Set in a time when England and Germany have heightened tensions, spy networks are vast, and the ton continues with its balls and social obligations unaware of the secrets around them, Lady Amanda wars with her father, the Duke, over her ability to attend medical school. Amanda is driven by her keen intelligence and a guilt over her brother’s injured leg, to produce a clockwork device to repair nerve damage. Under pressure to find a husband within the year, Amanda courts a classmate, but finds no sparks. However, when her work captures the attention of Lord Thornton, noted physician and neurologist, Lady Amanda finally knows what it is like to have her mind appreciated.

Lord Thornton lives with the guilt over the betrayal of his best friend in his damaged leg that will never heal. As a spy for the Queen herself, he finds Amanda’s work to be the break he needs in a rash of Gypsy murders. However much he is attracted to both her brain and her body, Thornton must keep the relationship professional, especially since he’s not on the market for a wife.

The Golden Spider is a delicious treat for fans of gadgets, science, and steampunk romance! Right from the start, I was drawn into this exciting mystery, trying to discover who is behind the Gypsy murders. Watching Amanda’s mind work to piece the puzzle together is fascinating, and made all the much better as she and Thornton grow closer. I love the science of the story - the author does not brush over Amanda and Thornton’s work, but rather gives listeners the details of both test subjects and gadgets. 

While the engineering, science, action, and adventure is completely fascinating, it is the romance between Lord Thornton and Lady Amanda that gives The Golden Spider heart and makes it such a wonderful story. The pair are meant for one another; not only do they share a passion for science and ingenuity, but they are able to openly be themselves with each other. Thornton doesn’t trust easily, but he finds a confidant in Amanda. Working side by side, their passion grows until they finally give into their burning desires.

The story is read by British-born actress Henrietta Meire, who embodies the Regency Steampunk setting perfectly. She modulates her tone to fit both high society snobbery and working class Roma. Her narrator tone is mostly neutral, but seems to be a tad bit softer when expressing Amanda’s POV than Thornton’s. I enjoyed all of her voices, although it took a while for me to warm up to Thornton’s speaking voice, which came off robotic. As I got to know his character, I became accustomed to his unique voice, and it even softened some as he grew closer to Amanda. Ms. Meire also tosses in German and French accents wonderfully.

In the end, I enjoyed devouring The Golden Spider. A wonderful mix of mystery, adventure, steampunk, and romance, the story unfolded at a thrilling pace, building passion and excitement along the way. I cannot wait for the second title, The Silver Skull, to be released in audiobook format.

My Rating: A

Narration: A-

Review copy provided by Tantor Audio

Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About

Sam is a witch - well, half witch on her mother’s side - who owns a shop on Bourbon Street in New Orleans named Bell, Book, and Candle. But when children start killing people, things could get personal as danger creeps closer and closer to home.. These attacks are only the beginning of the cases she will solve in this boxed set, and they could potentially start a chain of events that ends with someone she loves dearly being taken from her. Add a possessed doll head, a wolf familiar, and cyber magic, and this makes for quite an interesting read.

I must admit to a love/hate relationship with this particular set of books. Part of me would love to keep them, while the other part - the editing/proofreading part of me - wants to chuck it in the bin for its too simplistic writing and the fact that as a reader I feel like some of the antics of this main character have been lost in the ether. These supposed first three books should definitely not be the first three. There should have been at least one before these three according to situations described in the not aptly named first book of this series. However, in this case, the part of me that wants to keep them has won out, and that is due to the likability factor of the characters involved. Even the villains of these stories are likable, in a “hope they get caught and put away for life and afterlife” kind of way.

Rootbound by Shannon Mayer
Published by HiJinks Ink Publishing
Published on: June 7, 2016
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 229
Format: eARC
Source: Author

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My name is Larkspur, and I am an Elemental.

My people use the power of the earth to sustain life and defy our enemies. I am the half-breed bastard child of a king. I was not meant to survive the trials cast my way. Yet, here I stand.

The world has deteriorated in the years I was banished. The Elemental families are rife with deception, violence, and madness more than ever before.

A voice I know all too well calls me to do her bidding. A voice I no longer wish to hear. The mother goddess begs me to save the four families, and stop my nemesis. To do it, I must face each of the Elemental leaders and take from them the power they hold close: the stones I once entrusted to them.

Now, the secrets I unearth as I pursue the stones shatter everything I know about my world, and everything I was taught.

Yet, I am not the naïve girl I once was. If I am to see this through, I must completely embrace the new reality of my life and all its obstacles while forging ahead.

Four stones abused.
Four families broken.
A half-breed princess as their only hope.

Through it all, the one I love waits for me to find him. When I do, will he, like everything else in my world, not be what he once was?

ROOTBOUND’s blurb mentions Lark’s “banishment” and even though it’s not critical that the novella, ELEMENTALLY PRICELESS, be read before this next installment, it does help to set the tone. Out of the four locales, I found that the Eyrie didn’t get its due, as such I was very happy that this plot had the protagonist retracing her previous steps because it made up for WINDBURN’s shortcomings, and also advanced the series’ story arc wonderfully which means that book 5 is now tied for first place for my favourite ELEMENTAL novel.

While definitely not the focal point, there’s been an on-going love triangle between Lark, Cactus and Ash; however that finally gets laid to rest in this latest addition. That’s not to say that Shannon Mayer tied the romance up in a neat bow because that actually couldn’t be farther from the truth, but the heroine has picked a team, and that’s half of the battle in my option. We’re still left hanging as to the fate of the winning candidate. Nevertheless, I was satisfied with how the author settled the other suitor’s thread.

A lot of twists involving a surprising amount of characters get tossed our way in this volume. Most of them are kind of spoiler-y, thus I’m going to abstain from going into too much detail. Yet, I will go so far as to add that someone important in Lark’s inner circle kicks the bucket while as it appears as though the protagonist (and readers) may have been misled with regards to the fate of another key person who had a big influence on her life’s course. What does it all mean? I guess we’ll just have to stay tuned for the next installment!

Peta and the heroine’s relationship was put to the test in this book, and I loved not only seeing how far they’ve come, but also watching them prevail over this latest obstacle. Shazer really proved his worth this time around, and I liked the way that he linked up with the main story line. I have a feeling that his loyalty may be challenged next, and it’ll be interesting to see if he fares as well as Lark’s familiar did. The most shocking aspect of this novel was the storyline involving the mother goddess—I absolutely did NOT see that one coming.

ROOTBOUND will leave you screaming at Shannon Mayer to write faster!

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Despite the fact that his family’s secret should be kept, Blake Hawke can’t resist telling Brooke about this ability to control water which is a good thing when he suddenly finds himself trying to protect his family and the woman he’s falling in love with from an enemy he never knew he had in this exciting paranormal romance. The author has created a fascinating world full of interesting characters with intriguing abilities which Blake uses in some amusing and some sensual ways that add flair and depth to the story. I was completely enamored with Blake and his family and I am looking forward to finding out what happens next.

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