Review: Not really sure what I was expecting from this read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 12, 2012
I really liked this story.  I thought there were great characters and an actually pretty well developed plot.  It did feel like there were more almost bohemian type themes than Steampunk but I still enjoyed it.  I really enjoyed the scenes with the Countess of Caithmore and Ian Anderson together when the Countess was testing the inventions that were designed for her.  I liked that it showed Ian's understanding of how she was just a broken woman looking for something to prove that she wasn't just cold like her husband indicated she was when he left her.  Ian is truly trying to help her get to her "happy place" regardless of the feelings that he is starting to feel for her throughout their partnership.I thought the argument they had was quite realistic and it really showed how each of them have their own baggage they are trying to get over while still dealing with the new feelings they have for one another.I also really enjoyed how they discussed the fact that Ian was seducing her by proxy.  Having to imagine what he would do himself to please her is what drove his inventions and during that time he begins to realize that he doesn't want to build a machine for her, he wants to be the one to give her the things she's been missing.I found the entire end of the story, with Ian chasing after her and confronting her on their feelings for one another, to be quite breathtaking.  The entire scene with her running from his house to catch her carriage and get away before he can catch her actually almost made me cry.  I could almost feel her heartache at that point.  Wanting nothing more but to get away from the man that has seen her both literally and figuratively naked but at the same time wanting to run to him and forget all the things she was raised to believe.I also loved how romantic the very end of the story was.  You know how much they love each other for who they are when you understand that up to that point they STILL haven't had the opportunity to test their...um..."compatibility".I did think this was a great story but I doubt I'll read the rest of the volumes of Fantasies of New Europa series.  I've read the book descriptions and none of the others really stuck out to me like this one did.  I would recommend this story to fans of romance/erotica but it definitely strikes me as being way more of a romance with erotica overtones than just adult erotica.