Etiquette and Espionage (Finishing School #1)

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School #1)

Gail Carriger

Publisher: Atom

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners—and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage—in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

This was your choice of books for me to read this month and it was so much fun!! I just dived straight in and found myself enchanted with the idea of a finishing school where young ladies learn manners and subterfuge in a world where werewolves and vampires are the height of fashion and steampunk rules.

Sophronia is a troublesome fourteen year old who keeps getting into scraps at home, so ends up being shipped off to Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. What her parents don’t realise is that Mademoiselle Geraldine’s trains young girls in the art of espionage, assassination and defence of the realm, while using the correct cutlery and curtseying fashionably. Sophronia is sharp witted and quick and not afraid to take risks, while the rest of her friends she meets at school area variety of young ladies – including one or two who might be familiar to those you have read Gail Carriger’s other series, the Parasol Protectorate. It reminded me so much of the boarding school books I read a young child (Enid Blyton and Trebizon) or Hogwarts. Where the teens manage to solve more mysteries than the adults – and take more risks!

The machinery in the world are amazing – from the mechianimals to the robotic ‘staff’ there is no end of the imagination used to create a truly unique world. There is so much happening and the characters are just fantastic fun. I actually feel the world suits a YA story better than a regular story – and I can’t tell you how much fun discussions of proper manners and correct protocol are! If you want a great summer read than pick this book up – and I promise you will have a blast!

Recommended for fans of Kelley Armstrong and Richelle Mead. 9 out of 10 

Wild & Steamy Review

Wild & Steamy

Meljean Brook, Jill Moyles & Carolyn Crane

 Kindle Book

This is a free anthology on paranormal & steampunk romances I picked up a while ago, but have only recently got around to reading. As there are only three stories in this collection I thought I’d review each story separately.

The Blushing Bounder (Iron Seas #0.5) – Meljean Brooks

The search for a killer puts Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth's life in danger and her assistant, Constable Newberry, in the line of fire. But Newberry faces a danger of another kind: to his heart, by the woman forced to marry him. What will it take for this prudish bounder to convince his wife to stay?

This is a nice addition to the Iron Seas world filling in some background information on Mina’s bounder partner, Constable Newberry, his wife and why they came to London. It’s the shortest story but some nice relationship development between both Newberry and Mina and Newberry and his sick wife. The weird and wonderful world of the Iron Seas is touched on briefly with a murder and some unusual cab ride across London adding some colour to the rather sweet romance. A very pleasant story and expansion of a great world. 8 out of 10.

Vixen - Jill Myles

Miko's denied her were-fox nature for far too long and turned her back on her vixen heritage. But when she meets two very sexy cat-shifters, she has to decide if she truly wants to give up on her frisky side, or embrace it. Because the were-fox in her doesn't want to choose between both men...it wants them both.

Miko is a were-fox and as such shares some of her Vixen’s personality traits – such as the inability to settle for one man. So she lives alone in the countryside, but when two were-cats turn up on her door in order to protect her from a local hunt, her instinctive behaviour can’t let her decide between the two of them. For me this was very much in the paranormal romance filter with heavy on the romance. There is some very smexy action, but overall the plot lacked any focus. I usually prefer my PR with more action and story rather than descriptions of sitting around the house. 6 out of 10

Kitten-Tiger and the Monk (Disillusionments #2.5) – Carolyn Crane

Sophia Sidway, Midcity's most dangerous memory revisionist, seeks out the mysterious Monk in the wasteland beneath the Tangle turnpike, hoping for redemption...but it turns out.

A Memory Revisionist is searching for the Monk in order to start a new life, but runs into an old flame. I’ve not read any of the Disillusionment series before but I have to admit I’m intrigued by this short glimpse into the world of Midcity! The characters are different – both damaged and unique with a complicated history, while their world is so completely different to anything I’ve seen before. I definitely want to know more about this world – and luckily I have both Mind Games and Double Cross in my TBR pile. If I can find them, I will be diving into this world again soon! 9 out of 10

Overall, this was a good mix of Steampunk, Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy which should have some appeal for most people and might even get you interested in a couple of new series!

Recommended for fans of Pip Ballantine and Kelly Gay. 7.5 out of 10

Novella Review: Mina Wentworth and the Invisible City

Mina Wentworth and the Invisible City (Iron Seas #1.5)

-       Meljean Brook

Kindle Book

Eight months after The Iron Duke, can their marriage survive a new danger?
After Mina is called in to investigate the murder of an aristocratic bounder, her husband Rhys—known to the world as the Iron Duke—must overcome his fear for his new bride before his need to protect her tears them apart. But when she invites him to join her at the murder scene, a search for a mysterious killing machine puts her in more danger than ever before…a danger that leads straight back to Rhys.

This is a great little epilogue to The Iron Duke as we catch up with Mina and Rhys eight months into their marriage. They are both struggling to come to terms with their new situation. Rhys especially is trying to find the balance between wanting to protect his new police inspector wife and knowing that by doing so he would lose her entirely. He really seems to have grown since we first met him in The Iron Duke. Mina as well is particularly patient with Rhys and understanding of his fears. I also loved the way they brought Anne the Tinker into their family and how all three of them are still figuring out the family dynamic as its new to all of them.

The story itself is based on the murder of prominent bounder and involves some politics about automating factories verses the loose of jobs. It’s a grey area and while the murder is solved, the situation does raise some interesting grey areas which may be explored in future stories... I did enjoy some of the automation and gadgets that are explored – the two-seater balloons seem wonderful (I would love one myself!).

This is a wonderful little coda into a book I particularly adored and a little insight into how a happily ever after really works. Some excitement, some smexy action and I am now hungry to read Heart of Steel!

Recommended for fans of Pip Ballantine and Devon Monk. 8 out of 10.

Phoenix Rising Review

Phoenix Rising (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences #1)

-       Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Evil is most assuredly afoot—and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade . . . and a librarian.
These are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences—the Crown’s clandestine organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling—will not allow its agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however, with her bulletproof corset and a disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to let the matter rest . . . and she’s prepared to drag her timorous new partner, Wellington Books, along with her into the perilous fray. For a malevolent brotherhood is operating in the deepening London shadows, intent upon the enslavement of all Britons. And Books and Braun—he with his encyclopedic brain and she with her remarkable devices—must get to the twisted roots of a most nefarious plot . . . or see England fall to the Phoenix!

It’s been a little while since I read any steampunk, but after finishing Phoenix Rising I wondered why I left it so long! This book has bags of energy, invention and sophistication. New Zealander and Ministry Field Agent, Eliza Braun loves action – she’s happy chasing down suspects in horse drawn carriages, gun in hand and saving the British Empire. Books is the ministries Archivist, inventor of useful gadgets and happy keeping the other agents files in order. When they are thrown together an unusual partnership is born which could just save the Empire – if Braun and Books can survive each other.

Eliza Braun is a modern woman, capable and independent, but a little reckless and brash. Books always thinks before he acts and is reserved, but he has hidden depths that not even Eliza is aware of... yet. I loved the way they were getting to know each other and testing their expectations. It felt like they were really figuring each other out – Books being able to out drink Eliza, while Eliza’s well appointed apartment surprises Books. The banter between them is sparkling and amusing. They start investigating what really happened to Eliza’s former partner, now an inmate in an institute and how this relates to an age old secret society within London’s upperclass.

The plot is fast-paced with discovery and revelations quickly made as they move from one scene stealing event to the next. Eliza is quick on the draw and has a wonderful collection of gadget and weapons, while Book’s gizmos are fantastic and useful. Together I felt like Eliza was a female Bond and Books her Q! In fact the whole story does read like some sort of Victorian Bond story, but without the dour straight face.

There are still some outstanding mysteries particularly with regard to Books past, Dr Sounds activities in the Archives and Bruce Campbell role. These mysteries plus the chance to see how Eliza and Books are coping with each other now means I will be picking up the second book, The Janus Affair very soon! This was frantic fun in Victorian London which will leave a massive smile on your face.

Recommended for fans of Meljean Brooks and Gail Carriger. 9 out of 10

Timeless (Parasol Protectorate #5) Review

Timeless (Parasol Protectorate #5)

-       Gail Carriger

Publisher: Orbit

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle. Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

This is the final book in the Parasol Protectorate series following the adventures of Alexia, in the Victorian era when one can easily have tea with a vampire and a carriage ride with a werewolf...as long as you mind your manners. Two years have passed since Alexia and her husband Lord Maccon, had their daughter Prudence and it’s been two years of relative calm (with the exception of bath time of course). Now though, the death of the Scottish Pack’s Beta means that Alexia, her husband and daughter are set to head to Egypt and the source of the Godbreaker’s curse.

One of the elements that I love about this series is the comedy of manners that has evolves. The idea of going out in public without a hat – scandalous! Tea and cake are essential for British mentality, and Alexia ensures that this is never missed. The first half of Timeless is set in London and is quite slow going as we catch up with all our favourite characters – Biffy, Lord Akeldama, Ivy Tunstall and of course we meet Prudence, Alexia’s daughter for the first time. While this re-introduces us to all the players and provides plenty of comedy moments, not much of interest actually happens – that is all saved for Egypt.

Once Alexia and family hit Egypt a lot happens in a short space of time. The pace speeds up and there is little time to think as events – both heartbreaking and inevitable seem to happen quickly. The ending is sweet and pretty inevitable, but feels like it’s missing that spark that would make it completely satisfying. I’m not sure what it is, but while I did enjoy this visit to Victorian steampunk London, it felt very much like Gail was setting up the scene for a sequel series – perhaps focussing on Prudence when she’s older..? Surprisingly though the next series will actually be a prequel series!

In the end though this is a good finish to a consistently entertaining series and I will miss having tea and cake with Alexia in the future.

Recommended for fans of George Mann and Patricia Briggs. 8 out of 10

On My Wishlist #91

This is a meme from Cosy Books. There are so many books out there that I want to read that this is the only way I can keep track! It's been a while since read any steampunk so I thought I'd have a look at what's out there...

God Save The Queen - Kate Locke

Publisher: UK - Orbit (July 2012)

Queen Victoria rules with an immortal fist.
The undead matriarch of a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. A world where being nobility means being infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath), Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day, and leeches are considered a delicacy. And a world where technology lives side by side with magic. The year is 2012 and Pax Britannia still reigns.
Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it is her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But when her sister goes missing, Xandra will set out on a path that undermines everything she believed in and uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire. And she is the key-the prize in a very dangerous struggle.

With the recent Jubilee celebrations in the UK, this sounds like such a great idea! I love the cool pose on the front as well.

Riveted - Meljean Brook

Publisher: UK - Berkley (August 2012)

A century after a devastating volcanic eruption forced Iceland’s inhabitants to abandon its shores, the island has become enshrouded in legend. But the truth behind the legends is mechanical, not magical—and the mystery of the island a matter of life and death for a community of women who once spilled noble blood to secure their freedom.
Five years ago, Annika unwittingly endangered that secret, but her sister Källa took the blame and was exiled. Now Annika serves on an airship, searching for her sister and longing to return home. But that home is threatened when scientific expedition leader David Kentewess comes aboard, looking to expose Annika’s secrets. Then disaster strikes, leaving David and Annika stranded on a glacier and pursued by a madman, with their very survival depending on keeping the heat rising between them—and generating lots of steam.

I'm a recent convert to Meljean Brook's writing so I can't wait for this to come out. 

The Doomsday Vault - Steven Harper

Publisher: Roc

In a clockwork Britannia, Alice's prospects are slim. At 21, her age and her unladylike interest in automatons have sealed her fate as an undesirable marriage prospect. But a devastating plague sends Alice off in a direction beyond the pale--towards a clandestine organization, mad inventors, life-altering secrets, and into the arms of an intrepid fiddle-playing airship pilot.

I've read a couple of glowing reviews about this book and I have to confess I'm extremely curious about the story!

What are you wishing for?

On My Wishlist #82

This is a meme from Cosy Books. There are so many books out there that I want to read that this is the only way I can keep track! I feel like some steampunk this week... 

Heart of Steel (Iron Seas 2) - Meljean Brook
Publisher: UK - Berkley

Growing up in the dangerous world of the Iron Seas, the mercenary captain of the airship Lady Corsair, Yasmeen, has learned to keep her heart hard as steel. Ruthless and cunning, her only loyalty is to her ship and her crew-until one man comes along and changes everything...Treasurehunter Archimedes Fox isn't interested in the Lady Corsair-just the captain and the valuable da Vinci sketch she stole from him. When it attracts a dangerous amount of attention, Yasmeen and Archimedes journey to Horde-occupied Morocco- and straight into enemy hands.

Having just finished The Iron Duke I really want to get my hands on this, the next book in the Iron Seas series. I really liked Yasmeen in The Iron Duke so I want to know what adventures she is getting up too now!

Leviathan - Scott Westerfield

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.
Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.
With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.

This sounds like a fun read!

Boneshaker - Cherie Priest

Publisher: Tor Books

Boneshaker derives its title from the Bone-Shaking Drill Engine, a device designed to give Russian prospectors a leg up in the race for Klondike gold. Unfortunately, there was one hitch: On its trial run, the Boneshaker went haywire and, long story short, turned much of Seattle into a city of the dead. Now, 16 years later, a teenage boy decides to find out what is behind that mysterious wall. Can his mother save him in time?

I've heard a few positive things about this series so I'm curious to try it myself!

So are there any other massive steampunk novels I should be trying?

Early Review: The Iron Duke

The Iron Duke (The Iron Seas 1)

-          Meljean Brook

Publisher: UK – Berkley (Released in UK on 12th April 2012)

After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power-and fear-of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.
But when Mina uncovers the victim's identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans-and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen, as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.

Mina is a police inspector in London nine years after the Horde were beaten – conceived during a frenzy, she has to deal with the prejudice of her Horde heritage every day. However, she doesn’t let this stop her from doing her job and doing it well – even if that means clashing with England’s most famous pirate turned saviour, the Iron Duke himself. Together they find themselves caught up in a deeper conspiracy and mystery than they could have thought possible...

This book is like rocky road ice cream – lots of yummy ingredients that you usually enjoy separately, mixed together to create something entirely different and yet delicious and more-ish. You want an independently strong female lead, you got it. You want a handsome alpha male, you got it. You want an intriguing mystery, you got it. Nano-agents? Check. Adventure? Check. Romance? Check. Zombies? Check. Sea battles? Check. Sea Monsters? Check. And of course no steampunk novel would be complete without an airship or two... Somehow, this book has become so much more than the sum of it parts to create something truly unique.

I will confess I struggled a little at the beginning as the world and history was so different from anything I could recognise – a lot of background is thrown at you in a short space of time – the Horde, the buggers, the blounders, but it is all needed in order to truly understand the detailed and comprehensive world that Meljean Brook has created.  After the first fifty pages or so, you are up to date and then watch out! The pace is frantic, but detailed. The relationships are complex and more than just typical romantic stereotypes. While reading, it feels like you’ve had the emotion and excitement of a full season of your favourite show. My heart was racing so many times during The Iron Duke. Despite the steampunk trappings this could easily belong to any other genre as well – romance (there are some truly smexy scenes here!), horror (the ratcatchers really terrified me!), conspiracy, pirating – I could go on, but instead I will highly, highly recommend this book!

Recommended for fans of Nalini Singh and Nicole Peeler. 9.5 out of 10.     

On My Wishlist #78

This is a meme from Book Chick City. There are so many books out there that I want to read that this is the only way I can keep track!

The Strange Affair of Spring Heel Kack - Mark Hodder
Publisher: Snowbooks

Sir Richard Francis Burton--explorer, linguist, scholar, and swordsman; his reputation tarnished; his career in tatters; his former partner missing and probably dead.
Algernon Charles Swinburne--unsuccessful poet and follower of de Sade; for whom pain is pleasure, and brandy is ruin!
They stand at a crossroads in their lives and are caught in the epicenter of an empire torn by conflicting forces: Engineers transform the landscape with bigger, faster, noisier, and dirtier technological wonders; Eugenicists develop specialist animals to provide unpaid labor; Libertines oppose repressive laws and demand a society based on beauty and creativity; while the Rakes push the boundaries of human behavior to the limits with magic, drugs, and anarchy. The two men are sucked into the perilous depths of this moral and ethical vacuum when Lord Palmerston commissions Burton to investigate assaults on young women committed by a weird apparition known as Spring Heeled Jack, and to find out why werewolves are terrorizing London's East End.

I just love the mix of historical and steampunk elements and add in Jack the Ripper - this looks like such a great story!

The Unnaturalists - Tiffany Trent

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

In an alternate London where magical creatures are preserved in a museum, two teens find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, deception, and danger.
Vespa Nyx wants nothing more than to spend the rest of her life cataloging Unnatural creatures in her father’s museum, but as she gets older, the requirement to become a lady and find a husband is looming large. Syrus Reed’s Tinker family has always served and revered the Unnaturals from afar, but when his family is captured to be refinery slaves, he finds that his fate may be bound up with Vespa’s—and with the Unnaturals. As the danger grows, Vespa and Syrus find themselves in a tightening web of deception and intrigue. At stake may be the fate of New London—and the world.

I adore everything about this book - the cover, the synopsis, the only thing...? It's not out until August!

The Iron Wyrm Affair - Lilith Saintcrow

Publisher: Orbit

 Emma Bannon, Prime sorceress in the service of the Empire, has a mission: to protect Archibald Clare, a failed, unregistered mentath. His skills of deduction are legendary, and her own sorcery is not inconsiderable. It doesn’t much help that they dislike each other, or that Bannon’s Shield, Mikal, might just be a traitor himself. Or that the conspiracy killing registered mentaths and sorcerers alike will just as likely kill them as seduce them into treachery toward their Queen. In an alternate London where illogical magic has turned the Industrial Revolution on its head, Bannon and Clare now face hostility, treason, cannon fire, black sorcery, and the problem of reliably finding hansom cabs.
The game is afoot...

I tried Lilith Saintcrows Urban Fantasy series and for some reason it didn't capture me, but this looks like a lot more fun and I'm willing to try something again!

What are you wishing for this week? :)

Dearly Departed Review

Dearly, Departed

-        -   Lia Habel

Publisher: Del Ray

E-Arc with thanks to netgalley and Del Ray Books

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?
The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses. But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire. 

Dearly, Departed is set in a particularly unique world that combines a lot of different genres – post-apocalypse, steampunk, YA, romance, and of course zombies. Set in the future where the world’s population now hugs the equator for warmth, one tribe has embraced the ‘golden’ age of Victorian London as their culture, recreating the manners and morals of that age, but with the luxury of computers and electronics, This makes it seem like a bizarre mix of old fashion and modern. While it threw me at first, I soon came to enjoy this unique mix.

Nora, our heroine has been grieving for her father for a year, when she is accosted by some strangely rotting people in her home and is propelled into Bram’s arms – who knows more about her than she would like. I liked Nora’s continued care with the zombies she comes across – she doesn’t let her guard down straight away and Bram’s method of winning her trust is very sweet. I didn’t think I would fall for a zombie boy – but with Bram I believed I could! However, Nora still seems like a very passive heroine – she doesn’t actually do much throughout the story – apart from scream and be stubborn. I much preferred reading about Pamela, Nora’s best friend who is caught between her education and society expectations and being herself and her family. She is much more relate-able – and come the finale, Pamela was much more gun-ho – grabbing her bow and arrows and risking herself to help others. More Pamela please!

The mix of good and bad zombies is great as well – especially with the good zombies knowing their time is still limited. Overall characters are much stronger than plot and it was the characters that kept me reading. I wanted to know more about Bram, Chas, Pamela. Some of the characters actions and motivations didn’t really make sense (What was Wolfe’s master plan? It didn’t make sense!), but it didn’t matter much, as the characters were what you wanted to read about! Even small characters that don’t get much time feel like fully rounded individuals – Dr Samedi and Bailey Chase were so colourful with just a c few scenes. And no steampunk flavoured novel is complete without an airship!

Great characters, interesting world, fun action made this a fun read. I will be looking out for the sequel, Dearly Beloved.

Recommended for fans of Beth Revis and Julie Kagawa.  7.5 out of 10

Heartless Review

Heartless (The Parasol Protectorate 4)

-       Gail Carriger

Publisher: UK – Orbit

Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband's past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux's latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant. Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf's clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama's second best closet?

Despite being eight months pregnant, Lady Alexia Maccon takes no prisoners in her latest adventure. From the first page, she waddles in control of herself and others – and making sure there is always a cup of tea at the ready. One of the elements I love about this series is the comedy of manners that ensures. After all, werewolves turning into naked men causes certain social niceties some issues...

This world neatly combined elements of steampunk (steam inventions and dirigibles) with the paranormal in a world of Victorian ideals. This means that unmarried women don’t go out unchaperoned, and even in the midst of an attack it’s scandalous to see men without hats upon their heads. The investigation into who is threatening the queen is interesting – especially when Alexia gets side tracked. However, the first half of the book is relatively slow moving with little urgency until the final hundred pages when there is a huge finale across London and into the countryside.

I love the cast of characters about Alexia, from her over protective alpha husband, Lord Maccon, the dandy former-vampire drone Biffy, mad inventor Madame Lefoux and even hat-obsessed Ivy Tunstell. The world is unique and this is a rip-roaring adventure with perfect manners and a lot of fun.

Recommended for fans of Nicole Peeler and Philippa Ballantine. 8 out of 10.

On My Wishlist #52

This is a meme from Book Chick City. There are so many books out there that I want to read that this is the only way I can keep track! I'm back in steampunk mood this week - one of the joys of discovering a new genre - loads of books to find! :-)

Whitechapel Gods - S.M. Peters

Publisher: Roc

TWO GODS-ONE CHANCE FOR MANKIND
In Victorian London, the Whitechapel section is a mechanized, steam-driven hell, cut off and ruled by two mysterious, mechanical gods-Mama Engine and Grandfather Clock. Some years have passed since the Great Uprising, when humans rose up to fight against the machines, but a few brave veterans of the Uprising have formed their own Resistance-and are gathering for another attack. For now they have a secret weapon that may finally free them-or kill them all...

This looks like a fun Steampunk tale in Victorian London

Dead Iron (Age of Steam 1) - Devon Monk

Publisher: Roc

Welcome to a new America that is built on blood, sweat, and gears...
In steam age America, men, monsters, machines, and magic battle for the same scrap of earth and sky. In this chaos, bounty hunter Cedar Hunt rides, cursed by lycanthropy and carrying the guilt of his brother's death. Then he's offered hope that his brother may yet survive. All he has to do is find the Holder: a powerful device created by mad devisers-and now in the hands of an ancient Strange who was banished to walk this Earth.
In a land shaped by magic, steam, and iron, where the only things a man can count on are his guns, gears, and grit, Cedar will have to depend on all three if he's going to save his brother and reclaim his soul once and for all...

Most steampunk is set in London, but this takes a twist on that and sets steampunk firmly in America. In addition who doesn't like some brotherly guilt stories? :-)

Johannes Cabel the Detective - Johnathan L. Howard

Publisher: Doubleday

In this genre-twisting novel, infamous necromancer Johannes Cabal, after beating the Devil and being reunited with his soul, leads us on another raucous journey in a little-known corner of the world. This time he’s on the run from the local government. Stealing the identity of a minor bureaucrat, Cabal takes passage on the Princess Hortense, a passenger aeroship that is leaving the country. The deception seems perfect, and Cabal looks forward to a quiet trip and a clean escape, until he comes face-to-face with Leonie Barrow, an enemy from the old days who could blow his cover. But when a fellow passenger throws himself to his death, or at least that is how it appears, Cabal begins to investigate out of curiosity. His minor efforts result in a vicious attempt on his own  life—and then the gloves come off. Cabal and Leonie—the only woman to ever match wits with him—reluctantly team up to discover the murderer. Before they are done, there will be more narrow escapes, involving sword fighting and newfangled flying machines. There will be massive destruction, not to mention resurrected dead . . .
I've heard good things about this series and just love the idea of the ultimate locked room mystery - on an airship. This is one book I want to read!

So what are you wishing for this week? :) 

Corsets and Clockwork Review

Corsets and Clockworks

-       Edited Trisha Telep

Publisher: Robinson

Trisha Telep brings an exciting new element to the fast-growing sub-genre of steampunk, which bends and blends the old and the new in increasingly popular dark urban fantasies. Young heroes and heroines battle evil, in various forms with the help of super-technological or supernatural powers, while falling in and out of love.

Anthologies are just like a box of chocolates – you know you’ll like some flavours better than others. If you’re lucky the whole box will be full of soft centres (or whatever your favourite filling is!), but there’s usually at least one tooth cracking toffee in there. This anthology has thirteen tales of steampunk romance with some stories more romantic than others, and some more steampunkery (is that even a word? I don’t know but I like it! J). What surprised me was how much magic and supernatural doings were included as well!

There is a wide mixture of stories from vampires, fae, alternative versions of war and subversives all mingling to create a mix that should satisfy most people. The romance is generally on the soft side and rarely the main focus of the story.  Some stand out stories for me were Wild Magic by Ann Aguirre – maybe not the most original story but beautifully written and The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhithe by Frewin Jones which I can’t get out of my head.

If you’re new to the steampunk genre this could be a good place to start.

Recommended for fans of Pip Ballantine and Gail Carriger. 8 out of 10

On My Wishlist #48

This is a meme from Book Chick City. There are so many books out there that I want to read that this is the only way I can keep track! What that's up in the sky..? Is it a bird? Is a plane? Is it superman? No, it's a dirigible! It's Steampunk time! :-)

The Girl In The Steel Corset -  Kady Cross

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one except the thing inside her.
When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch. Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits. Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret. Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help and finally be a part of something, finally fit in. But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on, even if it seems no one believes her.

I love the sound of this - like an Urban Fantasy in Victorian times. :-)

Cold Magic - Kate Elliott

Publisher: Orbit

It is the dawn of a new age... The Industrial Revolution has begun, factories are springing up across the country, and new technologies are transforming in the cities. But the old ways do not die easy. Young Cat Barahal thinks she understands the world she lives in and her place in it, but in fact she is merely poised, unaware, on the brink of shattering events. Drawn into a labyrinth of politics involving blood, betrayal and old feuds, she will be forced to make an unexpected and perilous journey in order to discover the truth, not just about her own family but about an ancient secret lying at the heart of her world. Cat and her cousin Bee are part of this revolution. Young women at college, learning of the science that will shape their future and ignorant of the magics that rule their families. But all of that will change when the Cold Mages come for Cat. New dangers lurk around every corner and hidden threats menace her every move. If blood can't be trusted, who can you trust?

I love the tag line on this book - Dragons Dream, Mages Scheme, Innocents Die. It makes me really curious about the story. I've never read any Kate Elliott books but apparently they are worth trying.

The Iron Thorn - Caitline Kittridge

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day. Aoife Grayson's family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different.

This is another book I'm tempted to try based on the reviews I've read as well as the fact I loved Black and White which Caitlin wrote with Jackie Kessler.

So what are you wishing for this week? :)

Morlock Night Review

Morlock Night

-       K.W. Jeter

Publisher: Angry Robot

E-Copy courtesy of netgalley and Angry Robot - Available now

JUST WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE TIME MACHINE RETURNED? Having acquired a device for themselves, the brutish Morlocks return from the desolate far future to Victorian England to cause mayhem and disruption. But the mythical heroes of Old England have also returned, in the hour of the country's greatest need, to stand between England and her total destruction

A semi-sequel to HG Well’s classic The Time Machine, Morlock Night picks up the night the inventor returned to 1892 and told his story to his dinner companions. Commonly known as one of the first Steampunk novels(first published in the the 1970s), this has so many ideas packed in, sometimes it’s difficult to breathe! As well as the underground-living, time travelling Morlocks from the distant future, there are elements of King Arthur and Merlin, and the long-lost city of Atlantis thrown into the mix. This means there is so much happening, the story cracks along at a sprinting pace. Both danger and exposition leap at our heroes from all sides.

The characters are minor points in this play with all the focus on the various ideas and action sequences. Reading it felt like watching a two hour blockbuster with a huge special effects budget as so many separate ideas merge and roll the action forward. I loved the scope and sheer scale of what was happening, but I did miss deeper emotional depth My one disappointment was the sudden ending – it seemed to be over much too quickly after all the build up. Still this is a summer reading for steampunk and classic fans who want a roller coaster of action and adventure in Victorian London – after all who doesn’t love the idea of Arthur fighting Morlocks? J

Recommended for fans of HG Wells & James Rollins. 7.5 out of 10.