Thursday, June 27, 2013

MOONLIGHT & MECHANICALS by Cindy Spencer Pape

Publisher: Carina Press
Date published: October 2012
ISBN: 978-14268-9452-7
Steampunk Romance
E-book
Reviewed by Helen

Obtained via publisher



Wink (Winifred) Hadrian visits an old friend and learns that people are disappearing in the poorest part of London. She’s determined to help and soon her entire family is involved. But it’s police Inspector Liam McCullough who is most deeply drawn into the mystery. He’s a werewolf and refuses to admit the chemistry that’s been sizzling between him and Wink for years. He can’t imagine himself ever marrying and besides, he’s far too busy worrying about a plot against the Royal Family to pay attention to this minor problem.


I’ve really enjoyed the Gaslight Chronicles series. Ms. Pape has a wonderful way of mashing genres together such that the reader absolutely believes everything that happens in the book. This particular world takes werewolves, vampyres, the fae, Victorian England, a steampunk premise, and romance, throws them all in together, adds a feisty heroine, a large and vibrant mixed-together family, and a dose of humor, and the end result is a truly wonderful book. 

The world building in this series is always truly brilliant. Everything is explained, logical, and totally believable. The reader can not only see the streets of London, but smell and taste them as well. The characters are also extremely well drawn. Every person in the Hadrian family is a complete and fully drawn character, with their basic persona maintained from book to book, yet with the allowance for growth and development. It’s a fine line for an author to walk to do this well, and Ms. Pape undoubtedly succeeds. Wink and Liam are excellent together, striking sparks from each other every time they move. Their actions and reactions are believable, engaging, and at times hilarious.

Every book in this series has a huge fight scene. Each one is very different and always includes something unexpected. Once again this book doesn’t disappoint. And then there’s the lavish dose of snarky humor. There are some truly brilliant laugh-out-loud lines.
So as with the previous book in this series, I sat down and read this 662-page book from start to finish in one sitting. No chores or work have been done today in my household. But I have to say it was the best way ever to spend the day.



This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.


 

1 comment:

Melissa Keir said...

Wonderful review! I'm glad to hear about such a great book!