Review: Skies of Steel - Zoe Archer

In the world of The Ether Chronicles, the Mechanical War rages on, and appearances are almost always deceiving . . .

Daphne Carlisle may be a scholar, but she's far more comfortable out in the field than lost in a stack of books. Still, when her parents are kidnapped by a notorious warlord, she knows she'll need more than quick thinking if she is to reach them in time. Daphne's only hope for getting across enemy territory is an airship powered and navigated by Mikhail Denisov, a rogue Man O' War who is as seductive as he is untrustworthy. 

Mikhail will do anything for the right price, and he's certain he has this mission—and Daphne—figured out: a simple job and a beautiful but sheltered Englishwoman. But as they traverse the skies above the Mediterranean and Arabia, Mikhail learns the fight ahead is anything but simple, and his lovely passenger is not entirely what she seems. The only thing Mikhail is certain of is their shared desire—both unexpected and dangerous.

Mass Market Paperback, 277 pages, Published November 6th 2012 by Avon Impulse (first published October 9th 2012), The Ether Chronicles #3, Steampunk romance /adventure, own

My thoughts:
I do hate writing a review 24 hours later, by then I am all meh, I felt what?

But it was a cool world. Where men could become Men O'War. Tied to their flying ship. A steampunk world that was at war. I liked this world and wanted to read more set here. Sometimes I complain that steampunk books do not have enough steam. Many puts in one mechanical clock and is all steampunk! While this blended romance and steampunk well. A steampunk should be filled with steampunk and this one was. But not too much that it got confusing. That is no fun either. So + on steampunk.

Romance then. Mikhail (did I mention that it's one of my fav Russian names?), and Daphne are very very different. But they worked together and brought in some drama that I will not spoil for you all.

Conclusion:

All in all making it a good novel. There is romance, steampunk, an interesting world and a bit of action.

Cover

Ok this guy is supposed to be BIG. But he looks so lean

Review: Warrior - Zoe Archer

The Blades of The Rose, book 1

Genre: Historical Paranormal Romance
Pages: 354
Published: 2010

To most people, the realm of magic is the stuff of nursery rhymes and dusty libraries. But for Capt. Gabriel Huntley, it's become quite real and quite dangerous...

The vicious attack Capt. Gabriel Huntley witnesses in a dark alley sparks a chain of events that will take him to the ends of the Earth and beyond—where what is real and what is imagined become terribly confused. And frankly, Huntley couldn't be more pleased. Intrigue, danger, and a beautiful woman in distress—just what he needs. Raised thousands of miles from England, Thalia Burgess is no typical Victorian lady. A good thing, because a proper lady would have no hope of recovering the priceless magical artifact Thalia is after. Huntley's assistance might come in handy, though she has to keep him in the dark. But this distractingly handsome soldier isn't easy to deceive.

Plot:

There is magic in the world, but people do not know. A select few protect these objects against the bad guys who wants to spread the British rule over the entire world. In comes Gabriel Huntley who delivers a message to Mongolia, and then accompanies Thalia Burgess on a wild hunt.

My thoughts:

The book did have it all, the premise, good thrilling writing, a kick-ass heroine, an alpha hero, it took place in Mongolia (I have sure never read a book taking place there), there was magic, and romance. Still I had too easy putting the book down. Why? I do not know. The book was ok, but it didn't manage to keep my attention that long.

I did like Thalia, raised in Mongolia and now weak 19th century female. She could handle a bow and dressed like the people living there. Huntley was a former army man with a deep sense of duty, and together they made a nice couple.

There was action, bad guys chasing them, The Hammer of Thor (which was really cool), learning about the magical sources in the world, and just riding through Mongolia. There was romance when these two found each other.

But something just did not click. Do not get me wrong, I still rate the book good since I liked all the other things. But I struggled with the reading. I can usually read for hours, now I took breaks every 10 minutes.

Recommendation and final thoughts:

So even if it did not capture me I would still recommend it since it interesting, and I liked the historical and paranormal mix. Perhaps it was not the right time to read it.

Cover:

So I did some googling, yes the zipper was invented 20 years before, but then forgotten, and re-invented 20 years after this book taking place. So he could not have zipper on that jacket...yes that was what I was doing instead of reading.

Reason for reading:

I heard it was good. I do not regret reading it since it was still good..but