Helpful Score: 1
I love steampunk books, especially those set in London. So I had been looking at reading this series for a while. This ended up being a very well done romance with a decent plot that supports the romance well. There really isn't a whole lot of steampunk in here though.
Honora has had to scrap out a living as a language teacher in order to support her sister and chronically ill brother since the death of their father. Honora and her family are also in hiding from one of her fathers enemies. All this makes Whitechapel district the perfect place for Honora and her family to live and hide. The problem is Whitechapel is run by a fierce man named Blade and he likes to have some leverage on anyone living in his district.
When Blade finally meets Honora he agrees to trade lessons from her in exchange for protecting her family. They both find they are strangely drawn to each other in a way that neither one wants. Honora cant help but admire Blades commitment to protecting his people and Blade admires Honoras commitment to her family coupled with her innocence. When a rogue vampire tears a bloody path through Whitechapel they end up having to work together to take it out.
This story is definitely heavy on the romance. There really isnt much steampunk in here at all. Honora uses an awesome gun and there is some talk of genetic manipulation in this Victorian world but that is pretty much it. I guess there was one character with mechanical lungs too, so that is pretty steampunky. I felt like there was a good world here, but it just needed to be filled out a bit more.
The romance between Honora and Blade however was absolutely excellently done. It was very steamy, there is a lot of tension, and you feel like the two characters are better people when they are together. They build a relationship over time and take the time to learn to trust each other. There are scenes between them that took my breath away and I loved how they each admired the other for their strong qualities and took the good with the bad.
There are also a lot of very well done side characters that I would love to read more about. It does look like the next book in the series, Heart of Iron, features Honoras sister and one of Blades men. So this looks like it is one of those series where each book focuses on a different couple, but the main world and story around that couple are a spin-off of the previous book.
There are vampires and werewolves in the plot as well, pretty typical paranormal stuff. The vampires are interesting though because they are a bit different. Vampires start off as Blue Bloods and as the amount of virus in their system grows over time they transitions into raging vampires. It is interesting because a lot of the Blue Bloods are basically ticking time bombs.
The book reminded me a lot of Kate Locke's Immortal Empire series, which I liked a lot better than this book because that series has more action and world building. It also reminded me of Kristen Callihan's Darkest London series, which I liked just as much as this book. So if you are looking for a historical paranormal fantasy that is heavy on the romance this is an excellent choice.
If you are looking for more of a steampunk read with romance woven throughout, I would look elsewhere. Check out Meljean Brooke's Iron Seas series which has an absolutely stunning steampunk world as well as some romance.
Overall an excellent romance with heavy paranormal and lighter steampunk elements. The characters are excellent and the romance between Honora and Blade is just perfection. However the world-building is a bit weak, there are hints of an awesome world here but it wasnt explored as much as I had hoped. Additionally the plot was well done, but there were times where it took a backseat to the romance. I will probably read the next book in the series when I am in the mood for a heart-pounding romance...however I wont be looking to this series for a good steampunk fix. For my steampunk reads with some romance I will stick to Brookes Iron Seas series which just has a fantastic steampunk world.
Honora has had to scrap out a living as a language teacher in order to support her sister and chronically ill brother since the death of their father. Honora and her family are also in hiding from one of her fathers enemies. All this makes Whitechapel district the perfect place for Honora and her family to live and hide. The problem is Whitechapel is run by a fierce man named Blade and he likes to have some leverage on anyone living in his district.
When Blade finally meets Honora he agrees to trade lessons from her in exchange for protecting her family. They both find they are strangely drawn to each other in a way that neither one wants. Honora cant help but admire Blades commitment to protecting his people and Blade admires Honoras commitment to her family coupled with her innocence. When a rogue vampire tears a bloody path through Whitechapel they end up having to work together to take it out.
This story is definitely heavy on the romance. There really isnt much steampunk in here at all. Honora uses an awesome gun and there is some talk of genetic manipulation in this Victorian world but that is pretty much it. I guess there was one character with mechanical lungs too, so that is pretty steampunky. I felt like there was a good world here, but it just needed to be filled out a bit more.
The romance between Honora and Blade however was absolutely excellently done. It was very steamy, there is a lot of tension, and you feel like the two characters are better people when they are together. They build a relationship over time and take the time to learn to trust each other. There are scenes between them that took my breath away and I loved how they each admired the other for their strong qualities and took the good with the bad.
There are also a lot of very well done side characters that I would love to read more about. It does look like the next book in the series, Heart of Iron, features Honoras sister and one of Blades men. So this looks like it is one of those series where each book focuses on a different couple, but the main world and story around that couple are a spin-off of the previous book.
There are vampires and werewolves in the plot as well, pretty typical paranormal stuff. The vampires are interesting though because they are a bit different. Vampires start off as Blue Bloods and as the amount of virus in their system grows over time they transitions into raging vampires. It is interesting because a lot of the Blue Bloods are basically ticking time bombs.
The book reminded me a lot of Kate Locke's Immortal Empire series, which I liked a lot better than this book because that series has more action and world building. It also reminded me of Kristen Callihan's Darkest London series, which I liked just as much as this book. So if you are looking for a historical paranormal fantasy that is heavy on the romance this is an excellent choice.
If you are looking for more of a steampunk read with romance woven throughout, I would look elsewhere. Check out Meljean Brooke's Iron Seas series which has an absolutely stunning steampunk world as well as some romance.
Overall an excellent romance with heavy paranormal and lighter steampunk elements. The characters are excellent and the romance between Honora and Blade is just perfection. However the world-building is a bit weak, there are hints of an awesome world here but it wasnt explored as much as I had hoped. Additionally the plot was well done, but there were times where it took a backseat to the romance. I will probably read the next book in the series when I am in the mood for a heart-pounding romance...however I wont be looking to this series for a good steampunk fix. For my steampunk reads with some romance I will stick to Brookes Iron Seas series which just has a fantastic steampunk world.
What a fantastic first novel! Steampunk romance that was so well crafted and well executed! I am looking forward to the next in the series!
Honoria's father was a scientist. She helped him with his experiments. When he is murdered, she flees with her younger siblings (Lena and Charlie). The Duke of Vickers was the father's employer/sponsor and he puts a bounty on the family's head. Honoria finds housing in the rookery and employment and they scrap by. When her presence comes to the attention of Blade, he is the gang leader of one of the strongest gangs, she and Blade come to an agreement. He will protect her family and she will teach him out to properly speak (dialects/diction are her thing). Blade also has a history with Vickers and his end goal is to take him out if he can. He wants revenge.
It took time for me to figure out the world. It's an alternate steam-punkish version of London. The "blue bloods" are large and in charge. They need blood to survive, are stronger/faster. It's regulated who can be turned and take the blood rites. It's called the craving virus (CV). It's also mostly men only. As they age, the CV levels elevate and once reached a certain level they will enter "the fade" and become a vampire. A vampire is something to be feared (a mindless killing machine that is hard to kill) and they are beheaded and burned when they enter "the fade."
The romance was a slow-burn, but oh so sweet. It made sense with Blade and Honoria's history. There are also side stories about Charlie and why the vaccine didn't work and did something else. (Honoria's father was working on a vaccine to protect those from being turned against their will and a hope to eventually eradicate the virus). Honoria was also vaccinated and Blade gets a side effect from feeding off of her. Excellent action and the big bad gets his just deserts.
Next story is Will's (werewolf) and Lena's (Honoria's sister). I do have the novella Tarnished Knight with Esme (Blade's housekeeper) and John "Rip" (one of Blade's men), so I will read that first.
It took time for me to figure out the world. It's an alternate steam-punkish version of London. The "blue bloods" are large and in charge. They need blood to survive, are stronger/faster. It's regulated who can be turned and take the blood rites. It's called the craving virus (CV). It's also mostly men only. As they age, the CV levels elevate and once reached a certain level they will enter "the fade" and become a vampire. A vampire is something to be feared (a mindless killing machine that is hard to kill) and they are beheaded and burned when they enter "the fade."
The romance was a slow-burn, but oh so sweet. It made sense with Blade and Honoria's history. There are also side stories about Charlie and why the vaccine didn't work and did something else. (Honoria's father was working on a vaccine to protect those from being turned against their will and a hope to eventually eradicate the virus). Honoria was also vaccinated and Blade gets a side effect from feeding off of her. Excellent action and the big bad gets his just deserts.
Next story is Will's (werewolf) and Lena's (Honoria's sister). I do have the novella Tarnished Knight with Esme (Blade's housekeeper) and John "Rip" (one of Blade's men), so I will read that first.
Great Debut novel. Characters are very well written with lots of depth. Setting is great plot moves quickly. I really want to to know what will happen in book 2.
Frances P. (franniekin) - , reviewed Kiss of Steel (London Steampunk, Bk 1) on + 276 more book reviews
I really liked this entire series. Good world building, great characters. A different take on Vampires.
