Review - God Save the Queen (The Immortal Empire, Book 1) by Kate Locke (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: July 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-0316196123
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Immortal Empire series
Source: From Librarything Early Reviewers for Review
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the first book in the Immortal Empire series by Locke. Right now there are three books planned in this series. The second book is scheduled for a Feb 2013 release and will be titled, The Queen is Dead. The third book, Long Live the Queen, is scheduled for a Sept 2013 release. This was a creative and well done novel.

Our heroine Xandra, lives in a world where Queen Victoria is still ruling as a Vampire and a horrible plague has caused part of the population to mutate into vampires and werewolves. Xandra works as one of the Royal Guard and gets swept up in an investigation when her sister is mysteriously moved into the Bedlam insane asylum.

I really enjoyed this book. It's an interesting blend of Victorian sensibilities, steampunk, alternate history, and good ole urban fantasy. It took me a bit to really engage with the characters, but by the end of the book I was very attached to them.

Xandra is a fun character; she’s a halvie (half vampire, half human) and has excellent fighting skills. There are a lot of awesome action scenes in this book. In the course of her investigation Xandra uncovers some interesting secrets about her own past.

There are a number of intriguing supporting characters as well. Vexation is the werewolf alpha who kind of tumbles into Xandra’s life and becomes both an ally and a lover. He is an excellent character and has this whole respectful, yet dark and dangerous thing going on. Churchhill is Xandra’s instructor in all things fighting and investigative, he adds an interesting dimension to the story as well.

The setting is incredibly interesting. It’s a fairly dark setting. There is a lot of oppression against halvies and some rather unsavory activities that happen in the ranks of the vampiric aristocracy. It’s interesting how having a ruling class that is centuries old makes the world a blend of old traditions with new technologies.

This was a very fun read. I love how goblins play a prominent role and I love their part in whole big picture of the plague and how it was formed. Locke’s created a very good history here and a very complete world. The story has some excellent twists and turns that are hard to predict, the book was very engaging and hard to put down.

On that note there is a glossary and afterward that explain in detail how the plague came about and how the genetic modifications work. I strongly recommend reading this before you read the book so that you aren’t so lost in all the strange terminology early on.

Overall a strong start to a wonderful new steampunk/urban fantasy series. Xandra is a fascinating heroine and has an excellent staff of supporting characters. This is a fun new world that is very creative and intriguing. Mostly this book is just good fun; full of interesting races, a wonderful world, and lots of action. Recommended to those who like a little steampunk in their urban fantasy. I can’t wait to see what The Queen is Dead holds for us!

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Short Story Review - The Strange Case of Finely Jayne by Kady Cross (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Size: 251 KB
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: May 1, 2011
ASIN: B004WEKR1W

Stand Alone or Series: Prequel to the Steampunk Chronicles
Source: Free for Kindle
Rating: 4/5 stars

This short story is a prelude to The Girl in the Steel Corset, the first in Kady Cross's Steampunk Chronicles.  I have already read The Girl in the Steel Corset and really enjoyed it.  This story is good filler as to how Finely gets to where she is in the beginning of The Girl in the Steel Corset.  I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a good sample of the author's writing style because there isn't a lot of back story in this short story.

Finley Jayne is different.  Normally she is a good girl, but sometimes her dark violent side comes out.  This is causing her trouble and she is having trouble holding down a job because sometimes she looses her temper.  When she is hired as a companion for a young woman, she wonders why they girl's mother hired her given Finley's history.  Soon Finley finds out that the girl's mother wants her to unravel a mystery that may have a vast impact on her daughter's impending marriage.

First of all let me say this isn't a very good sampling of Cross's writing.  There isn't enough back story here to make the world in Cross's Steampunk Chronicles truly come alive.  This is more an introduction to the character Finley, than an actual introduction to this world.  I personally would recommend reading The Girl in the Steel Corset when it releases and then if you enjoy that come back and read this back story on how Finley got where she was at the beginning of that book.

Since I had already read The Girl in the Steel Corset and was familiar with this world, I did enjoy this story.  It was nice to have some additional back story on Finley and get to meet her family in more detail.  I think fans of the Steampunk Chronicles will enjoy this addition to the storyline.

Overall a good addition to The Girl in the Steel Corset.  I don't think it stands very well on its own though and I also don't think it is a very good introduction to Cross's writing...it introduces Finley but doesn't do a good job introducing the world.  I wouldn't use this story to determine whether or not you will read the book; I would read the book and then come back and read this additional story if you enjoy the book.  Young adult fans of steampunk should enjoy this universe; Finley is a fun and plucky young woman.

This story goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Get Steampunked!
- E-book Reading Challenge
- Show Me the Free Challenge

 

Early Review - The Girl in the Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles, Book 1) by Kady Cross (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Size: 480 pages 
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: May 24, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0373210336
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Steampunk Chronicles
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

 I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley(dot)com.  I loved the cover, the premise, and the fact that it was steampunk.  I was a little leery after reading some reviews on it, but I shouldn't have been.  This was a fun steampunk read propelled by a sweet love story and an intriguing mystery.

Finley is working as a lady's maid when one of the young lords of the house accosts her.  Finley is forced to call on her darker side to defend herself and ends up fleeing the house only to be smacked by a cycle.  The young lord Griffin, who hit her, feels horrible and takes her back to his house to help her recuperate.  Griffin can sense Finley is different.  Finley is grateful for Griffin's help but is finding it increasingly hard to suppress her dark side.  Then she ends up leaving at night to talk to the cities top criminal Jack Dandy...and when she gets back she can't remember what happened.  Griffin has his own problems to deal with, he is trying to stop a murderer known only as the Machinist.  Of course Finley gets drawn into the mystery.  Will Finley be able to suppress or at least come to terms with her darker side?  Will they catch the Machinist?  Who will Finley choose Jack Dandy or Griffin?

This book was a lot of fun.  It reads kind of like an adult romance, but with a lot of steampunk and with a PG-13 rating.  The writing style just constantly made me forget I was reading a YA novel and I keep thinking it was an adult steampunk romance of sorts.  Finley is a fascinating character, she very much like Jekyl and Hyde in that she has two personalities that emerge.  Some people have complained of her "good" persona being too vanilla, well it is...but that is kind of the point.  Her bad personality has all the fun!  I thought Cross did an excellent job going back and forth between her personalities and I loved how they began to merge as the book went on.

Jack Dandy and Griffin are both swoon worthy.  Yeah they are a bit stereotypical, Griffin the noble do-gooder and Dandy the dangerous rogue, but they are still absolutely lovable and I truly enjoyed reading about them.  Griffin's friends Emily and Sam are just as engaging.  All of the characters have neat "super powers" and histories that make them easy to engage with and interesting to read about.  At the end the author says she was trying to write "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" meets "X-Men" and I would say that she definitely succeeded at that.

The plot moved along at a good clip.  It got a little distracted on the way a few times, but the distractions were interesting and fun so I didn't mind too much.  There is a lot of steampunk worked into the novel; neat little machines, automatons, aether, etc. that I really enjoyed.  Nothing really creative and unique to the steampunk genre but it was fun to read about. 

The name of the book doesn't really have much to do with the book itself.  It is a catchy name and references a couple small scenes in the book; the book is more about Finley's fight to meld her two selves and about trying to catch the murdering Machinist.  The book ends well but is definitely the opener to a series.

Overall I enjoyed this book.  It was fun and light, a good escapist read.  Yes it is not historically accurate, yes the male leads are a bit stereotypical...but the characters are lovable, the plot moves quickly, the romance is sweet, and action scenes loads of fun.  I will definitely be reading more books in this series.  It is a romance heavy steampunk, so if you are anti-romance you might want to check out something else.  The tone of the writing is older, so it is probably most appropriate for older teens and up (although I don't remember any questionable content that would make it bad for younger teens).  The characters are in their upper-teens and twenties.  If you are a fan of steampunk and don't mind some romance check this out; I had a seriously good time reading this book.  I am also going to check out the novella that was just released The Strange Case of Finely Jayne.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge
- The Debut Author Challenge
- Get Steampunked!
- E-book Reading Challenge