New Review...Touch of Steel By Kate Cross

Claire Brooks is seeking revenge for the only family she had left.



More often than not, I've had the distinct pleasure of disappointment when a book claims to be steampunk. My favorite was one particular novel that used the word so many times that I literally laughed out loud and finished two chapters.

But, I'm still that girl who loves a good cover, and when I caught sight of this one on my hastily planned dash through the bookstore, I had to have it. And, of course, in the grand tradition of all things me, it is the second book in the Clockwork Agents series.

So I picked up the first book, Heart of Brass.

And fell in love.

In Kate Cross' second novel in the series, she not only delivers an intriguing steampunk powered world where automatons and dirigibles power everyday life, but also a world where the women of the realm ;-) are empowering, passionate, and not satisfied to sit by and wait to be rescued.

And when Claire meets her match in Alastair, the Earl of Wolfred, there is so much steam you may need to open a window and clear the air. From opposing agencies, these two must work together to capture one of the realms biggest enemies. But, can Alastair resist his captive? And will Claire be able to do what she needs to, no matter the consequences?

The best part of this story (other than the steamy romance, of course), is how effortless the steampunk world seemed. Details were resplendent, every character adding layers of intrigue and subtlety. And who can resist chasing a bad guy with a sexy spy? Why, only another dangerous and sexy spy. The Dove may have met her match.

Rich, vibrant, and full of ingenious detail, Touch of Steel will have you longing for more Wardens of the Realm!

Steampunk Review...Lady Mechanika #0 by Joe Benitez

Lady Mechanika has no memory of her past. Her arms have been replaced with mechanical devices, found by authorities alive in an abandoned laboratory amidst cadavers and body parts, the only survivor of a serial killer (or, so it has been said). Now, she uses her unique abilities as a private detective in Victorian England, during a time when magic and mystery meets scientific reason.
This has long been one of my most anticipated books of this entire year. The zero issue has had three (yep...three) printings and was so hard to get to my hot lil hands on that it took until the third printing to get one at one of my local comic shops. (But, I did dish out a little to get a sketch variant at a comic con. I know, I have a problem.) The bright spot in all this reprint madness, of course, means more gorgeous covers!
In issue zero, we meet a mysterious creature on the run from a zealous group of hunters...but, then Lady Mechanika steps in, only to realize he isn't dangerous, only hungry and scared. For Lady Mechanika, her past is a shrouded in the dark, unknown...but, this creature recognises her. But, before he can give her the details she so desperately wants, the one of the members of the hunting party cruelly kills him and her chance to finally find out who she is...
The simple set up in this prequel not only made me want more (and thank goodness I have issue number one!!!!!) but set the tone for what I hope is a fabulous contribution to the steampunk genre. And interestingly enough, the creator of the series, Joe Benitez, shares his inspiration for the series (oh, yeah, there are a few comic con trips involved!), plus some steampunk recipes (which made me hungry) in the book. So many times, the inside artwork doesn't live up to the cover or the premise promised. Not so with Lady Mechanika...the attention to detail to bringing the steampunk genre to life not only lives up to itself, but exceeds.

To check out more on Lady Mechanika and its creator/owner, click here. And don't forget to go out and get it for yourself. If you can!

Book Review Steampunk Style...The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

From the back cover:

Seductive danger and steampunk adventure abound in the gritty world of the Iron Seas, where nanotech is fused with Victorian sensibilities-and steam.
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.
Mina can't afford his interest, however. Horde blood runs through her veins, and despite the nanotech enhancing her body, she barely scratches out a living in London society. Becoming Rhys's lover would destroy both her career and her family, yet the investigation prevents her from avoiding him...and the Iron Duke's ruthless pursuit makes him difficult to resist.
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.

Admittedly, I am just a few days early for my review. Call it lack of patience, timing, or just plain old I couldn't wait to put my thoughts out there and make you (yes, make you!!!) go out and get this for someone on your Christmas list. Yep, I am that much in love with this book.

From page one, there was something decidedly different about The Iron Duke. So many people seem to be jumping on the steampunk train without truly getting not only the tone but the actual small nuances of their world that the reader starts to feel cheated. (I picked up a supposed steampunk romance this past year and disgustedly had to put it down. The word steampunk was so often rendered that it made me want to make a drinking game up. To help me finish. I'll keep the name to myself, but suffice it to say, it kinda jaded my opinion on steampunk for the rime being.)

At first I felt like I was transported into some alternate universe that felt like a new pair of leather gloves. A tad awkward at first, a little stiff yet snugly comfortable, but the more you wear them, the more it molds to you and makes your more movements that much easier. On world building alone, Meljean Brook dishes out exactly what you would expect and more. The back story and setting give meaning and purpose to each character's reactions more than any other novel I've had the pleasure of reading. No punches pulled here, the author knows her reader can handle any term she throws at them. Which is why The Iron Duke is a book meant to be savored and poured over, and took me a good week (after I found it again, but that's another story along with the crazy schedule that is life) to read each and every single word.
Mina may be a bugger, but her humor and depth of character shine and made me root for her even as she explored the gory details of dead bodies. Ew. Smart, even somewhat, dare I say, cheeky at times and full of character and heart, I loved the Inspector with each and very turn of the page even more. But, any heroine worth her salt has to have a worthy hero. Even if he seems a little rough around the edges.

The Iron Duke reluctantly saved England from the Horde, and his reputation, more often than not, proceeds him. Daring, and just a little dangerous, the Duke does all that he can to get under Mina's carefully controlled exterior...and other things. There was something so manly (sigh) and yet snuggable (what can I say...) about his actions and demeanor that I was hooked from the first.

And even better, the combination of airship travel (goggles, anyone?), intriguing characters (oh, to captain an airship!) with a few zombies and maybe a sea monster thrown in made The Iron Duke steampunk with the hottest amount of steam added to make you want more. Definitely in my top five for 2010, without a doubt!

(Hmm...this review will have its own role in my Happy Holiday Celebration...just sayin.)

Preview...Steampunk Style

Being a fan girl at heart, this is one that I couldn't wait to get my hot little hands on. The hard part, though, is the getting hands on part. Because number zero has sold out not once, but twice and is on to its third printing. (Go Aspen Comics!) Which also means, for those of us who have, well, serious problems, more covers with fabulous art by Joe Benitez and J. Scott Campbell (and I'm sure a few others!). An artist owned title with kick booty artwork and storytelling from one of my favorite comic companies equals a win win...and its STEAMPUNK? Bonus!


(This one was a much anticipated contest prize that has had its ups and downs that have nothing to do with the actual book. Ahem, husband misplaced once. And now, I can't wait to share my thoughts with all of you.)

Being bitten in the past by various "steampunk" novels that maybe just didn't fit the bill for me (saying steampunk a dozen times or so a chapter does not a steampunk novel make), I was a tad skeptical at first but decided from the blog buzz to go for it just one more time. And, not that it really matters, but the steampunk episode of Castle made me, well, steam wanting. So, in deference not only to my fan girly-ness but the fun that is goggle-liciouness, onward and upward I read...

I have a feeling I'll be seeing you sooner than later!

Book Review...or I Really Want My Own Parasol

From Amazon.com:

Alexia Tarabotti, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs.


Then he disappears - leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria. But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can.


She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.


After reading the first book in the series (to which you can find the story behind my discovery of Alexia and her parasol inclinations as well as a little Steampunk fun when I guest posted over at Not-Really-Southern Vamp Chick here), I have to say I had been eagerly awaiting the next in the series with baited and gas lit breath...

Of course, the day arrived, and I eagerly made my purchase. From whence it sat, in my ginormous (that's a word, right?) pile of TBR tomes. And sat.

And, then, I had to read it. Sorely, I missed Alexia. Little bit prejudiced (ack, that just sounds odd) being of the Italian persuasion myself.

As with the first book, I very much enjoyed a few key things that seem to define this particular sect of the Steampunk genre. Gail Carriger delightfully mixes the paranormal with a touch of Victorian Steampunk in way that seems to be almost seamless. Word after word, complex and full of color that painted the picture of this world...that I strangely would have skimmed quickly over in some novels, but not so here. The fact that our heroine is in fact happily (we think!) married to her Alpha werewolf, muhjah to the Queen, and best friend to the flamboyant Lord Akeldama, you would think at first look all is well in London. I mean, even Ivy, with her hideous hats is engaged!

But, all is in fact, not well.

It seems there is a strange affliction affecting the ghosts, vampires, and werewolves at strange intervals....they become mortal and all that implies. The only one not to be influenced by the phenomena is Alexia herself. Then there is the matter of her Alpha husband. Lord Maccon doesn't always share every tid bit of information, either about his work at the BUR, his pack (hello, darling husband, go ahead and let the entire regiment pack camp out on the front lawn!), or his own past (there are a few things you should share, really). Then he off and disappears to Scotland and his former pack without so much as a word to her directly. Which means his practical Alpha preternatural wife must contend with the Queen and her advisors, her best friend and her horrible hats, her sister (tgif that I am on only child *g), the pack and Major Channing Channing, and the strangely beautiful yet altogether unsettling Madame Lefoux.

And deal she does...

If Alexia had any downfall (except her soulless state), I would say its her personality. In the best way possible. She is blunt, able to look at situations clearly, handle the oddest of situations, and accept anyone even if they have more than a few faults. Those who surround her hold up a mirror for the reader so that we see her qualities through them and their interactions. (Who knew an Italian could have such a big heart under all that? Oh, yeah, I did! P.S. Total tongue in cheek here I hope you know. I just find it so amusing. Being Italian.)

The Steampunk element is alive and well, too, but I will say the dirigible trip (and, in case you were wondering, I don't think I'd be a good floater. I hate heights.) seemed more about helium and the blandly steamed food (yuck!)...and a common form of transportation. Madame Lefoux and her inventions layer in the amount of technicality that is needed without being too much. (I loved how Alexia processes this character...after the fact. Really, I wanted to bop her with her parasol. We all have this friend who never quite gets this particular...situation. Sigh.)

Did I enjoy? Yep. Such a nice change of pace from most the books and authors I enjoy. If I had any complaints, it would have to be the brevity of which the romance element is played out...but, hey a married couple who still have the urge to be romantic? I'll take it!

Sadly (slight spoiler), the ending made me want a parasol of my own. To soundly beat a certain werewolf over the head. Men.

And now, once again I must wait. For who knows how long for Blameless...

Avalon Revisited....Steampunk Continued.

From Amazon.com:

Arthur has made his existence as a vampire bearable for over three hundred years by immersing himself in blood and debauchery. Aboard an airship gala, he meets Avalon, an aspiring vampire slayer who sparks fire into Arthur's shriveled heart. Together they try to solve the mystery of several horrendous murders. Cultures clash and pressures rise in this sexy Steampunk Romance.

As many of you know, I just finished a guest post on Steampunk over at Not Really Southern Vamp Chick's Birthday Bash Countdown (I just love typing that because it sounds like a party in and of itself!!) in which I made mention of a few steampunk titles, one of which is the above pictured Avalon Revisited by O.M. Grey.

My first kindle edition...and to be honest, I was a tad worried. Not so much about the content, but about me.

You see, change, in its early conceptions, freaks me out. How was I going to read a book that's...not actually a book in my hot little hands? Where would the satisfaction of keeping track of my progress via my sometimes tacky yet lovingly placed bookmarks? Ack!

But there it was....Avalon Revisited, only on Kindle. But, I don't have a Kindle. And I lamented this fact on my twitter. Enter the lovely artist who did the cover art, Catherine Somerlot (she tweeted me, told me about the app for my itouch) and the rest , as they say, is history.

I won't linger too much on the whole steampunk genre (but, if you haven't clicked on the link above, you really should. If for no other reason than to join the celebration) which, I have to say is as varied and colorful as your imagination will let it be.

And Avalon Revisited is no exception. A combination of steampunk and paranormal romance which keeps its identity all through without having to remind you why at every twist and turn.

I tend to speed read, and sometimes that's a good thing, others, not so much. For the first time in a while, however, I took my time, allowing myself to fully enjoy the nuances and pacing O.M. Grey afforded. Cleverly intertwining history, Arthur, we learn, is a Tudor. Yep, you read it right. Given the recent popularity of this time in history, it was refreshing to have this angle. I loved it. Not only did it give him the identity that completely matched his personality traits, it added to his heartbreak.

To which we then meet Avalon...a spinster of sorts, who Arthur falls in love with, practically at first intriguing sight. On a dirigible. If there is one scene that really gives you the feel of the whole nature of steampunk, in my eyes, this is the one. Descriptive and layered, the main characters blend to give the reader a true sense of this world. Avalon is no shrinking violet, and is so intoxicated with the technology and the world around her she barely notices our...vampire.

Ahh, but its not just dirigibles and gears here, ladies and gentlemen. There's a killer afoot. A vampire...who, in fact, is not our narrator...but seems to follow in his footsteps. Is the killer perhaps a little more than your run of the mill vamp? Perhaps. And his victims are rising from the dead, just like their creator.

Which leads Arthur to team up with the lovely (who, in fact reminds him at first of Catherine..yep, that one) Avalon and her partner in um...vampire hunting, Victor. Who have no idea they are actually working with said creature they are supposed to be...hunting.

No spoilers here, though...but I will say there was a sprinkling of steampunk technology and subtle steaminess and at times, not so subtle ;).

If you've never dipped your toes in the genre, you won't be disappointed. And if you have, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Even on my Kindle app. Change can be a good thing.

(Side note, Avalon Revisited is available in Kindle and the good old fashion kind as well over on Amazon...)