Loved it! Loved it, loved it, loved it.
I always get really nervous when I write reviews for books that I have such positive reactions to, especially ones like this one that have such strong personalities. This book knows who it is and what it’s trying to do and does its thing with aplomb. I happened to love it immediately after reading the first sentence, but I can understand how if the humor in the writing or the language she uses, or if you don’t like romances, or stories with their tongues firmly in cheek, or stories set in Victorian England, or dirigibles, or spinsters . . . or whatever else this story has that I shoved into my brain as fast as I could, if none of that works for you, or pieces don’t . . . I could see how you might not like this book.
Of course, if that’s the case, I also reserve the right to think you are wrong, so so very wrong. Please go marinate yourself in your wrongness. This book was a goddamn delight from start to finish.
I don’t even know what else to say. This book was such a perfect mash-up of things I love, put together in such a very appealing way. I haven’t read very many steampunk books, and I usually avoid books about werewolves and vampires unless they are heavily recommended, but the slightly skewed Victorian setting, proceeding form an alternate history where after the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment, the world’s vampires and werewolves came out of the shadows to live among polite society, immediately caught my imagination. The narrator had this sassy and perfect attitude, and our main character Alexia herself, not to mention the werewolf Lord Maccon, were instantly lovable. I’m not usually into werewolves, but DAMN SON.
It’s just, it feels like this book is mine. I can see myself becoming quite obsessed with it. It’s honestly not even that great! I mean, it’s great. Lies. What I mean is that nothing it does hasn’t been done before, but the way it’s all put together made it seem like I’d never read anything like it before. I was giggling through half of it and swooning through more, and then being super creeped out, and then back to swooning. Literally the only complaint I have is that the narrator was a bit unidentifiable. It was a closed third person, yet also seemed to be omniscient, and switched from character to character depending on the paragraph. But I was willing to forgive it that slight misstep because SO MUCH FUN.
If you like any of the following things, read this book immediately:
- Sass.
- A story about vampires and werewolves that doesn’t make you want to rip your hair out.
- A satisfying romance between two stubborn, opinionated people.
- Good sexy times.
- Dirigibles, clockwork items, bustles, parasols, carriages and other such items.
- Really creepy bad guys.
- Seriously though the kissing.