*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Garth Treasure has claimed Clark as his bastard son in order to protect him, but Clark knows who his real father is. Ever since he stole a vial of what he thought was absinthe from an Army officer and drank it, he’s been able to see the dead. Not just see though, he can bring the recently deceased back. Clark hates this ability, but even worse, the Army is after him for the abilities he stole. His true father has appeared to him and beseeched Clark to seek out his inventions that Senator Horan has been using for his own ill-gotten gain and destroy them. Clark and Amethyst are doing just that, but the Senator’s reach is long and now the whole family is in danger because of him. Is there a way out from under a corrupt politician? Or are they all doomed?

Fast-paced and nail biting I couldn’t read this steampunk suspense quickly enough to satisfy and soothe my nerves. And I’m a pretty fast reader! I don’t now how many times I said, “Omg, someone just kill that guy (the Senator, his brother and/or Greenwood at various points in the book) already!” I hated them. They are wonderful villainous asshats. On the other hand, there’s Clark, the other Treasures and Amethyst. I loved Clark in book 1 and I still love him even though he’s sometimes really quick to use his gun to solve his problems. Wowzers. But it’s war. Not actual war, but a personal war of the Army and a corrupt asshole against Clark and the Treasures. The two people who I didn’t really like in book 1, Jeremiah and Amethyst, really grow in this book. They still have a few “we’re rich and therefore entitled” moments, but they’ve pulled their heads almost completely out of their asses and for the most part they are people I’d love to have as friends. This story has a satisfactory conclusion, but I wouldn’t say no to more books in this world.

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Twelve-year-old Wendy Magdalena Braca’s life after her father dies isn’t the greatest, but it takes a turn for the worse after her mother is murdered, she’s convicted of the crime and sent to Greenleaf Asylum for Troubled Girls. Stuck there for years, she keeps her head down and just tries to survive. Until that horrible day she couldn’t take it anymore and her magic manifests in self-defense. Eventually she is rescued by an assassin’s guild and they teach her all about a world she knew nothing about. A world where there are humans (Cæcus), magic users (Validus) and Half-Breeds. She embraces the life and vows to find the person who murdered her mother. But first, she needs to learn everything about this strange new world and her magic which is the rarest of all. She’s the Curse Breaker.

This YA steampunk isn’t just steampunky. It’s got a heaping helping of sci-fi, suspense and fantasy with a pinch of horror tossed in. In Wendy’s world there are 522 Realms and people travel from Realm to Realm via gates. Nuclear powered, the gates are a technology that can fold space allowing jump-trams to transport people and things from one place to another, making travel and colonization of close and far distant planets a commonplace occurrence. The magic is a fascinating addition and how it works is slightly different than what I’ve read before which makes it new and fresh. The story is told from Wendy’s POV, so there’s no getting in the heads of the other characters, but they are fully-fleshed, so that’s not a problem. The world is described in wonderfully rich detail. Thankfully, the things Wendy suffers in the Asylum are left mostly to the imagination, but it’s not hard to guess what she’s been through. *shudders* The story covers nearly a decade, so there’s plenty of background info, but there is also a little bit of info dumping. Not too bad though. However, there are times that Wendy pisses me off and those are the times she goes out drinking. Come on! She’s a rare commodity and she’s going to dull her senses like that? Make herself vulnerable to an attack? I just wanted to slap her. Anyway, the ending leaves the door wide open for the next installment. I’m looking forward to seeing what Wendy does next.

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Emma Roberts is a sophomore in college, not popular, but very smart. When her roommate drags her to a party, she meets cute Mike Carlson. Unfortunately, before they can fumble their way into a relationship, he drowns in the river on the night of his 21st birthday. Because Emma was there, she feels guilty even though she did her best to stop him from swimming. Since Emma has been seeing ghosts for years, she makes the leap to witchcraft in an attempt to bring Mike back from the dead. And the results are far from what she expects, changing her life forever. But is it for the better or worse?

Emma comes from a rich family but that embarrasses her. Plus, when she was younger and told her mom about the ghost she saw, her mom freaked and told her to never talk about things like that. So, Emma never does and ends up confused and upset about this ability she has.  She keeps to herself and reads or studies and has few friends. Ok, no friends except her roommate. That all changes when she reads The Book of Shadows and researches witchcraft in an attempt to bring back from the dead the one boy she falls for. And that’s when things get interesting. But it’s also when the book goes from being cute and at times tragic, to a bit silly and confusing. It’s still an entertaining read, but the pacing in the middle and towards the end become a bit uneven. I also didn’t understand some of the witchcraft effect that happens to Mike and the others. Plus, Mike’s insistence that Emma stop using The Book of Shadows seems kinda weird. I mean, she already saw ghosts and her spells end up being pretty powerful, but I think all Emma needs is someone to teach her how to keep from screwing up when using that power. So, while I believe she should be more careful, I think Mike was overreacting. Anyway, the characters are pretty great and I especially like Officer Walker. The next book in the series sounds like it will be a bit darker, but I look forward to reading it.

*Book source ~ Purchased from Amazon

When Amy Hamilton ditches her scumbag fiancé, the London ton shuns her. Her! The good girl who has always done everything ever expected of a woman in the late 19^th century. Humiliated and alone, she asks her best friend Cara to let her stay with her and her husband at their country estate. At least there she can be useful since the place is dreadful and in need of a complete overhaul. Once there though, the attention of two men confuse her. What could these men want with her?

I absolutely love the Artifact Hunter series and Jackson is a favorite character of mine. Amy is nice too, but thus far I haven’t seen a whole lot of her. In this story I get to know her a lot better and I have to say, she’s spunky and full of grit now that she’s letting her true self free. It’s a joy to watch her spread her wings. Loki is always fun to have around, but it was Jackson I wanted to see win the girl. The writing is superb. Even in a short story such as this there is enough info and development to keep it flowing smoothly without overwhelming it with unnecessary detail. While there isn’t as much steampunk to this story as the others, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This is more a romance than an adventure like the main books in the series and it works quite well to fill in the gap for those of us chomping at the bit for more stories.

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Tommy Wharton, son of the Edgeville mayor, should be a babe magnet and part of the popular crowd at school. Instead he’s a supernatural magnet. As in, he is constantly running into weird things that shouldn’t be real. And somehow surviving. But will he ever lose his virginity?

An amusing “memoir” about Tommy, an overweight, horny teenager who would love to finally get laid, but each time it looks like it just might happen (whether thru a favor owed, a pity fuck or just plain good fortune), something supernatural comes along to screw it all up and a virgin he remains. I started to feel really sorry for the guy. Why are there so many supernatural beings in or around Edgeville? And how does Tommy manage to stumble upon almost every single one of them? It’s a mystery. He eventually gets his cherry popped and manages to enter into a steady relationship, but the journey to get there is filled with enough stuff to make Sam and Dean Winchester’s Weird Shit O’Meter be in constant eeeeeeeeeeeee!!!-mode.