A Perilous Undertaking finds Veronica and Stoker nearly going stir-crazy at not being able to launch another expedition due to an untimely accident visited upon their benefactor Lord Rosemorran. Even trying to put together their museum starts to feel monotonous. So, when Veronica is approached by her Royal Highness Princess Louise to help solve a murder before the wrong man is hanged for it, of course Veronica is intrigued. Due to Veronica's past, the fact that the request comes from a member of the royal family catches her interest all the more. It takes very little to convince Stoker to join her on the hunt seeing as how he's up for an adventure himself. 
 This second book in the series is a great follow-up and, in my opinion quite exceeds its predecessor. The mystery is quite intriguing and kept me guessing almost to the end. I figured it out just a little bit before Veronica. 
 But the thing that really drives the story forward is the somewhat unconventional (for the time period of the book) relationship between Veronica and Stoker. What made the book so much better was the fact that we didn't have to wait for introductions of characters (or wait for them to actually meet) as in the first book. They are already well acquainted so the focus could be solely upon their growing friendship. And that's what they've developed thus far: an extremely strong and devoted friendship. Although of course I won't lie and tell I don't want more from them because I definitely do, but I think the cultivation of loyalty and trust that a friendship entails will make any further developments of their relationship that much more solid in the future. 
 We see a lot more of Stoker's past in that we meet his other two brothers Merryweather and Tiberius (the now Templeton-Vain patriarch). While reading I loved seeing more to his character and his brothers definitely bring out the "best" in him. But as we moved through the story, I discovered there's still so much we don't know, so much depth yet to explore and I applaud Deanna Raybourn for the way she crafts her characters. For this applies to Veronica's character as well. I love how stalwart and seemingly unshakable she is, but I also loved that we see these minuscule moments of vulnerability. For me, her character grew so much in those fleeting moments, and I look forward to seeing more. Of course Stoker sees and understands Veronica and vice versa which only makes their bond that much more stronger. 
 This was the kind of book that makes you wish you could binge read the entire series right after, but instead you have to anxiously wait for the next installment. So here I sit anxiously waiting!