Two For Winter: Books by Melanie Karsak and Tiffany Roberts – Reviews

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, cold, fairy tale, fantasy, Melanie Karsak, romance, Steampunk, Tiffany Roberts, winter

Up until last Friday, January was unusually warm in Southwest Iowa. It was a good time to read these books that have cold weather settings. However, if you really want to feel the chill, wait until the mercury in the thermometer plummets and the winds start howling and then pick up a good winter weather book.

About Ice Bound by Tiffany Roberts

Anna knows the loss and pain that can be wrought by winter’s harshness intimately. For years, she’s isolated herself, refusing the let go of the guilt that consumes her – until the winds of a blizzard bring a stranger to her door. With his compelling tales and heated kisses, Anna fears she hasn’t only opened her home to him, but also her heart.

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Review of Ice Bound

You can absolutely feel the cold wind whipping through the air as you read Ice Bound. Luckily, there is more to the short story than weather. I also enjoyed the tension filled romance between Anna and the stranger. The bonus story, The Winter King, is a storyteller’s continuation of the story of Ice Bound’s heroine and hero — plus a little more. At only 45 pages, Ice Bound perfect way to relax on a winter afternoon.

5 stars

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About Goblins and Snowflakes by Melanie Karsak

Never bargain with goblin men.

Scarlette Rossetti thought her stay at Strawberry Hill Castle during the Christmas holiday would pass by uneventfully. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Enticed by the delights of the nearby village of Twickenham, Scarlette’s life would change in unimaginable ways.

She never expected to be drawn magnetically to The Two Sisters Doll Shop and Toy Emporium.

Scarlette didn’t guess that tinkering clockwork gnomes could have supernatural consequences.

And she didn’t know that one should never, ever, bargain with goblin men.

But during the Christmas season, magic is always brewing.

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Review of Goblins and Snowflakes

5 stars

Goblins and Snowflakes is the part charming, part creepy retelling of The Elves and the Shoemaker. The charming part is the actual fairy tale retelling. The creepy part pertains to the goblins who provide the magic to make the fairy tale. The novella length story is perfect for a couple hours of escape to the quaint village of Twickenham for a little adventure and a little romance. Every time I read another of Ms. Karsak’s steampunk fairy tales, I want to read more. Within Goblins and Snowflakes are some ties to other characters in Karsak’s steampunk stories, notably for me, the beginning of the Red Cape Society of the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series. Despite those ties, Goblins and Snowflakes is a standalone and can be enjoyed in all types of weather.

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Howls and Hallows: A Steampunk Fairy Tale (Steampunk Red Riding Hood, #5) by Melanie Karsak – Review

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5 stars, Book Review, Melanie Karsak, romance, series, Steampunk, werewolves

About Howls and Hallows

You’re invited to the All Hallows Ball.
*Werewolves prohibited.

Busy tracking down thieving werewolves in London, Clemeny is surprised when Edwin asks her to lead a new case in the Fenlands of east England.

The Cabell family is haunted by a curse. Something in the misty moors surrounding Cabell Manor has come howling just days before the exclusive All Hallows Ball. How gauche. But London’s best agent is on the case.

Clemeny soon finds herself learning the ropes of polite society while hunting an apparition on the foggy fens. She’ll need to solve the case quickly if she hopes to be the belle–not the bruiser–of the ball.

Continue Clemeny’s adventures in Howls and Hallows, a Halloween-themed tale. Journey to gaslamp London in the 19th century in this steampunk retelling of the classic Red Riding Hood fairy tale by New York Times bestselling author Melanie Karsak.

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Review of Howls and Hallows

Clemeny is a brave and smart agent of the Red Cape Society. As a favor to her boss Edwin, she agrees, along with agent Harper, to check out the goings on at Cabell Manor, home to Lord Edison Cabell and his sister Lady Charlotte, friends of Edwin. It seems the family curse has been activated again and Edison, as the heir, may be in big trouble.  Lady Charlotte would like this nasty business taken care of before the annual All Hallows Ball being held at the manor soon.

Howls are heard by just about everyone at that manor. There is more going on than meets the typical human eye, but Clemeny’s mooneye can see just a bit more. She senses supernatural beings. The fen covered land complicates the investigation with wetlands and fog all around. The setting and the howls make for a creepy Halloween tale that is mysterious and fun.

Howls and Hallows is actually book 5 of the series. Because Halloween is right around the corner, I jumped right in with #5.  While I did feel I would have benefited from reading the rest of the series, there was plenty there to provide a complete story just perfect for Halloween week.  I am going back to book 1 now.

I love Melanie Karsak’s steampunk stories and Howls and Hallows is a perfect addition to her repertoire. If you are looking for a sinister seasonal saga, I recommend Howls and Hallows.

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Giveaway

Don’t forget the ongoing giveaway for the audiobook of Phantom Evil by Heather Graham, or the print books of Catherine Cerveny’s The Rule of Luck and The Chaos of Luck.  If you haven’t entered yet, you might be interested to know that commenting on today’s post helps qualify you for an entry – see the giveaway post for all the details.  Or go straight to the giveaway….

Click Here:  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Vesta’s Clockwork Companions by Juli D. Revezzo – Review

Tags

4 stars, Book Review, clockwork, historical, Juli D. Revezzo, romance, Steampunk

About Vesta’s Clockwork Companions

When Vesta Bartlett, a wealthy alchemist and inventor, arrives in England to finalize an arranged marriage and help overhaul a family friend’s outdated ironworks, she never expects to find the family so secretive, nor to develop feelings for her fiancé’s younger brother, Henry.

But the growing attraction between Vesta and Henry is just the beginning of their troubles. Things really heat up when they’re drawn into a secret project for Queen Victoria’s military, one that requires Vesta’s knowledge of clockwork and Henry’s iron.

An epidemic has wiped out all the dogs in Britain, and beyond. If the military fail in their effort to restore the species, a clockwork creation may be all that stands in the way of a world without canine companionship.

Are Vesta and Henry up to the challenge?

 

Review of Vesta’s Clockwork Companions

Vesta is a young women, trained by her father in metallurgy and alchemy. She needs more practice to develop her skills, but thanks to her very talented father, Vesta is on her way to becoming one of the best. She is not only skilled, but also quite inventive. Vesta creates clockwork pieces. She is also curious, compassionate and highly intelligent. Everything you want in a heroine.

Henry is the younger son of the Colchester family. It is obvious he has a thing for Vesta from the beginning, but she is betrothed to his older brother Percy. Henry is smart, book smart and street smart, and is the only one in the family that can make sense of the family business. Henry and Vesta share the traits of both common sense and a sense of adventure. They get along just fine if you know what I mean!

I would have liked more background on Vesta’s father, Jonathon Bartlett. There were quite a few hints about his past, but the details were not really filled in. And I think he is potentially a cool character, since he is such a talented alchemist and all round good father.

I would also like more background on the relationship between the two families – the Colchesters and the Bartletts. Yes, they knew each other before, but again, the details are vague. The Bartletts are from America and the Colchesters reside in England. More history would really add to the character development. Exactly how did Vesta and Percy come to be betrothed? It is obvious the two are not suited for each other. Considering the American culture, it does not make sense that Vesta would be forced to marry someone she not at all suited for. (Thank heavens, they all come to the same realization by the end of the book.)

Henry’s friend Acton is an interesting figure. He seems a bit of a gangster, but maybe that is a role he plays. He also seems a bit of a bleeding heart. So what, exactly, is he? Like I said, interesting. It is Acton that leads Henry and Vesta into their clockwork adventure with the upper echelon of England.

It took quite a while to get to the actual “clockwork companions” part of the story. You may call it build up. I’m not sure it was all necessary. There was a whole secondary plot line in addition to Vesta’s clockwork creations. The story of the Colchesters and their ironworks and the story of Vesta’s clockwork creations do overlap a bit, but the connections existed pretty much due to Henry. That is, he is in the Colchester family and he is involved in the clockwork aspect of the story.

The cover image for this book shows a man with a mechanical arm. Vesta is not the arm creator, nor is the man with the metal arm Vesta’s love interest Henry. The man is an incidental minor character. So the cover is a bit deceptive. Still, it is a cool cover.

I don’t know if a series is intended. Vesta’s Clockwork Companions is a standalone novel. But there is potential for more, since there is a dramatic scene near the end. There is plenty of room for character growth and there may be some conflict coming from the Queen of England. So….. I’d like to see more of Vesta and Henry and the fate of the clockwork companions.

Family matters, steampunk, national security and romance make up the tale of Vesta’s Clockwork Companions. I found this book to be sometime humorous, always engaging and entirely entertaining.

The author provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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