A Curious Invasion (The Adventures of Smith and Jones, #1) by Marie Andreas – Review

Tags

4.5 stars, action, Adventure, aliens, Book Review, Marie Andreas, scifi, series, Steampunk, vampires

Review of A Curious Invasion

A Curious Invasion is pure fun! The fact that it is hard to pin down to a genre is half of the reason. Steampunk, scifi, urban fantasy, adventure – all of those! Steam-driven devices, little grey men, vampires, witches and clairvoyants all play not-so-nice together, making for pretty much non-stop action. Really, it never stops. I felt exhausted for the core characters by the end! And based on all these elements, you can only imagine the variety of scrapes the heroines and heroes get into.

The other half reason this book is so fun is Nettie Jones. Miss Jones, Dr. Jones, Agent Jones, or just Nettie. Whatever you call her, Nettie is full of spunk and curiosity. Nettie’s inquisitive and analytical nature is what appeals to me most. This is appropriate for an investigating agent of the Society for the Exploration of the Unexplainable. Though it does sometimes sidetrack the agent when the mission is critical. But she has several fellow agents to help keep her on track.

The evil vampires and invading aliens did not have much a voice in this story, which means I didn’t really get a sense of why they were doing what they were doing. Just that they needed to be stopped. Still, this gives the first book of the series plenty of room to haul out the whole team to show what they can do to save the day.

The series title, The Adventures of Smith and Jones, is misleading. At least for book 1. Jones is the one and only main character. Smith is pretty much secondary. It does make for a great series name though. Perhaps Smith will get a bigger role in the next book.

If you are looking for adventure, fun, absolutely no seriousness, and plenty of tea, A Curious Invasion fits the bill.

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About A Curious Invasion

In an Alternative Victorian London, England has a new queen–she just happens to be undead.

Dr. Nettie Jones is a new agent for The Society for the Exploration of the Unexplainable, a secret organization protecting England from unnamed sources. Being half-vampire is an added complication.

The Society doesn’t yet appreciate Nettie but fate steps in when invaders from a dying planet begin following her the same day Queen Victoria chooses to be turned into a vampire.

Things become dangerously interwoven when Nettie discovers that a supposed accident was in fact an act of betrayal by one of the agents of the Society. The first shot in a larger conspiracy

Nettie and her fellow Society agents must pull together to thwart the alien invaders, fight off the vampire infestation, and rescue the Queen from becoming the longest ruling undead monarch, even if that rescue is against her will.

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Iron Paws and the Tinker’s Forged Marriage (Gears, Paws, and Puppy Dogs, #2) by Juli D. Revezzo – Feature

Tags

excerpt, feature, Juli D. Revezzo, romance, series, Steampunk, Victorian

About Iron Paws and the Tinker’s Forged Marriage by Juli D. Revezzo

A year ago, Vesta Bartlett received a rather unusual assignment.

Now, as if perfecting her clockwork puppies for Queen Victoria weren’t enough, a surprise invitation to present them to the Texas Republic president makes Vesta question a number of things, including will the president accept the clockwork from a woman? Unsure, she agrees to allow Henry to go along, as her spokesman and husband, regardless of how her father may feel about a fake marriage.

But they have bigger problems than her father’s anger when an anti-alchemist group takes issue with her clockwork creations and decide they need to stop Vesta’s work. By any means, no matter how violent.

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Excerpt

She handed him Mr. Toliver’s letter; her father leaned against the crank of a massive bellows attached to one side of the oven, to read the letter she handed over. “Well, well. I knew you’d succeed, my girl.”
“At least someone likes it.”
“Just look around town to find more.” He patted the bellows crank. “Are you ready to go back to work?”
She shoved the letter into her pocket. “Yes, sir.”
“I shouldn’t do this, but just to get you started. You remember what I showed you?”
Vesta tied a heavy, black apron over her yellow and blue gingham dress, but refrained from slipping on their work gloves. “Of course I do.”
“Don’t think about it too much. Just put the ingot in the flame. If you need it, I’ll give you a bit of air to help out.”
“I won’t need it.” She cracked her knuckles and picked up the cup of ingots, set it in the flame. Then she held her hands towards the fire. Heat licked her palms. You can do this.
Lowering her hands to the flames, she thought the spell. R’very Canine Verbemum. Picturing the flames melting the brass in her cup, she cracked one eye open. The cup did glow.
Joy tickled her. “I did it. Daddy, look!”
“Very good, princess.”
Ignoring a stab of triumph, knowing she might falter at any moment, she stepped back and snatched a small vial off the shelf. Blue and gold sparkled inside. She opened the top, releasing the tangy scent of aether into the forge shed. Taking a breath, she concentrated further and added three drops to the cup. Where the brass would’ve taken several minutes, with pure fire, this measure of brass melted and bubbled the instant the aether met the brass.
“Good girl,” her father said. “Keep going.”
Fingers shaking, she removed the mold from the fire. R’very Canine Verbemum.
The brass writhed within the mold, settled. Vesta removed it and plunged the shell of brass into a waiting bucket of water then set it on her anvil. The cylindrical lump of brass rolled on the anvil and her father stopped it with a skilled hand. “There now, that’s one piece.” He knelt down to study it closer. “And no maker’s mark this time. Good work, my dear.”
“Hm…” She picked it up and dried it off, turning the cylinder. A bump shone in the metal. “No, no maker’s mark, but see here?” She tapped the lump. “I ruined it.” With a scoff, she tossed the cylinder onto her reject pile. “I’m never going to get this right, am I?”
Her father retrieved the piece. “Nonsense. This piece looks like the beginnings of a fine fat canine to me. Finish it up and we’ll set it with the others to go to the queen.”
“Not this one. It’s for Running Cloud’s boy, remember?”
“Even better.” He patted her shoulder and setting the piece down, took a hammer off a hook on the wall. “The boy’s bound to add his own lumps to the puppy’s derriere, sooner, rather than later. It’ll be good practice for making toys for Elise’s boy.”
“When you bring her home, I’ll have one ready for you.” She smacked the hammer against the brass. “Maybe I’ll even make the two of you some wedding rings while you’re away.”
Her father scoffed and kissed her forehead. “Think about making your own, although, I’m sorely disappointed with Henry that he hasn’t bought you one yet.”
Vesta’s gaze strayed to the house her beloved was busy raising. “He is building me a house.”
“You can’t wear that around town to show he’s yours and vice versa. I will be reminding him before I leave that he doesn’t want those tavern wenches getting their hearts too set on him.”
She tapped the hammer against the hull. “Daddy, they won’t.”
“No?” Her father took the hammer from her and added a bit more force. “You forget, my outfit included many Irish and British boys.” That was how he’d met Henry’s father. 

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A Touch of Fire (Towers of the Earth, #5) by Nita Round – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, fantasy, lgbtq, Nita Round, romance, series, Steampunk

Review of A Touch of Fire

The fifth book in the Towers of the Earth series takes our three heroines, Lucinda, Magda and Ascara, to Ascara’s home – Gidhera. 

Beyond the story of the monster’s rising up from the sea (see the book blurb), this is the story of the continually growing relationship between the three main characters as well as the ongoing development of their prophesied role in the fate of the world. 

Since the beginning, Lucinda, Ascara, and Magda have been committed to each other from a friendship/professional standpoint, always having each other’s backs no matter what the situation.  The long-awaited romantic commitment is finally upon us and I was pleased to see it happen!  It just strengthens their trinity, which is a good thing because they tend to get into increasingly dangerous situations. 

In A Touch of Fire, the trio must contend with Lucinda’s near death (see A Touch of Ice), returning a sacred skull to its home, facing down clan elders, priestesses and priests, dreamers and pretty much all things mystical.  Only then can they face the dreadful skitterlings – the creatures from the ocean that periodically rise up to spawn, and in so doing, try to destroy every person in their path.

A minor part of the story, but one of the things I really liked, is how the three women treat the priestesses, priests and dreamers.   Ascara, especially, rejects the mysticism.  That is, while Lucinda, Magda and Ascara respect the roles of these people, they believe that their secrets should not be withheld.  What good does it do the people of Gidhera, and the world, if they don’t know what they are facing.  That the ‘mystics’ come to realize this is all we can hope for – for all the people of the world.

A Touch of Fire is non-stop danger, action, mysticism and magic.  Told through the story of the three committed, resourceful, intelligent, strong women, book 5 in the series is probably going to be a must-read for anyone who has enjoyed books 1-4.  Read the series in order to get the most out of this epic adventure.

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

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About A Touch of Fire by Nita Round

A promise made in fire and ice. A promise kept in death and stone. A truth in three, arise the trinity.

Home to Gidhera. Here Ascara must prove herself through combat and the strength of her heart and soul. These tests of fire are nothing when compared to the danger she has yet to face.

Ancient foes, asleep for generations, rise up from the sea and swarm across the land like a blight of fang and claw. These dark creatures are different now. They have evolved into something bigger, stronger, and more resilient. They bring with them magic of their own. These new powers could render the whole of Gidhera defenseless. Guns and cannons are no match for these dark powers of the deep. To save her people, the clan and her home, Ascara needs a tower and the full power of fire, and three. Without them will bring the destruction of her clan, and all that she holds dear.

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