Romance reviews, writing meta and the occasional rant from a couple of techie readers/writers.
It’s FREE BOOK WEEK at Carina Press!!!
Starting on June 20th, every weekday, all week, Carina is offering a spectacular title for free download. And when they say free, they mean ACTUALLY free. Not “sorta free”, or “free with a $50 purchase” free, but actually, totally, no strings attached FREE!…
Jaq’s bio-tech beans. Want some?
As a heads up for book bargain hunters, I got a this in my inbox this morning:
“Great savings are no joke at eHarlequin. Come back on April 1 for a Freebie Friday deal you won’t want to miss: buy any 2 print books or more and you’ll get any 3rd book FREE! And if you’d prefer to shop for ebooks, we’ve got an offer for you, too: get an extra 5% off any ebooks! Come back April 1 for our one-day sale on print books and ebooks.”
Yes, I perk up any time that I hear about eBook discounts. They are special snowflakes nowadays. I can’t tell from the ad whether the April Fool’s sale extends to Carina Press titles or not, but I’ll poke Angela James on Twitter to see if she’s heard one way or another.
ETA: Angela James says that Carina Press runs its own sales independent of HQN. Considering how reasonable CP’s prices are, I can’t complain.
—Heather
Impromptu Review: Steam & Sorcery by Cindy Spencer Pape
I am not gonna lie, I squealed when I got the galley from Carina Press. I discovered Cindy Spencer Pape’s Motor City Series, and found her writing delightful. Her worldbuilding is immersive, her characters’ chemistry sizzles and her love scenes are hot.
Now, I read lots of paranormal, historical, urban fantasy and spec fic. I have only dabbled in steampunk, and it’s been mixed – some of it I loved, some left me meh. The thing that makes me meh on steampunk is when stories rely on it instead of building characters that you care about. I do not need or want to read text that fawns over the mechanics and how wonderful and marvelous they are. Your characters are living with them. C’mon, do you fawn over your smartphone? Pape does not fall into this trap. The characters treat them as part of their world, and it was a much more natural experience as a reader.
Steam & Sorcery never forgets that ultimately, it’s about the characters. Merrick, who opens the novel, is investigating for the Order. He is attacked by a large group of vampyres (scary ones, yay!) and a group of street children come to his rescue. Initially he reminded me of Mr. Darcy – he strives to remain aloof, but the plight of the children draws him in and they end up his wards. And then he is indeed of a governess.
Carolyn has a genteel background, but she has fallen on hard times, and she has had difficulties with other employers getting a little to handsy and trying to take liberties with her. For this reason, she’s inclined to refuse Merrick’s offer of employment, but again, the children win her over. Over the course of the book, you get to see Merrick soften, Carolyn open up despite her past, and they become a family. I don’t want to get too spoilery on the plot beyond that, because the book is such a pleasure to read.
In keeping with our new ratings system, I give Steam & Sorcery an 8 – I’d fight 8 rabid wolverines to keep the book. In fact, since the galley goes back, I’ve got it preordered as a keeper on my Nook. I look forward to picking up the novella Photographs & Phantoms in April.
—Heather
