The Doll Maker (The Viper and the Urchin, #4) by Celine Jeanjean – Review

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5 stars, Adventure, Book Review, Celine Jeanjean, dolls, favorite characters, favorite series, mystery, series, spider, Steampunk

About The Doll Maker by Celine Jeanjean

Revolution in the streets.
A deadly weapon stolen.
A wardrobe too wide to fit up the stairs.
All is most definitely not well back in Damsport…

Cruikshank has created a deadly new weapon, but someone breaks into her workshop, steals the design, and leaves her for dead.

Time for Rory and Longinus to roll up their sleeves again.

But it doesn’t take long for them to be completely out of their depth. They find themselves facing a creepy doll maker, chaos in the streets, and a powerful man seeking to overthrow the Old Girl. In short, another sinister plot seeking to bring Damsport to its knees.

Once again, Rory and Longinus find themselves the city’s last line of defence.

Damsport really needs to invest in better defences.

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Review of The Doll Maker

In The Doll Maker, a serious threat to the rule of the Marchioness of Damsport brings the team together to determine who is behind it all. It seems straightforward at first. A power-hungry noble/politician wants to oust the Old Girl. Can it be that simple? Of course not. You’ll need to read the book to delve into the complexity of the plot. I will say that I was adamant that, in Damsport, the rule of the Marchioness is just fine. These upstart politicians are going to have a thing coming. I hope…..

Each time I read another book in The Viper and the Urchin series, I am fondly reminded of the first time I met Rory and Longinus. These are two of my favorite characters in all of Steampunkdom. Rory, the urchin who wanted to be a great swordswoman and Longinus, the assassin who passes out at the sight of blood. They are the unlikely duo who formed first, a business arrangement and second, an enduring friendship.

Rory and Longinus have grown into their characters beautifully over the series. I love how the friendship has strengthened and expanded to other endearing characters like Pip, Alice, Rafe, Adelma and Cruikshank. But mostly I love Rory and Longinus when they are together.

“No!” Longinus said in tone that brooked no arguments. So of course, Rory argued.

As much as Rory enjoys a good debate, she watches out for Longinus. And Longinus has Rory’s back.

While Rory is now a well-paid employee of the Marchioness, she is always on the lookout for the opportunity to steal. She doesn’t, but she is on the lookout. And Longinus is forever planning out the perfect wardrobe, one that complements him and his surroundings. Some things never change. Another one of the things I love this about this duo.

Enough about my favorite characters. The books is full of other great characters. Poor Cruikshank gets beat up for the second book in a row – totally not fair. Adelma is large and in charge, especially when it comes to protecting her son Tommy. And Rafe does his very capable Varanguard thing. He and Rory may or may not be a couple. This is just about the slowest progressing romance I have been reading about lately. And that is exactly how their romance should be.

There might be a spider, or two, or more.  See the very cool book cover!

The book ends with the promise of another dangerous adventure. I eagerly await its arrival!

Many thanks to the author for providing a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

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Cogheart (The Cogheart Adventures, #1) by Peter Bunzi – Review

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5 stars, Adventure, Book Review, childrens, clockwork, family, middle grade, Peter Bunzl, Steampunk

About Cogheart by Peter Bunzl

Some secrets change the world in a heartbeat. . . .

Lily’s life is in mortal peril. Her father is missing and now silver-eyed men stalk her through the shadows. What could they want from her?

With her friends—Robert, the clockmaker’s son, and Malkin, her mechanical fox—Lily is plunged into a murky and menacing world. Too soon Lily realizes that those she holds dear may be the very ones to break her heart. . . .

Murder, mayhem and mystery meet in this gripping Victorian adventure.

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Review of Cogheart

Cogheart is a middle grade steampunk adventure that features a brave young girl, a daring young boy and a loyal clockwork fox.

I love that steampunk is being written for the younger generation, since it is one of my favorite genres. The book says it is aimed at readers 12, though I would expand this to include adventure-loving advanced younger readers 5th grade and older.

Often, in adventures for middle grade and YA readers, the villains are adults.  Cogheart is no exception. And these villains are not only bad guys, but they look pretty creepy. The trouble starts when the bad guys go after Lily’s father. In an effort to warn his daughter, John Hartman sends Malkin, his mechanical fox, to Lily with a message. Just as Malkin’s escape pod leaves the airship Dragonfly, a harpoon strikes the hull and John is shot. Fade to black….. (you know what that means).

And so the adventure begins. On the way to find Lily, Malkin meets and teams with young Robert Townsend, son and apprentice to a clockmaker. In the meantime, Lily has been removed from the boarding school she hates by her father’s housekeeper. Lily isn’t exactly in love with Madame Verdigris either. It immediately becomes apparent that Verdigris does not have Lily’s best interests at heart.

When Robert and Malkin catch up with Lily, helping Lily escape is just the tip of the adventure iceberg. Now chased by the men that went after her father, Lily runs for help, along the way meeting Anna, airship pilot/journalist, who becomes part of the adventure. All the while, we don’t really know why Lily is being chased.

Cogheart was released in the UK in 2016, so it has been out for a few years. Today, February 12th, is Cogheart’s US release. It is book one in a three book series, so if Cogheart appeals, look for Moonlocket and Sky Circus to follow. And if you like this book, I recommend you check out the author’s website for fun GIFs, games and activies relating to Lily’s amazing adventures.

Cogheart is a non-stop adventure sure to engage readers of any age that appreciate airships, danger, friendship, family, mechanical animals and people and a bit of airship piracy.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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The Slave City (The Viper and the Urchin #3) by Celine Jeanjean – Review

Tags

5 stars, Adventure, Celine Jeanjean, favorites, series, Steampunk

After you read today’s review, mark your calendar to come back next Tuesday. Author Celine Jeanjean will be my guest and I get to ask her some general, personal and possibly impertinent questions.

About The Slave City by Celine Jeanjean

A complicated mission.
A team of misfits that just don’t get along.
What could possibly go wrong?

The team:
A skinny pickpocket with dreadlocks and a big attitude.
A foppish assassin with a fear of blood.
An elite fighter, master of the sardonic raised eyebrow.
A smuggler with a drinking problem and a propensity for brawling.
And a no-nonsense, heavily tattooed machinist, trying to keep them all in line.

The mission:
Free a Damsian inventor kept prisoner in the distant city of Azyr.
Spark a rebellion to remove the half-mad tyrant ruling the place, and while they’re at it, end slavery in Azyr.
And do it all without getting killed, shackled into slavery, or arguing.

The latter is proving most problematic.

This latest installment of The Viper and the Urchin series will make you have fun. Lots of fun.

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Review of The Slave City

If you go back to the book blurb and read about the “The team” and “The mission”, you will get the gist of everything I love about this book. Especially “The team”. I see no reason why I can’t use what has already been written to get this review started:

“A skinny pickpocket with dreadlocks and a big attitude.” This would Rory. She may be physically petite, but her character is enormous. I’ve read three novels and one prequel novella where Rory shines as the big-hearted pickpocket imp. She reads as anywhere from 14 to 18 years old, depending on whether she is arguing or explaining, picking pockets or considering her feelings for a certain warrior. I love Rory and she will always be my favorite.

“A foppish assassin with a fear of blood.” – Longinus is still full of himself. As he should be. He is very smart and his habit of putting his own spin on everything tends to make his ideas shine even when not everyone agrees with him. The description of an assassin that fears the sight of blood was what got me reading this series in the first place. He still fears blood and it will become problematic.

“An elite fighter, master of the sardonic raised eyebrow.” Rafe doesn’t say too much, but he is always there to support, project and fight for the team. Rafe has a noble background, but that does not keep him from casting an eye toward Rory. Rory says she wants nothing to do with him. This is just a budding romance and not a big part of the story, but I do enjoy the dynamic between the two. I picture a young Orlando Bloom when I imagine Rafe.

“A smuggler with a drinking problem and a propensity for brawling.” Ah Adelma. She had a role in book 2, The Black Orchid, but I thought she was done. I was pleasantly surprised to find her in this story. Loud, strong and very loyal, Adelma would rather punch first and ask questions later. Sometimes, a team needs just this type of person.

“And a no-nonsense, heavily tattooed machinist, trying to keep them all in line.” Cruikshank, is the level headed adult in the group. Creative genius, commanding, and keeps the troops under control. I admired her in previous books, but she is large and in charge in The Slave City. Cruikshank has had an interesting life, only hinted at in this book, but perhaps we will get to know her more in the future.

Most of the action takes place in the city of Azyr. Ms. Jeanjean has a knack for turning inanimate objects into something alive and breathing. Azyr is one such object. The city is divided into three parts that strickly separate the classes. There are walls and lots of steps between them. While my description may sound boring, I assure you, the author’s descriptions of the city brings it to life. One of my favorite scenes is where the team is climbing the steps to a higher level and all along the way, there is activity, including vendors hanging out in the air to sell all manner of goods to anyone scaling the wall.

So much intrigue, so much action, so much danger.  So much fun!  There are so many things going on in this book, neither the book blurb, nor my review, will ever do it justice. So I will leave you with a few tantalizing bits:

• A mechanical spider
• Lizards (really large lizards)
• Steam-powered elephant
• Traitor
• Daria’s boots

Much thanks to the author who provided an advance copy of her book so that I could bring you my honest review.

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Note: The first book in the series, The Bloodless Assassin (formally titled The Viper and the Urchin) will be free February 2-5. That will be the perfect time to start reading the series if it is new to you.

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