Review: The Mysterious Lady Law

Book Details

Title:
The Mysterious Lady Law

Author: 
Robert Appleton

Genre:
Steampunk

Page Count:
108 on my reader

Publishing Info:
January 31, 2011 by Carina Press

Why I Read It:
review copy from Netgalley

Grade:
C- (not really my thing)

Cover Thoughts:
The cover is quite possibly the best thing about the book.  I've always been drawn to steampunk covers, and that's probably why I keep trying steampunk, despite my bad luck with it. 

My Review

After her sister is mysteriously murdered, Julia accepts an offer from Lady Law to solve the case.  Lady Law has successfully solved every case she takes on.  No one knows how she does it, and therefore a lot of people are very suspicious of her.

This book was so short that I really couldn't get a feel for any of the characters, which makes it hard to care what happens to them.  There was a bit of a romance between Julia and a constable named Al, but I wasn't really feeling that either.

The Mysterious Lady Law is a steampunk set in Victorian London.  There were a whole lot of things that were described that I couldn't quite picture, which may be usual in the steampunk genre, but I think this story just needed to be fleshed out more.

A Sample of the Writing:
By five o'clock the gas lighter was already making his rounds, lighting the streetlamps with surgical precision.  Steam-powered cranes billowed white clouds as they raised workmen to dismantle scaffolding from the new submarine factory.  Tired shopkeepers dragged their advertisement stands inside, paid the window cleaners and errand boys, and then set about tidying their storefronts.  Men with faces blackened by oil and coal lumbered home from the factories.  As dusk descended, London wound down for the day.

I think the fact that I didn't care for this book may be chalked up to the fact that steampunk isn't really a genre (or sub-genre) that I enjoy.  I like the idea of it much more than the delivery, for the most part.  Fans of steampunk may very well enjoy this one, but I do think it suffers quite a bit because of it's length.  It's more of a novella, so if you're looking for a fleshed out story, this isn't it.  Still, I think there's definitely an audience for this book, it's just not me.

Review: 47 Echo

Book Details

Title:
47 Echo

Author: 
Shawn Kupfer

Genre:
Military SF

Page Count:
236

Publishing Info: 
January 17, 2011 from Carina Press

Why I Read It:
netgalley review copy

Grade: 
B- (promising, but could've been better)

Cover Thoughts:
I really love this cover--from the buildings in the background, to the silhouettes of the soldiers, it's just perfect for the story.

My Review

In a futuristic society, Nick Morrow is a convict who is assigned to 47 Echo, a suicide squad in war-torn Russia.  47 Echo has only the hardest criminals, and from the start you get the sense that Nick doesn't really belong.  He's smart and has a great analytical mind, but he's half Chinese, and in a world where China attacked the U.S., that doesn't do him any favors.  This one grabbed me right from the start.

Nick is a great character, and was definitely one that I could really root for.  There were so many other soldiers coming in and out of the story so that, besides one or two others, I couldn't even remember who was who.  That made it a little harder to care about what happened to some of the characters.  Someone could die, and since I had no idea really who they were, it didn't really phase me.  It was just a character name.

47 Echo is set in a future world that is at war, and is classified as science fiction, but I didn't really see a whole lot in the way of sci-fi.  Sure, it takes place in the future, which I guess already takes it out of the realm of regular fiction, but for the most part it just felt like military fiction with a few things that I didn't recognize, like the vehicles.  The story is so straightforward and to the point that you really don't get many details on how things look or what the world is really like.

This one started off so good, but I was a little disappointed as I continued reading and found the writing lacked depth.  It was great as a quick, entertaining read, but I kept wondering when I was going to get to the meat of the story.  Where were the intricacies, the surprises, the plot twists . . . anything?  I couldn't really get a feel for what the story was supposed to even be about besides a group of soldiers.  And that's when I realized that was the story.  It's like the mindless action movies you watch when you don't want to have to think and you just want to see stuff blowing up.  

In fact, as I was reading, I kept thinking this would make a great action movie.  Maybe the author should look into writing movie scripts.  There is quite a bit of language in this one, and violence, of course.  And if the word "smirk" bothers you, steer clear of this one because the author uses it constantly.  All in all, I would probably read another book by this author, and would recommend it to someone who was looking for a quick action-style read.

Allegra Fairweather

Book Details:
Genre: Paranormal
Page Count: 209
Publication Date: May 26, 2010
Why I read it: netgalley review copy
Grade: B-

The plot:
Allegra Fairweather here. Paranormal investigator. Got problems with specters? Shapeshifters? I'm the woman to call. Just don't call me a Ghostbuster. The last guy who did that ended up flat on his back with my boot at his throat.
With my 99.5% success rate, solving the mystery of a bleeding rose that has sprung up on the shores of Loch Furness should have been an easy gig. But already I've heard the shriek of the local banshee, discovered two bodies (and then lost two bodies), and had a near-death encounter with a three-hundred-year-old ghost. And perhaps most dangerous of all, the hot pub owner who hired me now wants to show me exactly what's under his kilt.
Luckily, I'm ably assisted by my very own guardian angel. I'm grateful for his help-but he's also drop-dead gorgeous. A bit distracting when I've got a mystery to solve, and the clock is ticking...My review:
Let me tell you right up front that I think this book is only available in e-book edition. I enjoyed this one, but it was really nothing more than a fun, easy read; a good way to pass a couple of afternoons. What I liked best, I think was the setting. I would love to travel to Scotland. Forget the handsome men in kilts, I'm jealous of Allegra just for the scenery. And it was very much a part of the story, so that's good.

Allegra is a fun character, even though she seemed to have a bit of a hard time figuring anything out. If she really does have a 99.5% success rate, I don't know how she did it. She kind of bumbles around and figures things out only with luck. But still, she's fairly tough (although it does help that she has a guardian angel to get her out of all kinds of scrapes), and definitely likable.

There was a little bit of romance here, but not too much. It didn't overshadow the story, at least. It seems that this is the start of a series. Book two is already written and has been acquired by the publisher. So that's good news for those who liked this first one, but I'm afraid of the direction it'll take. I didn't think her romantic interest in her guardian angel was all that great, but I think it'll become more and more the focus. We'll see, it could be done well. I would recommend this to fans of paranormal romance, especially if you're not as interested in the romance. If you're looking for a hot and heavy bodice-ripper type novel, this isn't it.