Review: Great Author, Book Misses the Mark a Bit
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 28, 2013
Let me say first that I wanted to like this book more than I did and give it a higher rating. Please take my words with a grain of salt because Meggan Connors is a fantastic author, and the story she has woven will appeal to romance and steampunk lovers out there. Understand that this is merely my opinion, and that is the beauty of living in this great country of ours.When I read that this was story mixed the Civil War with steampunk elements, I was intrigued. I have only read one other steampunk novel, so I was ready to tackle this one. And I will say that the steampunk elements are somewhat intriguing. They are truly only a small part of the story, but it does make for an interesting read. Add two great characters: Jessie and Luke, and you have an amazing story of espionage, history, native American culture, and romance. It was a clever spin on a well-known part of our country's history.My early complaint came as a result of extending the Civil War. I don't mind people taking liberties with historical fiction, but this is something that I felt should not have been tampered with. I didn't mind the technology aspects, but the War ended in 1865. Yes, I understand that the country did not immediately recover, but the War was over. I wish that the author had placed this story within the actual confines of the Civil War. I believe the story would have been just as effective.Although I am not marking it down for this, I cannot give this book my clean romance stamp of approval. The profanity was distracting and way too much, in my opinion. I also felt that much of the dialogue was not specific to the time period of the story. I could have done without the details of the bedroom, but at least most of that was between a married couple.I am giving this is a 3.5 star rating. It was a difficult decision, but I truly struggled with the ending of this story. I'm not going to spoil the ending for you, but I guess I felt it was very much over the top and way too weird. A lot of Native American culture came out, but I think this goes beyond this to almost a paranormal incident. I wish it had ended differently than it did, but then I'm not an incredibly incurable romantic--sappy romantic, that is. Again, I'm not putting anyone down, but I just could not buy into the story. I would venture to say that a good share of women will thoroughly enjoy this book, but it was not my cup of tea. However, I have no problem commending the author's writing style and idea for the story. There were many times I could not put it down because it was pretty exciting.I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.