Neither One Prepared

Published: October 2012

Moonlight & Mechanicals (The Gaslight Chronicles # 4)

By: Cindy Spencer Pape

Carina Press

eBook

London, 1859

Engineer Winifred "Wink" Hadrian has been in love with Inspector Liam McCullough for years, but is beginning to lose hope when he swears to be a lifelong bachelor. Faced with a proposal from a Knight of the Round Table and one of her closest friends, Wink reluctantly agrees to consider him instead.

Because of his dark werewolf past, Liam tries to keep his distance, but can't say no when Wink asks him to help find her friend's missing son. They soon discover that London's poorest are disappearing at an alarming rate, after encounters with mysterious "mechanical" men. Even more alarming is the connection the missing people may have with a conspiracy against the Queen.

Fighting against time—and their escalating feelings for each other—Wink and Liam must work together to find the missing people and save the monarchy before it's too late...

Review

     Wink has been head over heels for Liam McCullough ever since she was a teenager and he helped save her from a bunch of vampires.  But he is determined that after his parents' disastrous marriage he will be a bachelor forever.  Than one of her childhood friends, Connor, proposes marriage to her.  Wink decides to try and fall in love with him, but every time she does her mind fills up with Liam and it becomes useless.  But there are more important things to worry about than romance - someone is abducting people from London's shadier district for some nefarious plot involving revenge for the younger sons of nobility.  They are being conscripted for a cause almost too chilling to think about - to serve as mindless soldiers inside mechanical suits, with literally no control over anything they do.  Can Wink, her wayward adopted brothers and Liam come together in time to figure out who is behind the scheme?  Or will something devastating get in the way?  I saw this on NetGalley, not realizing that is was fourth in a series of novellas.  But I decided that I would read it because the summary intrigued me - and it sounded like a good romance.  I'm not usually a fan of steampunk, but this seemed like the lite version of it so I took the plunge.  I am SO glad that I did!  Wink was a wonderful heroine, perfectly capable of taking care of herself, mechanically inclined and not afraid to show it.  She used to be an orphan on the streets and so did four of her other 'siblings' until they were adopted by a Knight and his wife.  She still acts like a normal person, even with privilege, which is a joy for me as a reader.  I loved Liam, even though his stubborn refusal to try a relationship with Wink at first because of his werewolf condition made my teeth clench.  But I couldn't stay mad at him because of his fumblingly, inept attempts to point her in Connor's direction.  He really managed to amuse me.  The mystery of who is behind the abductions and mechanical army wasn't that surprising - the reason why was VERY surprising (which was a nice change from some of the stuff I've read lately, that treat readers like toddlers).    My favorite character though, was the mechanical dog George who acts and seems to think like a real dog.  Such a sweet companion to the Hadrian family.  Overall between the family relationships, the romance, the friendships, and the sneakily good world-building I'd have to call this my favorite Carina Press novella so far.  Very good and I highly recommend it.

VERDICT:  4.25/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published October 2012.*

Love As Cold As Ice

Published: August 15th, 2012
The Ice Princess (The Princes Trilogy # 4)
By: Elizabeth Hoyt
Forever Yours
ASIN: B003VYBP8I

SEVEN NIGHTS OF SIN

As the madam of Aphrodite’s Grotto, the most infamous brothel in London, Coral Smythe knows everything possible about men’s needs and desires. Yet she’s never experienced the love of a single man—not even that of Captain Isaac Wargate whose hawk-like eyes stare at her with both condemnation…and lust.

SEVEN NIGHTS OF ECSTASY

Captain Wargate heartily disapproves of the sensuous madam who always wears a golden mask. She lures his officers from both his ship and their duty. But when Coral herself is offered up as the prize in a game of chance, Wargate impulsively enters…and wins.

SEVEN NIGHTS OF LOVE

Now the puritanical navy captain has just seven nights to learn everything he can about the mysterious madam and what she knows of a man’s desires. But when Coral is threatened by the new owner of Aphrodite’s Grotto, will Wargate take a chance on the woman beneath the mask…and on love?

Review

   This is the story of Coral Smythe, a madam of the most famous brothel in London, Aphrodite's Grotto.  She has spent her entire adulthood pleasing men and being left feeling cold.  She's never been in love or felt any true pleasure for herself.  It amuses her that the upright Captain Wargate, who comes to collect his men occasionally, seems to disparage and lust after her at the same time.  However, when the new top shareholder of the brothel, a cruel man, offers Coral as the prize in a high stakes game of chance Captain Wargate enters on impulse.  After winning the rights to Coral, he is determined to spend their seven nights getting to know what's underneath the mask she wears.  In such a short amount of time, Issac manages to raise her opinion of men and treat her like a woman instead of a prostitue unlike all the others.  But can they build a lasting relationship on their time together?  I felt cheated at the end of this story.  Yes, I kept in mind the fact that it is a novella and not a full book.  But if she was going to attempt to give Coral a happy ending, it should have occured that it was going to take an entire book to be believable.  I did not believe in the romance pretty much at all.  Issac was practically Puritanical, not interested in lowering himself into the bed of a prostitute.  I also had a really hard time believeing that there was anything like real love between them.  And could Coral really resolve all her issues in only seven days?  No freaking way!  As much as I was interested by the plot, the premise and the execution it just didn't work for me on the same level as the rest of the series did.  I honestly don't approve of novellas as a way to establish complicated plots and resolve them as beautifully as the ideas deserve.  If you're going to tell a story that is slightly complicated but doesn't ride on a intricate completion, that's what a novella is for in my opinion.  Disappointing, but still not a complete waste of time.

VERDICT:  2/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This novella was published for the Kindle on June 1st, 2012.*