Review: Cute and clean read, likeable main characters
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 13, 2013
A cute short story about a novelty maker, Harlowe, who makes mechanical trinkets and Cole, an aristocrat who develops a friendship with him.  Harlowe is physically scarred on his face and thus is not as trustful of other people's motivations since he's been hurt emotionally in the past.  He stays behind-the-scenes at the shop where he is employed and Cole is the one who actively pursues their friendship, visiting him and keeping him company while he works.The story is set in a fantasy-like/steampunk world although the elements that make those genres are largely diluted down here.  The setting would be 19th century or earlier though any societal concerns about same-sex relations never come up at all in the story, suggesting this world isn't based in ours.  The worlding-building is limited, which is to be expected in a short story.  However, what a reader does infer is interesting and I think it would have been better if the author had made this story into a novella so that more page space could be given to develop atmosphere and scenery.Both characters are likeable and even the few secondary characters are relatable.  Again, though, more development would have been nice.  I liked Cole's interactions with his family and would liked to have seen more of his brother.  Harlowe plays the role of a "beast", crankaterous and lonely but with a soft heart.  Cole is something of a "beauty" figure, if one really wanted to push the Beauty and the Beast motif.  However, this story is more about finding the courage to speak about your feelings and trusting the other person and of friendships turning into partnerships.The story and the writing are somewhat simplistic but certainly not juvenile and there was decent editing done.  This is a clean story.  No sex scenes (just some kissing) and no offensive language (that I can recall.)