#50 Her Ladyship's Curse by Lynn Viehl

Well I am halfway to my reading goal for the year.  [actually past it but not caught up on reviews]. I can't get too cocky since who knows what the second half of the year will bring with reading but I do have a small lead.

This novella is set in an alt America that lost the Revolutionary War and uses magic and steam tech. Kit doesn't believe in magic since it never seems to work around her. This puts her at odds with almost the rest of the world. As she is investigating a case of magical harassment she crosses paths with a childhood friend that works for the police and a deathmage that is very interested in her. The world building is very interesting to me and the introduction of the friends that help her out is very neat but the potential good guy/ bad boy romance triangle doesn't appeal to me that much. I'll read the next one because I want more of the setting and plot.


Digital copy to review provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

#51 The Red Plague Affair by Lilith Saintcrow

I've been reading several steampunk novels lately and even though they have that in common they each have such a different take on how they handle history and setting.

This series is much more a Lord Darcy feeling for me and I dearly loved those books. Emma serves the Queen and Britannia [the spirit of England] with all her might she is more than willing to sacrifice anything in order to get the job done. There is the overlay of Sherlock Holmes as well but Emma is no Watson to Archibald's Sherlock and that is what I like about it so much. Emma is much more in control of the plot and what is going on around her. That she makes decisions that he may not care for she is doing it in the best interests of the crown, who he also serves as well. Not as much steampunk feel to this one as to the last but I love the idea of the clockwork horses. And that there is no angst over lovers in the books makes it a nice change of pace. I need to get the book that is set in the same universe but different characters and try that one out as well.