Review: Tantalizing New Adult Sci-Fi Paranormal Steampunk Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 3, 2013
I saw the gorgeous cover and the intriguing blurb and just had to give it a try.  It was an interesting blend of several genres- paranormal, sci-fi, steampunk and romance.  The age level was New Adult which I haven't read many just yet.The story opens with Levian Grayson finally getting a solid lead from the detectives he hired to discover the whereabouts of his missing mate, Sera Czedar.  Sera accepted him in a mating ceremony and then she disappeared with no explanation five years ago.  It left him feeling betrayed and heartbroken, but he still wants her back because he felt like half his soul is missing.  Sera is his alpha's daughter and he and his twin brother grew up with her all of them best friends.  His brother, Tegue, the flirtatious light-hearted brother was Sera's crush, but it was Levian, the steadfast and deeper of the twins, that she agreed to mate only she left him.  Now, the alpha is sending him, his brother and a friend to bring her home no matter what.Sera has been living in the wild and open clanless city of Varselles that is located outside the clans where she works at the University and runs a bookstore.  She has also made a name for herself as a Ring Fighter.  She lives her life day to day and tries to ignore when memories of her past and longings for home take her.  She can never go home and knows she betrayed her family and the male who loved her, but some things just can't be forgiven or fixed.  She has hopes of making some restitution by collecting some journals that would appeal to her scientific father.  She has three of the Cloaked Devices and is just waiting on the fourth that she hopes to get so she can send them along as an 'I'm sorry' gift.  Only her past has finally caught up with her when she looks up to see Levian in her doorway.This was touted to be a prequel to a series, but it didn't feel like most prequels.  Yes, it introduced the players and some of the back drop and yes, there was a loose thread, but it didn't feel like it was a set-up story for something else.  Actually, I could have used more of the world building because I love that part of stories, but I'm hoping once the series gets going with a full length novel that I'll get all that.  The mystery of what the Cloaked Devices is and why the alpha was scared about them has me so intrigued because that was the piece that was left hanging.Most of the story focused on Levian and Sera and Levian's twin Tegue.  It was obvious that Sera loved Levian and she had once been infatuated with Tegue, but she suddenly ran.  She had this big reason that the whole story builds to and then it is sprung and I was left with the whole 'wow, didn't see that coming'.  I speculated through the whole thing as to what would make her run like that.  It was such a build up that I was relieved to discover that for a girl of eighteen, it was a legit reason to ditch everyone and hurt them.  She felt cornered by her own mistakes and did what she thought was right at the time.  I liked how once her secret was out, things progressed realistically for her and Levian.  They never had the chance of a relationship before so in essence this is the beginning and they only have one hot and heavy reunion scene.  She hurt him terribly and it was natural that he had to deal with that even while he still loved her.  It's five years later and they have both grown up into stronger, more confident people to whom they are both even more drawn in with attraction and must get to know all over again in certain ways.  In the end, it was the story of the Prodigal Daughter and Mate getting a chance to come home.The Sci-Fi element of this being an alien world of shifter clans with enhanced humans was an interesting twist and the few mentions of their steampunk technology was a fun addition.  I hope to see more of this side of things as the series continues.So if you're looking for something a little different and creative in the New Adult Romance genre then look no further.  Give this one a try.My thanks to Netgalley for a chance to read and review this book.