014.