I picked this book up because the cover made me giggle. It’s not bad, as romance covers go, but it is so incredibly blatant about the type of story found inside. Look! This guy is wearing a top hat! And there are gears on his lapel! He’s steampunk! And the points on the W! That…
The Miss Education of Dr. Exeter is disjointed: part guardian-ward romance, part erotic fiction, part steampunk, part fantasy, and too much sequel. This book may be a better read for someone entrenched in the series, but as a newcomer, I was very often completely lost. Mia, Dr. Exeter’s ward, has a crush on her guardian…
First, let me tell you that there is no romance in this book. Period. Nothing. However, I’m a fan of sci-fi/fantasy etc. as well, so I can tell you with reasonable expertise that within its intended steampunk genre, The Red Plague Affair just doesn’t work. This novel is the second in a series featuring Emma…
This is the first book I have read by this author, and I finished it with rather mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was delighted by the world she had created and its interesting and intricate history. On the other hand, the characters could do the craziest things at times and the author stuck…
The dystopian world of the Iron Seas series thrives in this third installment featuring the stoker on an airship and a scientist studying volcanoes who face an evil genius on the treacherously cold plains of Iceland. Both Annika and David are on quests: she to find her sister Källa and he to fulfill his dying…
I was a fan of the Wild Wild West TV show years before I ever heard the word “steampunk,” so jumped at the chance to review a steampunk western. While I like the steampunk elements, and find the heroine interesting, the action overshadows the romance too much for my taste. It’s 1875 and Violet Whitcomb…
Narrated by Alison Larkin I’m a big fan of Meljean Brook’s Iron Seas series but was disappointed to learn that Faye Adele had been replaced as narrator. That disappointment increased as I began listening to the book. I had problems with both the narration and the story. This feels different than earlier series entries. Much…
I have never read a steampunk book before this one. As a lover of paranormals, I thought it was about time I gave it a try, and my first foray was with Ms. Cross’s Touch of Steel. Claire Brooks in an American spy that works for the Company. Or at least she did…
With Tarnished, Karina Cooper gives readers the first installment of a steampunk series with great promise. However, for most of the book, promise is all we get as plot gets sacrificed somewhat to extensive worldbuilding and the laying of groundwork for what one can only presume will be future books. It’s not bad reading, but…
There’s good news, and there’s so-so news. The good news is that The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is a rollicking, kick-ass, funtastic series from a Kiwi and American duo, and I look forward to more adventures featuring Agents Books and Braun. The so-so news is that the second book, while a good read, suffers a…