ETHER & ELEPHANTS by Cindy Spencer Pape

 

Publisher: Carina Press
Date published: Jul 20, 2015
ISBN: 9781459290259
Romance, Steampunk
E-book
Reviewed by Helen
Weblink: http://ebooks.carinapress.com/8D91AB28-5B5C-4FAC-819B-37DDA58BE2B6/10/134/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=%7bC8549AE4-505B-4B12-A258-E6E4C26622E4%7d
Obtained via publisher
Rating: 5



In this, the final Gaslight Chronicles novel, (at least for now), Sir Thomas Devere and the Honorable Miss Eleanor Hadrian are thrown together and forced to face up to the love they’ve had for each other for many years, and the different directions their choices, both good and bad, have led them. All this while dealing with missing children, a deadly alchemist, and the chance of evil taking over the known world.


Well, Cindy Spencer Pape has done it again. Another 83000-word book that grabbed me at page one such that I didn’t stop reading until it was finished eight hundred pages later. (Oops, sorry honey. You’re home already? I’m sure there’s something we can eat in the frig.)

All these characters are so alive, so vivacious, so completely three-dimensional. Ms. Pape truly has a gift for sketching in personalities with a few clever words here and there, until the reader feels like these are people she’s known for many years in real life. I also absolutely enjoy the author’s witty, understated, and slightly sarcastic humor that lifts the action scenes as well as the dialogue. There are several laugh-out-loud lines that ought to come with a “do not drink while reading” warning.
The plot was designed so various other members from the Hadrian family reappeared at times in the story, and it was great to catch up on how their lives were going as well. This is a large and varied extended family, and every one of the former heroes and heroines remains painted brightly in my memory. I loved revisiting them even just briefly.

The only faults I found with the book were minor, and due to the publisher rather than the author. There was a name change of a minor character which the proofreader should have picked up. Also the first paragraph of the “about the author” page is about the wrong author. Finally, I really don’t like Carina Press’ style of having POV changes mid-scene without line breaks. I find it disconcerting, and I’m sure other readers do as well.

This book was a wonderful way to spend a day. Fast paced, bright, filled with engaging characters, action, adventure and romance in a cleverly built steampunk world. A must read.


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

SEA CHANGE by Cindy Spencer Pape

Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Date published: December 2014
ISBN: 9781419993381
Romantic Suspense, Paranormal
E-book
Reviewed by Helen
Weblink: http://www.ellorascave.com/sea-change.html
Obtained via publisher
Rating: 5

Dr. Heidi Eriksen is a marine biologist studying dolphins under a special research project with her best friend Brad Van Dorn. They are in the wrong place at the wrong time when an important drug deal goes down. Heidi is shot and left unconscious in the water to drown and Brad disappears.

Jake is not your average boat bum. He rescues Heidi and searches unsuccessfully for Brad. But he’s hiding a huge secret of his own. He’s a merman, exiled from his people and cursed as well. Despite his story and the drug runners he’s determined to save and protect Heidi. It proves to be quite a challenge.


I have been a huge fan of Ms. Spencer Pape’s books for many years. I genuinely enjoy her unique method of throwing all sorts of normally disparate items together into a book, stirring well, adding fights, drama, and humor, and ending up with amazing stories.

This book, while quite different from her usual erotic romances, and her steampunk series, is nevertheless almost one hundred thousand words of pure delight.
Ms. Pape’s characters are never run-of-the-mill. Her heroines are invariably feisty and smart. Heidi is no exception. Heidi is six feet of ocean loving, determined, smart-talking, strong-minded scientist, able to give other people wise advice while ignoring the danger facing herself.

Jake is an amazing hero. Strong, smart, caring for his woman and those she cares about even when he knows he should be putting his own needs higher up on his to-do the list. Together they scorch the sheets in the bedroom, and have the reader alternately laughing out loud at their dialogue, and wanting to slap the people around them upside the head on their behalf.

As always the minor characters are a joy and a delight. So many of them just jump off the page filled with life and color. All of them are completely individual.
Technically for such a huge book this was very clean. There was one startling POV shift in the middle of a paragraph and a few tiny niggles such as comma splices or misplaces words, but in such a long book it is very easy to ignore them. Mostly even I, a very picky reader, was too busy wanting to turn the page and find out what happened next to even write them down.

Tucked away deep inside the story is a truly beautiful one-hundred-percent pure Cindy Spencer Pape surprise. It’s totally brilliant. The ending is also absolutely brilliant. It’s an intense rollercoaster of emotions, drama, personalities, tears, and even a touch of humor. Outstanding writing indeed.
I have no hesitation in giving this book five hearts. As an erotic romance, as a mystery-suspense romance, as a paranormal romance, it couldn’t be improved on at all.


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

 

DRAGONS & DIRIGIBLES by Cindy Spencer Pape

Publisher: Carina Press
Date published: May 19th, 2014
ISBN: 13: 9781426898372
Steampunk
E-book
Reviewed by Helen
Weblink: http://ebooks.carinapress.com/E2513D74-2785-4F91-83E9-8962F28D6894/10/134/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=699EC8D7-468A-4406-9B90-F6127ED1C559.
Obtained via publisher
Rating: 5

The new Earl of Blackwell, recently retired ship’s captain Victor Arrington, has enough to deal with after the unexpected death of his older brother leaves him in charge of a gothic manor he didn’t want in an area with smuggling problems. Smugglers who use fire-breathing mechanical dragons.
Melody Mackay, airship engineer, crash lands on his property and instantly involves herself in the mystery to his annoyance. Not to mention the problem of who shot-down her new experimental dirigible.


The Gaslight Chronicles Series Book Seven.
I am really enjoying this series and am always waiting impatiently for the next installment in the saga. Ms. Spencer Pape has an amazing ability to throw history, science and magick into her cauldron and pull believable rabbits out of her hat. Yes, that’s a mixed metaphor, but hey, it’s exactly what happens in these books, and the reader is dragged along accepting every last one of them.


Once again, all the characters from the key couple to the most minor, are sketched unerringly and made incredibly three dimensional and real. Victor’s mental gymnastics as he worked through the issues facing him were very well drawn. The author demonstrated her plotting skills in that there were a few hints as to the smugglers, one I picked up on, the other I completely missed until it was too late. There’s lots of action, drama, fun, humor, and, as always in these books, a great fight scene. The dialogue is witty, the action fast-paced, and the tension high enough to make the reader shiver, yet never too high to be bearable. All in all, the reader will be like me, unable to put the book down until the final page.


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

 

ASHES AND ALCHEMY by Cindy Spencer Pape

Publisher: Carina Press
Date published: January 6th, 2014
ISBN: 13: 9781426897719
Romance, Steampunk
E-book
Reviewed by Helen
Weblink: http://ebooks.carinapress.com/002B87AE-4149-4E5A-9E6E-AEC2A0EBE0AA/10/134/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=60C6EFC5-7D2E-4DC2-85A5-92470ED5EB15.
Obtained via publisher
Rating: 4.5

Minerva Shaw’s four-year-old daughter is very ill and no doctor will come to the house to care for her. Minerva isn’t strong enough to carry Ivy to the doctor herself. Finally someone tells her about a doctor who will look after patients free of charge. It’s late at night, the pollution is very bad, and Minerva ends up at the wrong house. Sebastian Brown can’t resist helping the widow and her child and finds himself drawn into a strange mystery, and into caring for the strangers on his doorstep.


The beginning of this book is so beguiling I was dragged into the story and found myself unable to put the book down. This has happened before with a Cindy Spencer Paper book. Ms. Pape is a master at the art of hooking the reader into an incredibly fascinating steampunk world where each new invention or facet of the world flows so logically the reader absolutely believes it. Her characters are equally engaging even the secondary ones. Each has his or her own little idiosyncrasies to make them individual and real.

Minerva is a many layered character with secrets and surprising little glimpses deep inside her. And I’m half-way in love with Seb. Strong, silent, diligent, focused, damaged, and adorably confused by his own reactions to the situation.
I was intrigued by the way the word has got dirtier, more polluted, and harsher to live in, and I’m very much looking forward to the solution or whether the author continues down this track in future books.

The good news is that this book is only 30,000 words so if, like me, you are unable to stop reading, at least you’ll be finished before it’s time to go to work tomorrow. The bad news is this book is only 30,000 words and now we have to wait for the next installment in this engrossing family and their friends.

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

 

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

Weblink: http://ebooks.carinapress.com/B8D8B1A9-1F17-43C7-83F2-712E7B8927AD/10/134/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=71102C40-5D7F-4D4D-B7D7-240AE2825E71

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.

 

CARDS AND CARAVANS by Cindy Spencer Pape

Publisher: Carina Press

Date published: 18 March 2013

ISBN: 978-14268-9522-7

Steampunk/Historical

E-book

Reviewed by Helen

Weblink: http://ebooks.carinapress.com/DA7705C0-CB58-4715-979C-A283386913B8/10/134/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID={08A461B6-C699-4EAB-9A65-61DEE96E1C08}

Obtained via publisher

 

Inside two days, Belinda Danvers was arrested as a witch, sentenced and her execution arranged. All this despite the fact her magickal powers are minimal and she wasn’t guilty of the offences she was accused of. The villagers seemed to think her being a widow with a small knowledge of herbs and a cat was enough to prove her guilt.

Sent by the Order of the Round Table to help, Connor McKay knows she’s innocent and is worried by the rapidity of the sentence. He breaks her out of jail and they escape in her grandfather’s steam-powered circus caravan.

But the trouble is much bigger than just Belinda’s case.

I’ve really enjoyed all these Gaslight Chronicles books. Ms. Pape has mixed magick, werewolves, and steampunk together to produce a unique and entertaining world where almost anything is possible. Most of these books have a fight scene in them, all them spectacular, and this one tops the lot with magick, a wooden bucket, and a wrench involved as well as more traditional weapons. It’s a brilliant piece of action writing.

As always the characters are fully developed, revealing layer after layer of personality as the story progresses. Ms. Pape also invariably finds a way to bring previous heroes and heroines back for a visit, which is great as well.

As I’ve come to expect, there are some truly brilliant laugh out loud lines. Once again this story does not disappoint in that area. A character’s marriage proposal at the dinner table surrounded by an entire extended family was an absolute riot.

In sum, the story is excellently plotted, crisply written, with superb world building and engaging characters. Ms. Pape has earned five stars.

Unfortunately I can’t give them to her. Carina Press has let her down with at least a dozen stupid typos (She’s suspected, He’d spoke,  I have mirror…) the heroine called by the wrong name on one page, and a scene where the two main characters are in a cab/no, on a train/yes, on a train/no, in a cab.

Fortunately, the story is so good even a fussy reader like me was able to groan and keep reading.

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