Danielle K. Girl

3.5 Hearts

This is my first official gaslamp fantasy - a trope that’s typically set in Victorian or Edwardian times and where the existence of the supernatural is known. I liken it as a fancy term for magical historical alternate universe. Regardless, if this sounds enticing to you, I doubt this story will disappoint.

This starts out with Silas, newly awakened from the dead with no memories of his past life. All he knows is that he’s technically been given a second chance by the Order of the Dawn, a mysterious group that supposedly fights supernatural evil. Silas has officially been promoted to a member of this exclusive “club”, but no one is telling him anything, and he’s pretty much thrown into the deep end to see if he sinks or swims when it comes to manifesting any abilities.

Well… it looks like the guy can see, interact, and put to rest spirits, and Silas is quickly put onto the Order’s roster of appointments to investigate and handle potential nefarious situations.

There’s just one snag. Silas finds himself unceremoniously paired with Tobias Asteroff, blatant unapologetic hedonist who has a very mysterious past, along with unclear reasons why he’s saddled with the Order and why he must do as they bid. It’s an incongruent and unharmonious pairing, but neither has a choice in the matter.

What I will say about this book is that it has an intriguing start. The Order and its objective remain to be seen. There’s religious undertones that have been given new meaning, and this promises plenty of magic and supernatural beings that all have yet to be fully revealed. I will also say that this develops at quite the slow pace with only a few scenes of intense action with a good dose of horror at the end. Silas truly is a fumbling insecure gentle giant which might endear most but also aggravate others, and I often found him lacking in ”oomph” where Tobias is all bad boy brimstone with an undeniably charming facade and a mean streak of carelessness to go with it. Such a contrast between two people forced to work together is admittedly, interesting enough to see how this develops into love. Be forewarned, there’s not a hint of romance in this first installment yet - only snippets of lusty thoughts.

Overall, well written with character flaws that subtracted some points from me personally. However again, if you like supernatural historical MM, then I do think this garners checking out. Hope you enjoy!

Thank you to the author for a copy in exchange for an honest review

… (mehr)

3.5 Stars - I enjoyed it, I read it in favor of doing other things, but it didn't leave a major impact on me afterwards.

It's important to know going in that this is part of a serialized story, because it doesn't end with any sort of conclusion.

This was a fun book to read, putting the focus on a number of people who are coping with trauma in different ways. The two sisters at the heart of the story are both fascinating, and their choices are self-destructive without feeling frustrating to me as a reader, or making them unlikable as protagonists. Although the plot occasionally suffers from "withholding information to ratchet up the tension for no good reason" syndrome, the overall mystery of what is going on is well handled and leaves me curious to know more about both the sisters and the aliens.… (mehr)