London Steampunk

Kiss of Steel, Heart of Iron, and My Lady Quicksilver by Bec McMaster, 437, 423, and 425 pages

All three of these titles are part of McMaster’s “London Steampunk” series. The series was recommended by Goodreads based on the fact that I liked the “Parasol Protectorate” series by Gail Carriger. While I can certainly see some similarities, both being steampunk, taking place in London, and with supernatural elements like vampires and werewolves, there is none of the silliness and lightheartedness that I was initially expecting.

However, this series was still worth reading on its own merits. I enjoyed the detailed portrayal of a subjugated human population always on the brink of a losing war with the vampires, the rich description of a Victorian London, and of course the fantastic steam inventions that somewhat define the steampunk genre.

Throughout the series we follow various people with the majority of them being strong willed women who are trying to make a better life for themselves without selling out their dignity or blood. Somewhat like a romance novel, they are always wooed by a strong vampiric figure who is not like the rest. Together they strive to change society’s ingrained mentality and struggle for equal rights. The books tend to contain wisps of erotica, and can get kind of heavy, but it is not as bad as Kenyon’s books.

I would encourage people who like the steampunk genre to give this series a try, but while it has those elements it is more of a supernatural/vampire series.

A quick after review note: My Lady Quicksilver was read online through Ovedrive, the page count was taken from Goodreads.