Tag Archives: steampunk

Review of Beauty and the Clockwork Beast, by Nancy Campbell Allen

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I borrowed a copy of Beauty and the Clockwork Beast, by Nancy Campbell Allen, from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
When Lucy Pickett arrives at Blackwell Manor to tend to her ailing cousin, Kate, she finds more than she bargained for. A restless ghost roams the hallways, werewolves have been reported in the area, and vampires lurk across the Scottish border. Lord Miles himself is clearly hiding a secret. He is brash and inhospitable, and does not take kindly to visitors—even one as smart and attractive as Miss Pickett. He is unsettled by the mysterious deaths of his new wife, Clara, and his sister, Marie. Working together, Miles and Lucy attempt to restore peace to Blackwell Manor. But can Lucy solve the mystery of Miles? Can she love the man—beast and all?

Review:
Amusing, but nothing exceptional. Lucy is your oft-seen plucky, science-minded, Victorian lady and Blackwell is charmed by her almost immediately, despite being a beastly grump. They were sweet. But so much of the book is established but never explored. There was a war apparently, Blackwell and his three besties fought in it. No idea what it was about, but there were laser guns. There are vampires and they’re bad apparently, and there’s some sort of “vampiric assimilation aide” that lets them blend in with people. But no depth to the vampire mythos. Same can be said for werewolves. There are steamships and telegraphers and tesla coils, but no real clues about how this effects society. Really, no proof that this is ‘steampunk’ as the cover proclaims and not electro-punk, ether-punk, diesel-punk, etc because the technology is kept vague. I didn’t dislike it. I enjoyed the read, but I wasn’t blown away.

27 Days to Midnight

Book Review of 27 Days to Midnight, by Kristine Kruppa

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I won a copy of 27 Days to Midnight, by Kristine Kruppa, through Goodreads.

Description:
Everyone in Dahlia’s world knows when they’re going to die. Except her.

Her father has never shown her the pocket watch counting down the days she has left to live. When he sacrifices himself to save her from her scheduled death, Dahlia abandons her comfortable home and sets off after his murderer to uncover the secrets her father died to protect…and the time research that could bring him back to life.

Then she meets Farren Reed. She should hate him. He’s an enemy soldier, a cowardly deserter, and the most insufferable man Dahlia’s ever met. Still, she needs all the help she can get, and Farren is the only chance she has to find the man who murdered her father. But Farren has only twenty-seven days left on his watch.

In that time, Dahlia must recover her father’s time research, foil a psychotic general’s plot, and learn to survive in a world that will never be the same. But the research holds secrets more dangerous than she had ever imagined. She will have to choose what is most important: revenge, Farren’s life, or her own. And time is running out.

Review:
Thank goodness, I’m finally finished with this book. I feel like I’ve been reading it for eons….ok, a week, but still, forever. It wasn’t particularly bad, I was just a tad bored with it. The writing is lovely, editing clean and I love the cover. But it felt very much like most of the book is spent with Dahlia and Farren running around reacting to things and not really progressing the plot.  Several convenient things pop up to help them in their times of need, the motivation of the villain seems flimsy, at best, and I really need to know how human lives came to be attached to watches. I mean, how does a newborn get a watch? Do they come into existence magically on birth? Do parents have to order them? If so, how does the baby live until it arrived? What if no one buys them a watch? I needed this aspect of life dependent on an external device explained. But all in all, it was a fine book, an OK book.

What I’m drinking: A latte at a artsy, if somewhat grotty cafe called The Stone Spiral that I am quite fond of.

The Decadia Code

Book Review of The Decadia Code, by Apryl Baker & Jonathan Yanez

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The Decadia CodeI picked up The Decadia Code (Apryl Baker & Jonathan Yanez) when it was free on Amazon.

Description from Goodreads:
The world of DeCadia is a shadow of its once magnificent glory. The War that destroyed the great world has left the known world in an ever changing state of flux. Steam-powered ships rule the skies, pirates roam free, and the Royal Navy is the only whisper of order in the cacophony of chaos. 

Valeria knows this brutal world all too well. Orphaned with only a birthmark on her back to hint at her past, she is left to travel the world alone. Hope comes in an unexpected form, whispers of her Atlantian heritage. Whispers that tell Valeria her birthmark is more than she could have ever imagined. 

Now Valeria finds herself in a dangerous scheme to uncover the truth of her ancestry. Her journey will take her across the known world, to forbidden islands, and into conflict with the Royal Navy. Allies will be made, enemies discovered, and the truth of Atlantis revealed. 

Review:
A fun little sky pirate romp. I was worried in the beginning that Val would be one of those characters who could just mysteriously and miraculously excel at everything. And to be honest, there is a bit of that, along with the ‘she’s so special’ and ‘every man wants her’ plot devices, but it remained within bearable territory. I quite liked the side characters, the idea of the storyline, and the writing. However, it all felt a little rushed, the characters’ histories are just skimmed over, and the book is definitely just a beginning to a large story. You don’t get much in line of a conclusion. But it was amusing all the same.