Karissa E. (ophelia99) reviewed on 9/1/2014 + 2527 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

This is the 5th book in the Darkest London series. This was a very well done steampunk romance, I enjoyed it a lot. The sixth book in the series will be titled Soulbound and will feature Adam and Eliza. Soulbound is planned to come out in February 2015.

This book follows the story of Holly Evernight and William Thorne. Holly is an inventive genius but has had a hard time recovering from the events in Shadowdance, she hasnt left her house at all. Someone has been trying to kill her and she doesnt know who. After having his heart replaced with a silver clockwork heart in Shadowdance, William has suffered madness and unspeakable pain. When he charges into Hollys house intent on seeking revenge, Holly touches Will and her ability to control metal immediately soothes Wills pain. Now Will is determined to help Holly figure out who is trying to kill her, while Holly is determined to fix Wills clockwork heart. Woven into this we learn more about Adam, the leader of the GIM.

Although I havent liked any of the Darkest London books as much as the first book in the series, Firelight, this was still a very engaging read. I really enjoy Holly as a character; she is a bit stereotypical (an ice queen on the outside, but warm beneath her cool exterior) but I still enjoyed her and her crazy inventions. Shes an extremely capable woman thats struggling with some agoraphobia caused by the events in Shadowdance. I wish we had seen a bit more of Holly's inventions, we see some but I really wish that was a larger part of the story.

Will is an interesting character too. The metal from his clockwork heart is slowly taking over the rest of his body. He is in constant pain and falls in and out of madness. In some ways he is also a bit stereotypical (major alpha male and over protective of Holly). Again, I still enjoyed reading about him.

We also learn more about the Nyx, Adam, and how the Fae are involved with elemental power. All of that was incredibly interesting. The scenes with Adam and Eliza May are leading up to the next book, Soulbound. Which will be the story of those two characters.

The steamy scenes between Will and Holly are really well done, the two have excellent chemistry. Callihan really does an excellent job with romance and with writing very creative and engaging sex scenes.

The story is very engaging and hard to put down. There is a lot of action, romance, some nifty steampunk devices, and wonderfully descriptive writing that really brings the scenes alive.

Overall a very well done steampunk romance. I would recommend the whole Darkest London series to those who love steampunk with romance. The tone is very similar to Bec McMaster's London Steampunk series which I have also started reading and enjoy.

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