Reviewed by Jess
This is a Series Review of “The Amberlough Dossier” Series (Books 1 – 3)
AUTHOR: Lara Elena Donnelly
PUBLISHER: Tor
SERIES REVIEW:
I’m not sure I’ve ever struggled to finish a series as much as I did to finish this one. That may sound like the beginning to a bad review, but this series is too complex, too ambitious, and too uneven to be rated poorly.
I love historical fiction, mysteries, and gay romances, so I figured this would be a surefire hit for me, with an added bonus of political intrigue. And in many ways, it kept my attention and focus in the ways a savvy and whip-smart author often does. It’s a complicated world full of complicated people whose loyalties shift on a dime, and I often had to turn pages back to read what I missed—what cue, what subtle flick of a hand or nod of a head. To be honest, sometimes I just wish the story would move, and we could stop second-guessing and actually see some action from these characters who seemed to seethe with rage, indignation, and sadness on every page!
You need to go into this series with focus and an intent to finish it. The books are all so different in atmosphere and setting, but they all flow into one another pretty swiftly, and they all follow a tight timeline that begs for a conclusion. But the downside of this is that it’s going to be a long road, and honestly, I was burning out hard by the end. I was never as invested in the characters as I was supposed to be, and though I really enjoyed the first book, it didn’t follow the plot veins I was hoping it would, instead focusing on plots and characters I didn’t care much for. I wanted more of the drama and backstage scandal of nightlife, I wanted more of the hired girl who becomes the bad-ass, I wanted more of a love story gone off the rails—but instead, two books were spent on heist plots and trials that left my head spinning.
In the end, Donnelly is a fantastic writer—her world of Gedda is colorful and alive, feeling so familiar but so fantastical, and it’s easy to forget that Amberlough is fictional and not a real piece of tragic world history. And her characters, especially Aristide and Cordelia, are wonderfully multi-dimensional, like she crafted them with perfect love and attention. But these good little things are only small parts of a huge story, and you’ll have to decide for yourself if the trilogy is worth it. While I’d eagerly read Donnelly’s work again, I admit that I’m not sorry to be finished with “The Amberlough Dossier.”
SERIES RATING: 
TITLE: Amberlough
LENGTH: 400 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 7, 2017
BLURB:
Le Carré meets Cabaret in this debut spy thriller as a gay double-agent schemes to protect his smuggler lover during the rise of a fascist government coup.
Welcome to Amberlough City, the illustrious but corrupt cosmopolitan beacon of Gedda. The radical One State Party—nicknamed the Ospies—is gaining popular support to unite Gedda’s four municipal governments under an ironclad, socially conservative vision.
Not everyone agrees with the Ospies’ philosophy, including master spy Cyril DePaul and his lover Aristide Makricosta, smuggler and emcee at the popular Bumble Bee Cabaret. When Cyril’s cover is blown on a mission, however, he must become a turncoat in exchange for his life. Returning to Amberlough under the Ospies’ watchful eye, Cyril enters a complex game of deception. One of his concerns is safeguarding Aristide, who refuses to let anyone—the crooked city police or the homophobic Ospies—dictate his life.
Enter streetwise Cordelia Lehane, top dancer at the Bee and Aristide’s runner, who could be the key to Cyril’s plans—if she can be trusted. As the twinkling lights of nightclub marquees yield to the rising flames of a fascist revolution, these three will struggle to survive using whatever means—and people—necessary. Including each other
REVIEW:
Our first foray into Gedda and the seedy underbelly of Amberlough City introduces us to the three most important characters in the series—stripper and low-level criminal Aristide Makricosta, his double-agent lover Cyril DePaul, and the sharp and thirsty dancehall girl Cordelia Lehane. At first, it is a tale as old as time—a buttoned-up man playing two sides of a political conflict cannot let his illicit relationship with a radical male stripper to become known, since it could ruin both of their lives. But the drama takes it from zero to one hundred pretty quick, and all of a sudden, these characters are fleeing the only home they ever knew and landing on their asses wherever the bombs may blow them.
This is definitely my favorite books of the series, and I think I know why—it was meant to be the only book. While the ending is pretty bleak, it reaches a raucous and satisfying conclusion, and to be honest, I would’ve been perfectly happy with it. Though Aristide and Cyril’s relationship is subtle, it simmers on every page, letting us guess at how they met and what goes on behind closed doors. This book can feel as glittery as a ballroom and as grimy as an alleyway depending on the chapter, echoing the atmospheres of London, Berlin, New York City, and Paris during the 1930’s and early 40’s, and the real-life similarities blend well with this fictional world. It’s still a dense read, and it is hard to keep track of all the cities and states mentioned, but it will definitely dazzle.
RATING: 
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TITLE: Armistice
LENGTH: 391 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 15, 2018
BLURB:
Armistice returns to Donnelly’s ravishing 1930s Art Deco-tinged fantasy world of Amberlough with a decadent, tumultuous mixture of sex, politics, and spies.
In a tropical country where shadowy political affairs lurk behind-the-scenes of its glamorous film industry, three people maneuver inside a high stakes game of statecraft and espionage:
Lillian, a reluctant diplomat serving a fascist nation,
Aristide, an expatriate film director running from lost love and a criminal past,
and Cordelia, a former cabaret stripper turned legendary revolutionary.
Each one harbors dangerous knowledge that can upturn a nation. When their fates collide, machinations are put into play, unexpected alliances are built, and long-held secrets are exposed. All is barreling towards an international revolt…and only the wiliest ones will be prepared for what comes next.
REVIEW:
This was definitely the most difficult book of the series for me to get through. It’s slow and steamy and sultry, taking place in Porachis, a luxurious country that echoes all the glamor and excess of Bollywood, which is a stark contrast to the bleakness of Amberlough City. But the story itself isn’t a glamorous one. It skips a couple years into the future, all of the characters we met in the last book are separated and living new lives, and the entire country is in the midst of complete political upheaval.
In this book, we meet Lillian DePaul, Cyril’s disgraced diplomat sister, and her estranged lover Jinadh. I like Jinadh, and their surly young son Stephen, whose “kidnapping” is the main conflict of this book, but I found Lillian incredibly boring, especially when trying and failing at light espionage. Her parts slowed down the story quite a bit for me. I do, however, love Cordelia’s arc in this book—she is a female character with a lot of more depth, and her story took a direction I didn’t anticipate.
This book is for the patient reader, one who doesn’t mind a very slow burn. It was just a little too slow for me.
RATING: 
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TITLE: Amnesty
LENGTH: 384 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2019
BLURB:
The revolution has come and gone, with Amberlough City striving to rebuild itself from the ashes. The Ospies have been ousted, and the very face of the nation has been changed in the process.
Now, a rising politician is determined to bring Amberlough’s traitors to justice.
Including double agent Cyril DePaul.
Everyone believes Cyril deserves to suffer for his crimes… except an old lover and an estranged sister. Soon, they become entangled in another web of high-stakes politics, underground crime, and personal deceit. Only the most extreme actions can save them from the iron reach of the law, before it is too late.
REVIEW:
The last book in this series moves the quickest, takes a more clipped pace than the predecessors, has a clearer goal in mind. I don’t want to spoil too much, but we’re reunited with one main character and are left grieving the loss of another, adding more shards and splinters to the complex character dynamics between Aristide, Cyril, Lillian, Cordelia, and Jinadh.
I like the feeling of these characters together in the books. They have the kind of relationship formed only through trauma—they survived hell together, so in some weird way, they will always be connected. And now that the bombs and guns have quieted and the real mess of politics and trials will start, their loyalties are tested once more.
I was glad to be back in Amberlough City for this book. It feels like the natural setting, the one that makes the most sense for these characters, and the transformation the city went through is haunting. It’s a perfect portrait of a once-vibrant town full of culture and life turned into something cold and sterile by the ravages of war. But the characters still make sense there, and seeing them fit back into the environment is really interesting.
This feels like a natural conclusion to the series, though a bittersweet one. I liked it better than the slogging second book but not as much as the dazzling first.
RATING:
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