So, a few weeks ago, I was reading a Shelf Awareness email, when I spotted an advert for this one, with the offer of an e-galley for reviewers, now despite the fact I don’t have a proper e-reader, just my phone and laptop, it wasn’t an opportunity I was going to give up, especially as I was off work for a week and had plenty of time to read it!

So, I applied and was thankfully accepted, and within seconds of downloading it, I was sinking straight back into the world of Deryn and Alek.

To recap from Leviathan, Deryn and Alek both have secrets. Deryn is a talented airman, upon the British airship, Leviathan, only Deryn is a girl and girls are not allowed to serve in the air service.

Alek, is heir to the Ottoman Empire, but with war across Europe raging and people on both sides with reason to want him dead, Alek must remain hidden, and Deryn is one of the few people to know his secret. She can’t ever let him know her’s though, for he is nobility and she is a commoner, and she won’t allow their friendship to be put at risk.

With the most of Europe at war, the Leviathan makes its way to Istanbul, which is meant to be independent.

There, we find out that it’s not quite the safe haven expected and the German’s have infiltrated the city, and as the story builds towards the climax, we are treated to the hustle and bustle of this exotic city when Alek and Deryn find themselves heavily involved in the planned revolution.

Behemoth builds wonderfully on the alternate history Westerfeld developed in Leviathan, and the fantastic steampunk elements that were present in the first book, are even better in this one, something about the exoticness of Istanbul makes them even more brilliant. The Orient Express that we meet in this one, is definitely something to behold.

The artwork by Keith Thompson is once again exquisite, and while it was fantastic to see them so crisp and clear on my laptop screen, I can’t wait to experience them “in-the-flesh” and be able to look closely at all the details.

Behemoth was everything I was hoping for and more, and I really, really can’t wait for the final book. Here’s hoping I can snag some sort of ARC again!

Behemoth is Published on October 1st.

Buy: Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld from The Book Depository.

I reviewed an e-galley of the US edition of Behemoth, provided by the lovely people at Simon & Schuster, my personal copy of the book will be a hard-cover of the UK edition provided by myself!