Kiss of Steel (London Steampunk Series)

He craves her like no other…

Honoria Todd has no choice. Only in the dreaded Whitechapel district can she escape the long reach of the Duke of Vickers. But seeking refuge there will put her straight into the hands of Blade, legendary master of the rookeries. No one would dare cross him, but what price would he demand to keep her safe?

Ever since Vickers infected him with the craving, Blade has been quicker, stronger, almost immortal—and terrified of losing control of the monster within. Honoria could be his perfect revenge against the duke…or the salvation he never dared to dream of. From the Bec McMaster website.

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Series: Number one in the London Steampunk Series

Cover: Not a true portrayal of the characters, otherwise it suits the theme of the story.

Genre: Steampunk

Pages/Words: 759/105,122

POV: Third Person shared between the main character and the love interest.

Setting: Alternate 19th century(ish) Whitechapel

Language: Moderate-Severe profanity & blasphemy

Sexual Content Rating: Mild-Moderate

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (September 2012)

My thoughts: This is the second steampunk novel I have read and it was better than the last, hopefully that will be a trend. As for the story, you can pretty much predict the flow and happenings so nothing really comes as a surprise. In fact I often found myself getting a little irritated because I already knew what was going to happen but it kept taking too long to develop. This made me feel that the author stretched out events for as long as she could, making the flow of the story a little slow.

On a positive note, the author acquaints you with her world quite skilfully and introduces everything on a need to know basis. A quick example would be that she'll introduce a foreign subject, then later on utilise it in a relatable way so that the reader is able to understand. This is preferable over other authors who dump a load of information in the first chapters.

As for character development, it isn't too bad. Neither are characters' personalities too grating either. There were some instances where a character's stubbornness was getting a little irritating but since it was understandable, it was forgiveable...barely. No complaints about the characters really except that I didn't care for them. What happened to them didn't matter to me.

To tell the truth the whole novel including the characters felt neutral as there wasn't anything great about it but there wasn't anything awful either. That coupled with the predictability was probably the reason why the novel felt flat to me. There was just no apprehension or suspense.

Though considering it was a debut novel, it wasn't a bad attempt. However, I will not be purchasing the next story in this series. Like I said I just didn't much care for what happened to the characters and the story was predictable. So I'm not willing to invest time and money learning more about them. Also I think the author needs more mileage under her belt. Maybe in a couple years time or maybe when she brings out a new series, I'll take another look.

Cover image from goodreads