There is something charming about a protagonist who is not really good at anything. Grimsby tries really hard to be good, to do good. He succeeds and lives by his code, but he usually stumbles into it.
Is this book deep and meaningful? Not always (though it has its moments) But man is it fun!

Slower than I thought it would be, it took a bit longer to get into this one, but its a worthy sequel! LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC
I was really interested when I saw this book offered on Netgalley, as I was a big fan of Jim Butcher's (the author's father) earlier urban fantasy. I found the first Grimsby book at my library and waded through it, although I found it overly long and chaotic, but I thought that might be explained as a first novel problem.
The world-building is interesting - the books take place on a world where magic is out in the open but tightly regulated and restricted to something akin to an FBI of magic - the protagonist's whole life was directed toward getting a place in this institution (where they protect the general populace from 'bad' uses of magic I guess). There's also the equivalent of the 'upside-down' from Stranger Things, where a lot of the magic works differently.
However, the main character is a 19/20 year old short and skinny orphan kid who was in an accident when he was young that basically blocks him from doing magic the official way - he can only do 2 spells. So a failed Harry Potter, He also has a hopeless crush on a young woman he went through magic training with (but she turns out to the villain, what a surprise).
His mentor ends up being this senior washed-up 'hunter' who is not a magician and has issues of his own. There is a weird sidekick creature who is basically Mike from Monsters Inc but a sociopath. This book is VERY long. And really, nothing happens.
It sort of reads like a YA coming of age story, but we're not making much progress. This is being marketed, as far as I know, as adult fantasy, and it's just not. I was expecting that after the very long setup of the first book, we would find out why Grimsby does magic differently; that the childhood trauma would be explained; that he would unlock his potential; that he would stop second-guessing everything and wallowing in teen angst, but it has not happened by the end of book 2, so I'm beginning to wonder if the author has a plan. There seems to be some sort of intimation of conspiracy at the 'Bureau', but this, too, is one of those plotlines that goes nowhere.
As well, the writing is very dense and the author often uses words out of context and makes up his own, so it's not a quick or easy read.
I wouldn't recommend this book unless you're more interested in the world than the plot, and you can pretend that you don't notice that any female character at all is either one-dimensional or evil or both, and that all the major concepts are copied from other contemporary fantasy works.
2 stars just for the time it took to write the thing.

Long Past Dues by James J. Butcher is the second book written by the son of Jim Butcher of Dresden Files fame. While this book urban fantasy like the Dresden Files there are numerous differences and the younger Butcher does an admirable job of building a magical universe that is all his own. (Note: I came into this series with book 2 and have not read the first book in the Unorthodox Chronicles, Dean Man's Hand).

Long Past Dues centers on Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby, or just Grimsby, a starting auditor in the Boston branch of the Department of Unorthodox Affairs (unorthodox being the term used to describe magical powers/beings in the universe). Unlike Harry Dresden, Grimsby is not a powerful wizard. In fact he seems to have only two spells that he can use and seems unable to learn more. As the novel begins he has been relegated to menial duties at the Department and still does not have an office of his own.

What Grimsby does have going for him is a big heart and a strong moral compass that guides him to do what is right. He also has a partner, Leslie Mayflower, AWOL as the book begins, and a friend/roommate/pet named Wudge who plays magical practical jokes on him like closing the drain on his shower.

The book is a pleasant read and it is great to see the characters grow and to learn more about the world that Butcher is building. I will be following this series in the future and searching out a copy of the first book.

The copy I read was provided as an eArc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An entertaining follow-up. A recommended purchase for collections where urban fantasy and Jim Butcher's books are popular.