Review: Wonderful Blend of Historical, Paranormal & Steampunk
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 29, 2011
Never would I have expected historical romance to blend so well with steampunk and the paranormal. Cindy Spencer Pape accomplishes not only that in Steam & Sorcery, but she also creates a full, rich plot, scorching hot romance, and lots of lovable characters. Despite being a quick read, Steam & Sorcery has all the elements I hope for in longer novels and the book never felt rushed or confusing.Sir Merrick was a wonderfully unique hero. I loved reading about a magical knight taking on five magical, or equally hazardous, orphans. It was always humorous to hear his thoughts on the rag tag family they became and I couldn't help but fall in love with him considering how sweet he was to each of them. The plot was centered around Sir Merrick's secret organization and the possible disaster a steampunk machine could cause by giving vampyres the illusion of humanity. It was just as fun to read about him with the kids as it was when he was completing a mission or trying to avoid Caroline. Caro is another very unique character. I don't want to say much on that as the discovery and what that's about is integral to the plot. Caro is the most obvious deviation from a realistic historical (besides the paranormal and steampunk) as she's very forward thinking. I don't think this took away from the book's credibility and it certainly didn't diminish my enjoyment. Just because Miss Dorothy, Nell, Wink, Tommy, Piers and Jamie were secondary characters didn't make them any less fleshed out or lovable. Dorothy was the cliched matchmaker. I didn't mind her in this role at all though, in fact she brought something new to the role. The orphans... they completely won me over. I could read a twenty book series on them and never get bored.When I began this book, I expected it to be like a typical romance; heavy on the build up, a few love scenes then suddenly the plot threatens to separate them. Steam & Sorcery is nothing like that typical mold. Instead, the storyline and the romantic aspects worked as one to deliver a wonderful book. I loved both of them. This is definitely an adult book, yum, but I think even nonromance readers would enjoy it. I am looking forward to the next book in the series!(I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange of an honest review)