Steamed

Jul 30, 2011 Stephen rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romantical, punked, science-fiction, audiobook, 2006-2010, shame-on-you

Ah….another of my life’s shitty decisions. Given the choice between reading this book or having one of my BERRIES ripped off by a rabid wolverine, I went with what I thought was the safe selection and read this book. Hindsight is now screaming a foul wind of obscenities at me because I didn’t go with the partial EUNUCHectomy.

This is one literary baby that should have been family planned a little better and prevented prior to conception. PAINFUL debilitating aneurysm doesn’t begin to describe th...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Jess rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for steampunk, and I have been for over a decade, so when I saw a steampunk trashy romance, I fell for it. That'll teach me. What would've otherwise been a mediocre story line was undermined by the square-peg-into-round-hole smushing-on of a "steampunk" premise. The problem is that, if you want people to think your book fits into a genre (possibly with the exception of vampires), the best way to do this is NOT to use the word on every other page. It's also not a good...more

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Aug 09, 2010 Maria rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

***Spoiler Alert***I’m going to preface my review by saying that I read a lot of romances. I would even venture to say that I’ve read thousands since I was a teen in every genre: Historical, contemporary, paranormal, suspense, you name it. Over the years I’ve learned that my expectations necessarily need to be adjusted according to the tone and style of the text, but to say that I was disappointed by this book is an understatement, and what follows is a bit of a rant. I fully acknowledge that I...more ***Spoiler Alert***I’m going to preface my review by saying that I read a lot of romances. I would even venture to say that I’ve read thousands since I was a teen in every genre: Historical, contemporary, paranormal, suspense, you name it. Over the years I’ve learned that my expectations necessarily need to be adjusted according to the tone and style of the text, but to say that I was disappointed by this book is an understatement, and what follows is a bit of a rant. I fully acknowledge that I am possibly being too hard on a novel that is meant to be playful and not taken too seriously, but I also believe that even the most playful literature needs to be plausible with regards to the behavior of the characters. I read because I love to take journeys in my imagination, and I don’t like it when I feel myself jarred back to reality, especially because the characters have chosen a line of action that feels inconsistent. I would never suggest that a book shouldn’t be read, but I will offer my honest opinion and hope that it will be taken in the spirit it is being offered.

The basic idea of Steamed: A Steampunk Romance revolves around Jack Fletcher and his sister Hallie, who are transported from our world to a parallel universe because of an accident caused by Hallie’s very unwise and silly behavior in Jack’s lab. The year is the same, 2010, but Jack and Hallie wake up in an England that is still Victorian in appearance and scientific technology. Jack and Hallie find themselves on the Tesla, a dirigible captained by Octavia Emmaline Pye and her small crew of misfits. Jack embraces the change of venue and takes his presence in an alternate universe in stride—it’s his geeky, steampunk- convention-loving dream come true, after all, and he immediately begins to flirt with Octavia. By contrast, Hallie broadly laments what has happened because it means being cut off from the things she loves most: The internet, her laptop, and her cellphone. Note to self: Please God, may I never have family or friends like these, who would give their loved ones hardly any thought if they were ever suddenly separated. I know this book is meant to be a lighthearted, irreverent erotic romp, but Jack and Hallie’s emotions don’t feel real. Jack spends the first chapter of the book fending off the amorous advances of his female coworkers (which feels like an attempt to convince the reader of how attractive Jack is) and the rest of the book feels like an excuse to have Jack and Octavia talk dirty to each other and then have sex. I like a good sex scene as much as the next girl, but I need more plot than this, and I need characters that behave with at least marginally realistic behavior.

Another major issue that must be addressed is structural: The book is told in first person throughout, but the chapters change from Octavia’s point of view to Jack’s with no warning. I sometimes found myself a full page into a new chapter before I realized the narrative voice had changed, and had to start over to reorient myself. I don’t really have any objections to stories told in the first person, but I have a serious problem with a mass market paperback that is deliberately confusing to the reader. The editing feels heavy handed and clumsy, and the quality of the overall story suffers because of it.

As far as plot goes, let’s just discuss for a moment the constant references to steampunk throughout the book. Recently, blogger G.D. Falksen wrote in an entry about worldbuilding in steampunk novels, “…it’s important to remember that a steampunk setting, like any setting, should feel plausible and internally consistent. One of the biggest risks a writer new to steampunk fiction faces is trying to overstate the point. When you start trying to “prove” that the setting is steampunk, it inevitably feels forced and has the opposite effect.” In other words, the first rule of fight club is that you don’t talk about fight club. This book works so hard to remind the reader that it is a steampunk romance that it is hard for me to believe that anyone who is a true fan of the genre wouldn’t be at least mildly annoyed by the way numerous references throughout the novel both breaks the suspension of disbelief and subtly pokes fun at the people who are true fans and cosplay to any degree. This leads me to believe that this romance was written for people who don’t know what steampunk is, and these readers are basically being presented with a caricature—both of the genre, and the people who embrace it. Thanks, but no thanks. There are better “steamy” romances (Gail Carriger’s The Parasol Protectorate series, Meljean Brook’s The Iron Duke, etc.) that provide steamy romance and sexiness as well as a plot that is meaningful.

While we’re on the topic of odd plot choices, the repeated references to Jack Fletcher being a Quaker should be examined. At one point, I thought these references were a Chekhov’s gun plot device—something obscure in the beginning of the story that becomes important at the end of the story-- but this is not the case. Outside of using Jack’s Quaker status to make certain that the newly formed airship pirates will be nonlethal pirates, this is an unimportant detail that could have been completely left out without harming the overall story. It is as though someone bet Katie MacAlister a hundred bucks that she couldn’t put a Quaker in one of her romances and she took them up on that bet. Ultimately, the concept of warm and fuzzy, conscientious objecting pirates just seems silly and reinforces the disposability of the overall story.

I was also concerned by the treatment of the lead female character. Octavia Pyle is thirty years old, has been with the Southhampton Aerocorps since she was 16, and fought for respect and advancement in a male-dominated field. She is a woman who should, simply by virtue of her rank and experience, be a professional with some level of self-control and awareness of the consequences of her actions. Added to this, she is a member of the secret revolutionary group known as the Black Hand, and her service in this capacity requires her to be a savvy political player who can keep her wits about her to avoid exposure. The minute Jack walks onto her ship, however, she becomes an oversexed bimbo who can’t think straight and who makes one bad decision after the other. She comes across as an incompetent klutz who can be controlled and manipulated easily by her libido, and isn’t convincing as either an airship captain or rebel. I had a hard time generating sympathy for Octavia, especially when she and Jack are endlessly babbling at each other while having wild sex instead of worrying about the fate of the crew or planning their next move. For example, in a forehead slapping move Jack and Octavia engage in wild sex in a secret hallway while waiting for another couple to finish in a nearby bedroom so that they can speak the male of the second pair. Unsurprisingly, Jack and Octavia are caught because they make too much noise. This scene is just one among many that demonstrate Jack’s inability to keep his penis in his pants throughout the story and the general ridiculousness of the plot twists the reader has to endure.

But wait, there’s more! While we’re on the subject of Jack, allow me a moment to laugh over his portrayal as a studly nerd. He’s supposedly a genius and an accomplished nanotechnology engineer with an odd history of accidentally saving the day by stumbling into problem situations. He’s also Nathan Fillion gorgeous, with a rebellious lock of hair that hangs over his forhead. Octavia obsesses over it so much I couldn’t resist putting a reference here! But this hot, brilliant man does nothing remotely brilliant on the Tesla outside of a few references to working with the airship’s engineer to learn the ships systems, and his purpose on Octavia’s vessel seems to be reduced to that of ‘walking erection.’ Oh, a possessive walking erection who has to constantly assert his ownership over Octavia to other men who may, or may not be, her former lovers. By the end of the book I was truly over his boorish behavior--it wasn’t cute or loveable at all—and I kept hoping Octavia would deck him just to shut him up.

The characters in this book remind me of a Ke$ha song (“stop, talk, talk, talking that blah, blah, blah.”) Holy diarrhea of the mouth, Batman! Octavia and Jack spend most of the book enacting barroom flirtation by babbling innuendos and erotic thoughts at each other. Worse, they seem to do it when they most seriously need to focus on the issue at hand and come up with a plan to get themselves and the crew of the Tesla out of the most recent scrape they have landed in. It was seriously eye-rollingly bad at points, and their inane chatter at critical points (i.e., like when they discover that Jack’s sister Hallie has been sentenced to die as a spy) made me alternately angry and disgusted. For all of the reasons I’ve listed above, I found myself getting frustrated and disappointed with the direction the story was going. I’m supposed to like these people and hope for their success? Not likely. While I don’t know if my feelings about this book will necessarily keep me from reading other stories by Katie MacAlister, I do know that I will likely not be encouraging other people to read this one.
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Mar 02, 2013 Angel rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 19, 2011 Jasmine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american

For some reason I was under the impression that several people I know had read this book, found it funny and suggested I might enjoy it... I was wrong none of you have read it... If one of you would like to remind me what book you did actually read that would be awesome.

I don't know what to do with this starwise. I mean don't get me wrong this book is TERRIBLE, god damn fucking TERRIBLE. but it's one of those books that is so bad it's freaking hilarious, I laughed out loud multiple times.

But i...more

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Nov 30, 2010 Joelle rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010

Utterly ridiculous...save your money and time. Let me just tell you what I didn't like since there is really nothing that I did like. The world itself was underdeveloped and frankly just ridiculous. For anyone to be calling this a steam punk novel and introducing this book to new readers of the genre as steam punk is very misleading and unfair to good steam punk novels such as Boneshaker. The world itself was hard to believe but so too were the charters, our hero had a lot of awards for deeds of...more

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Apr 15, 2010 CJ - Secret Charm rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: beach-read, fantasy, fiction-for-women, out-of-the-ordinary, romance, steampunk

3.2

This book wasn't groundbreaking or amazing enough to move mountains but it did the job. It was fresh, light and sexy.

If you like romance with your steampunk and a bit of physics you should like this book. It's a good beach read.

Some drawbacks:

The leads were constantly horny. Which would've been fine if there hadn't been two major instances in which having sex was clearly not the answer. Also, when your sister gets kidnapped in a strange land - is your first action to have sex?

Octavia's hist...more

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Aug 24, 2010 Hirondelle rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, i-quit

Oh, wow, this is indeed THAT bad. I feel stupid that I had to make sure.

I liked the idea, I enjoyed very much a few of the author´s books ( OTOH there were also a few on which I could not make it past the first couple chapters), and steampunk, light and fun, sounded irresistible.

The book even started out well, in a vaguely Jasper Fforde-ish tone. After the first chapter, it all does downhill. The worlbuilding is ridiculous and a bit tedious, the character interaction ludicrous, and the sexual...more

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May 30, 2012 Kristy Halseth rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this when it came out, but I didn't have a way to review it back then.

When I first started reading Katie MacAlister, I didn't know if I would like her. It took her a couple books to get her feet under herself and I really started to like most of her books. But this one was awful.

It starts with a very Twainish male lead, Jack, in a world that doesn't seem to be our world and yet is not a steampunk world.

Then an accident happens in his lab that throws him into another world. An accident...more I read this when it came out, but I didn't have a way to review it back then.

When I first started reading Katie MacAlister, I didn't know if I would like her. It took her a couple books to get her feet under herself and I really started to like most of her books. But this one was awful.

It starts with a very Twainish male lead, Jack, in a world that doesn't seem to be our world and yet is not a steampunk world.

Then an accident happens in his lab that throws him into another world. An accident that isn't at all believable. Nanotech and Helium? An accident with an experiment that would have been in a 'clean' room rather than a room where his sister could just wander in off the street and cause the accident.

Then we see the world of the female lead, Octavia. It is supposed to be a 'Steampunk' world but it is more of an alternative history because the world's political structures seemed to have diverged before the Victorian era and the Industrial Revolution.

The back-story about her and her most recent romantic relationship is fairly interesting.

But the book falls apart as soon as Jack and Hallie from 'our' reality find themselves in the alternate 'steampunk (NOT)' reality. For starters, he never takes it seriously. He treats it like he has landed in a world-sized, science fiction convention.

For a romance writer, she uses some the worst of the outdated concepts that authors moved away from a good 20 years ago or so.

It went downhill so fast that this is one of the few books I've ever spent money on that I actually stopped reading. It was so bad I couldn't even justify giving it away.

The sad thing is that if she had kept the two worlds completely separate, she would have had two really interesting stories to tell. The attempt to force them into one story was a failure.

It seemed like a writing experiment that didn’t work but got published anyway because her name has a big enough following and they realized they could make a profit off it before word of mouth got around about how bad it really was.
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May 09, 2012 Karen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

DNF... I just couldn't get into this one. The worldbuilding was a little too gimmicky, and it's mostly handled in somewhat confusing backstory. Jack's supposed to be a brilliant scientist-type, but seems far more interested in ogling Cpt. Pye's boobs than in exploring the ENTIRE ALTERNATE UNIVERSE he and his sister have just been plunked into. (Not to mention fondling her clothing-- who DOES that to a total stranger? That's just creepy, dude.)

And while I'm usually pretty okay with the idea of i...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Bissfan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Bissfan by: Feder

Octavia Pye führte auch vor dem 15. Februar 2010 ein ereignisreiches und höchst brisantes Leben, welches sie zum Großteil den Männern verdankte, die ihren Weg kreuzten. Doch jener Tag, an dem sie zum ersten Mal als Captain ein Luftschiff des kaiserlichen Aerocorps befehligt, soll alles für immer verändern. Bei einer Inspektion der Frachträume liegen wie aus dem Nichts auf einmal zwei bewusstlose Personen hinter den Fässern mit Dörrfleisch. Luftschiffpiraten oder schlimmer noch Rebellen, wie die...more Octavia Pye führte auch vor dem 15. Februar 2010 ein ereignisreiches und höchst brisantes Leben, welches sie zum Großteil den Männern verdankte, die ihren Weg kreuzten. Doch jener Tag, an dem sie zum ersten Mal als Captain ein Luftschiff des kaiserlichen Aerocorps befehligt, soll alles für immer verändern. Bei einer Inspektion der Frachträume liegen wie aus dem Nichts auf einmal zwei bewusstlose Personen hinter den Fässern mit Dörrfleisch. Luftschiffpiraten oder schlimmer noch Rebellen, wie die Besatzung zunächst vermutet. Etwas, das Octavia weitaus lieber gewesen wäre als die Geschichte, die ihr Jack Fletcher – einer der beiden blinden Passagiere – auftischt. Dieser behauptet nämlich steif und fest, aus einer anderen Welt zu stammen und durch irgendeinen Unfall in ihre Welt gelangt zu sein. Doch damit nicht genug, der Fremde hat auch noch etwas gefährlich Verlockendes an sich. Etwas, dem Octavia einfach nicht widerstehen kann und das es ihr entgegen ihrer Prinzipien unmöglich macht, die beiden schnellstmöglich wieder loszuwerden, ehe sie die Pläne durchkreuzen, derentwegen Octavia mit der Tesla auf dem Weg nach Rom ist.
Doch dort angekommen, spielt das Schicksal all seine Trümpfe aus. Durch Zufall erfahren die beiden – während sie auf der Suche nach Jacks Schwester sind –, dass ein Attentat auf den Kaiser geplant ist. Ein Attentat, das die von vergangenen Kriegen gebeutelte Welt erneut in blutiges Gemetzel stürzen könnte.
Nun liegt es allein in Octavias und Jacks Händen, das Schlimmste zu verhindern. Aber wie weit würden die beiden gehen, um den ungeliebten Kaiser vor Unheil zu bewahren?

Etwas ungewöhnlich hat sich der Einstieg in „Steamed – 30° West 100° Liebe“ für mich dargestellt, hatte ich doch damit gerechnet, gleich mitten in eine viktorianische Steampunkwelt einzutauchen. Doch überraschenderweise startet der Roman in unserer Realität im Jahr 2010, ehe man mit dem männlichen Protagonisten eher unfreiwillig in eine andere Welt gezogen wird.
Diese ist detailverliebt konzipiert und es gelingt der Autorin geschickt, auf charmante Art klassischen Steampunkelementen einen ganz eigenen Anstrich zu verleihen. Für mich als Leser war eine Welt so ganz ohne Elektrizität anschaulich und interessant beschrieben.

Die Charaktere sind zugegeben eine Klasse für sich, auch wenn Jack Fechter meiner Meinung nach nicht ganz so gut gelungen ist. Ich hatte immer das Gefühl, dass der Jack aus unserer Welt nicht wirklich zu den Charakterzügen passen wollte, die ihm die Autorin dann in ihrer Steampunkwelt zugewiesen hat. Ein kleiner Wermutstropfen, vor allem da ich in ihren Vampirromanen die männlichen Figuren immer überaus gelungen und rund fand.
Octavia – die weibliche Protagonistin – ist da schon um einiges besser gelungen. Denn obgleich sie das Selbstbewusstsein eines Captains mit Neugier verbindet, wirkt auch ihr teilweise etwas prüde anmutender Anstand – der perfekt in die viktorianische Zeit passt – nicht widersprüchlich an ihr. Sie ist ein vielschichtiger Charakter, der die Geschichte vorantreibt und durch eben diese unterschiedlichen Charakterzüge für Abwechslung beim Lesen sorgt.
Die Nebencharaktere – allen voran die Crew der Tesla – tragen durch ihre teilweise äußerst skurrilen Wesenszüge zu dem einen oder anderen Lacher bei.

Auch die für Katie MacAlister fast schon typischen Dialoge – teilweise schlagfertig, teilweise knisternd erotisch – finden sich zur Genüge im Roman wieder und werden vor allem ihren Fans das Herz aufgehen lassen. Vor allem in Verbindung mit dem ein oder anderen Nebencharakter sind diese durchaus gelungen und spitzfindig und vermögen es durch ihre unverwechselbare Art, im Gedächtnis zu bleiben. Leider musste ich auch hier feststellen, dass sie im Vergleich zu früheren Werken teilweise etwas zu vorhersehbar waren und so an der einen oder anderen Stelle ihren Reiz eingebüßt haben.

Interessant fand ich zugegebenermaßen die Idee, eine alternative Realität mit Steampunkcharme zu kreieren, was sich von anderer Steampunkliteratur abhebt. Das Konzept ist zwar ab und an noch etwas unausgewogen und es sind viele Parallelen zum klassischen Steampunk zu erkennen, was aber nicht unbedingt schlecht ist. Als Leser findet man bekannte Elemente in einer neuen Umgebung wieder, was meiner Meinung nach den Reiz der von der Autorin geschaffenen Welt ausmacht.

Knisternde Erotik hatte das Buch genug zu bieten, ohne dass die Erotik die Handlung dabei überdeckt hätte. Die Szenen fügten sich nahtlos ins Geschehen ein, auch wenn ich beim Lesen nicht nur einmal schmunzelnd den Kopf schütteln musste, was für teilweise unpassende Orte sie sich dafür ausgesucht haben.

Auch wenn „Steamed“ nicht ganz an die Vampir-Reihe von Katie MacAlister heranzureichen vermag, ist es doch unterm Strich gesehen ein grundsolides Buch, das vor allem Fans des Genres mit spritzigen Dialogen und knisternder Erotik zu unterhalten vermag.
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Nov 16, 2011 Sara rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk-and-stuff-claiming-to-be

There are a few bits--a very few--that had promise. The airship corps was a fairly interesting concept, and one would think that a thirty-year old female airship captain, who has fought long and hard (apparently) to gain her rank would, y'know, be a good leader and command (or even demand) respect from those around her. Is this what happens? Hell, no. Instead, we are treated to a ridiculous hero (c'mon, the protagonist-from-the-real-world-magically-transported-to-a-fantasy world schtick sucks th...more There are a few bits--a very few--that had promise. The airship corps was a fairly interesting concept, and one would think that a thirty-year old female airship captain, who has fought long and hard (apparently) to gain her rank would, y'know, be a good leader and command (or even demand) respect from those around her. Is this what happens? Hell, no. Instead, we are treated to a ridiculous hero (c'mon, the protagonist-from-the-real-world-magically-transported-to-a-fantasy world schtick sucks these days, and should be confined to the worst kind of fanfiction) who openly makes sexual comments about the female protagonist in front of her crew and encourages said crew to join in and to which said female protagonist reacts not at all, save for being, apparently, turned on. Sorry, but even in fantasy novels I expect people in a position of leadership to actually expect the respect their status is due--say, for example, throwing any crewmember who makes comments about the captain's breasts or ass off the side of the freakin' ship or at least dangling them from the end of a very old and fraying rope. And I would certainly expect a woman who is (supposedly) at the mature age of thirty and who is both a captain AND a member of a secret revolutionary organization to have absolutely no time for a smarmy git who encourages such behavior. But no, apparently that's too much to ask. (Thank goodness I went and read Meljean Brook's The Iron Duke right after this, which despite my dislike for overdone steamy bits had both an excellent plot and a very excellent female protagonist who would have shot 'sexy Jack' approximately thirty seconds after he opened his mouth. Otherwise, I might have been put off 'Steampunk Romance' permanently...) I limped on, however, despite the appallingly sexist behavior of anyone with a Y chromosome and the passive behavior of the double-X's, because I hoped (faintly) it might get better.

It didn't. Instead, we are treated to ridiculous sexual behavior more appropriate to teenagers than thirty-somethings (sex in a secret passage in the heart of enemy territory, not three feet from the Emperor? Loud, wild sex, no less? While supposedly trying to save the "hero's" sister's life?!), nothing resembling a plot (there is NO world-building or explanation for this apparent "Empire" or why it's Bad. And the Revolutionaries suck. Also the apparently random Turkish "terrorists" who seem mostly interested in blowing stuff up without any indictation of an intelligent plan, diabolical or otherwise), and none of the characters are even remotely likeable or, frankly, plausible. Jack is a jerk (and no matter what various media sources insist, a sexist pig with no respect for women is NOT sexy), his sister whined so much it would have been a mercy if she HAD been hung as a spy, and Octavia is an idiot who probably should never have been promoted past midshipman, if allowed to join the airship corps at ALL.

I am sure some might assure me that I'm taking the book far too seriously, that it was supposed to be a funny, fluffy romp...and yet, somehow, degrading sexual comments and idiotic behavior just don't strike me as funny. (Fine, I admit it: I loathe those movies of the raunchy-comedy type for the same reasons. So sue me.) I think I actually finished the book because it was like a train wreck: I just couldn't look away, and I was frozen in fascinated, appalled horror.

Do yourself a favor: Give this one a pass and go read the Iron Seas books. They're a little steamier than I prefer (I like my romance, but I generally am of the fade-to-black, Georgette Heyer school of thought), but damn, at least they have some excellent writing and characterization to offset it!!(less)

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Feb 20, 2011 Bookmom rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jack, a fan of Steampunk, and his sister Hallie, end up in altered reality when an explosion happens in his lab. They end up unconscious on an airship where most things are powered by steam or aether. Jack has an immediate attraction to Captain Octavia Pye, who easily accepts their explanation of coming from a different reality. The United Kingdom is under the leadership of an emperor, which is currently in a war with the Moghuls and a rebel band known as the Black Hand. We meet the leaders of a...more

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Dec 24, 2010 ~ames~ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-read, book-binge-book, steampunk

Katie MacAlister has a type of humor that can be hit or miss with me. Hits include A Hard Day's Knight and Men in Kilts. A miss is the truly awful Blow Me Down. Fortunately, Steamed was a hit. I caught myself chuckling more than once over something outrageous a character would say.

So the story. Jack Fletcher has just showed up to work (a nano-electrical thingamajig lab) when his sister shows up and literally starts shaking things up which results with both of them being flung into an alternative...more Katie MacAlister has a type of humor that can be hit or miss with me. Hits include A Hard Day's Knight and Men in Kilts. A miss is the truly awful Blow Me Down. Fortunately, Steamed was a hit. I caught myself chuckling more than once over something outrageous a character would say.

So the story. Jack Fletcher has just showed up to work (a nano-electrical thingamajig lab) when his sister shows up and literally starts shaking things up which results with both of them being flung into an alternative universe, where things are powered my steam - or aether as the case may be. (Aether as described in the book is that which binds us all, it's what keeps the atoms in the air and it can be extracted from the air and turned into a source of power.)

Octavia Pye is the woman who's ship Jack and his sister Hallie have landed on. Octavia is on her very first voyage as captain of an airship and she has a special cargo that must make it to its destination in Rome. Unfortunately, the presence of two unaccounted for persons spell doom for her mission, especially if they're discovered by the Emperor's men, who are very suspicious (spies you know).

A plan is hatched to get them off the ship without the crew and Imperial Guards knowing and so the only thing left to do is wait until they reach their destination. Over this short period of time (3 days) Jack learns all he can about the airship and Octavia Pye.

Unfortunately, things don't go as planned when they reach Rome. Revolutionaries attack the airship, and then those revolutionaries are attacked by Moghuls and then Jack's sister is captured and to be honest, this is where Steamed started to lose steam (har har).

For the first 3/4s of Steamed, I was enjoying the way the story was unfolding and laughing it up over the dialog. But once off the airship, the story kind of lost its way. Although this is where the romance got interesting. So even though the action plot somewhat floundered, I was enjoying the love.

Octavia was a fun heroine. She's a leader, she's loyal, she's not afraid of her sexuality (despite the somewhat Victorian feel to her universe) and she's got a good secret. She also keeps Jack on his toes. Which is a good thing. Back in his universe, he's sort of a ladies' man and Octavia isn't ready to jump into commitment, which drives him crazy. And Jack was a great hero. He had that perfect blend of jealousy and possessiveness I love. I also got a real kick out of Mr. Piper, a crew member. He has a certain fondness for shivs, and he's not afraid to pull his pants down. LOL

It had a good start but kind of flounders towards the end.(less)

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Nov 07, 2010 Olga Crickhollow Books rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: not-finished

The book starts with a horrible “is that a blah-blah in your pocket” cliche which is usually enough to make me close the book there and then, but I rallied and kept reading.

Jack Fletcher spends the first chapter telling us why he is really not so-cool. Then dropping as many ‘steampunk’ references as possible along the way to his lab (he’s an engineer) he meets with his sister Hallie, who manages to spill a vial of something, which transports them into Steampunk land.

It’s not timetravel, we find.

...more The book starts with a horrible “is that a blah-blah in your pocket” cliche which is usually enough to make me close the book there and then, but I rallied and kept reading.

Jack Fletcher spends the first chapter telling us why he is really not so-cool. Then dropping as many ‘steampunk’ references as possible along the way to his lab (he’s an engineer) he meets with his sister Hallie, who manages to spill a vial of something, which transports them into Steampunk land.

It’s not timetravel, we find. It is still 2010. Also it’s not strictly steampunk. There’s an air-ship and a lot of talk of steampunk.

Then we meet Octavia, an air-ship Captain. Expecting a strong female lead? Think again. The woman has no handle on her crew at all, who either disobey her or make constant lecherous remarks about her breasts, which she gets exasperated at, and not much else. I thought perhaps the family tragedy she recalls early on would lend her some depth, but, well, not so far anyway.

Jack Fletcher is a silly, shallow, irritating man. This is displayed in some mind-bogglingly appalling statements such as

“a man would have to be dead six months to not want to ogle your breasts” Really? Like you wouldn’t get a poke in the eye for that statement? But Octavia gets all fluttery and brushes it off.

Then “Your mind says no but your body says yes” and, after a mild complaint, “Your mouth says yes too”

There is no instance in where a statement even vaguely similar to this should be used, ever. That is all.

I imagine that finding your hero repulsive and your heroine a simpering fool will usually deem the rest of the book unreadable. Sexual tension is no excuse for being moronic. I put the book down.

I picked the book up again, but then the lengthy explanations on the mechanics of the air-ship began, which normally would be fine, but as I couldn’t emotionally invest in the world, it did nothing but annoy me. So I stopped reading. I don’t think I made 100 pages.

You can read the full review at JustRomance

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Mar 17, 2010 Liza rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-fiction

This book is a crime against the steampunk genre. At best, this is tepidpunk. Without the punk. Jack, the hero, supposedly puts on a front so others think he's charming, but MacAlister doesn't ever really show the reader where the line is between his real persona and his fake persona. Instead, Jack spends the novel calling Octavia by different bird names ("squab" was my favorite, close to a racial slur, yet still ornithological in nature). Octavia, the steampunk heroine, is supposed to be busine...more This book is a crime against the steampunk genre. At best, this is tepidpunk. Without the punk. Jack, the hero, supposedly puts on a front so others think he's charming, but MacAlister doesn't ever really show the reader where the line is between his real persona and his fake persona. Instead, Jack spends the novel calling Octavia by different bird names ("squab" was my favorite, close to a racial slur, yet still ornithological in nature). Octavia, the steampunk heroine, is supposed to be businesslike and efficient, but her "professional" dialog sounds more like she's a robot, and a ditsy one at that.

The sex scenes were hands down the stupidest sex scenes I have ever read. Surely (one hopes) MacAlister was trying to be funny. However, reading them felt like watching those "World's Stupidest" shows, where you just can't believe people are that dumb, and willing to be even dumber.

The crimes against steampunk as a genre were many. Mostly, it felt like MacAlister didn't try. There was close to zero description of the technology, and Octavia's airship, for all intents and purposes, was a regular ship, just without all the nautical lingo.

It seemed like MacAlister used the steampunk image to create a world in which a woman can run a ship yet not really be overly independent. After all, Octavia puts up with being called a bird multiple times, and when she doesn't love Jack enough, Jack threatens her. He states, forcefully, that he is going to make her love him, and she will end up loving him so much she will die from it. Octavia's response? She giggles. So much for progress, or even recognition of verbal abuse.

MacAlister does return to the technology (eh hem) of her "steampunk" novel in her glossary at the end of the book. Now, if this had been a proper steampunk novel, the glossary would have been useful in identifying weapons, gadgets, etc. MacAlister does identify "aether," but also kindly provides us with an entry for "Rome" (the capital of Italy, in case you forgot).

I do give the book 1 star, though, since MacAlister had the audacity to name an adult character in a book for grown-ups "Mr. Llama."(less)

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Mar 03, 2010 Kyla rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Octavia Pye is on her first airship trip as captain when she discovered a pair of unconscious people in her cargo hold. Their story — of coming from a world where women wear pants and machines run on electricity — is as strange to her steam-driven world as her battling European empires and Victorian-esque social values are to theirs. Of course Jack Fletcher and his sister Hallie get caught up in Octavia's world and Jack and Octavia get caught up in romance.

"Steamed" is a bit of a silly romp, eve...more

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Jan 11, 2013 Rachel rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 27, 2011 Karissa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I originally bought this book because I was getting into reading Steampunk, had just finished MacAlister's Aisling Grey series and found it amusing, and was looking for a light fun read. This book overall was a disappointment. I finished it because I was sitting on a plane for three hours and had nothing else to read. It started out kind of amusing but the plot got so convoluted and then wrapped up in such a contrived way I just had to roll my eyes.

Jack Fletcher and his sister Hallie are zapped...more I originally bought this book because I was getting into reading Steampunk, had just finished MacAlister's Aisling Grey series and found it amusing, and was looking for a light fun read. This book overall was a disappointment. I finished it because I was sitting on a plane for three hours and had nothing else to read. It started out kind of amusing but the plot got so convoluted and then wrapped up in such a contrived way I just had to roll my eyes.

Jack Fletcher and his sister Hallie are zapped into an alternate reality when a lab experiment goes wrong. They find themselves on the airship of Captain Octavia Pye. Sparks fly between Jack and Octavia, but Octavia is wrapped up in a number of political schemes that entangle her whole crew in a fight for their lives.

The book started out kind of amusing. Jack is a geek with a rep for being a ladies man and Octavia appears to be a straight-laced women commander who doesn't take Jacks advances at all kindly. Of course this book being what it is, that eventually changes and Jack and Octavia couldn't get enough of each other.

The world is loosely steampunk. That is to say there are some automatons, a Europe and Asia still stuck in war, lots of airships and a Victorian feel to it all. Given that the world felt a bit incomplete. There was a lot of political stuff going on in this book but most of it seemed contrived and all of it was tied to men that Octavia had slept with. This really wasn't in keeping with Octavia's supposed stuffiness. Most of the plot seemed loosely thrown together in a way that enabled Jack and Octavia to have more sex.

Jack was obnoxious as a character and I wasn't at all intrigued by him. His sister Hallie was a doorstop more than anything else, oh and she was a bit of a plot device since she got lost and had to be tracked down. I am really not at all sure why she was even in the book.

The potential for Jack and Octavia to have a steaming hot relationship was there, but puttered out pretty quick. Octavia gives into Jack quickly and from there out they were pretty uninspiring. There wasn't a lot to keep the characters apart and, given that this book focused mainly on their relationship, it made things pretty boring for the remainder of the story. There was so much potential here for a steamy romance set in a steampunk Victoria era and it just wasn't realized. I felt like MacAlister wrote this over a weekend for fun and didn't bother really making her characters, plot, or world all that filled out.

Given all of the above, the story was slightly amusing. I was stuck on a plane and didn't have much else to do so I finished it; although I have to admit I had trouble getting through the last third of the book even though I had absolutely nothing else to do....

Overall my recommendation would be to skip this book. If you want to read something by MacAlister pick up her Aisling Grey Guardian series, it is much much better than this book. Keep in mind that MacAlister writes light fluffly, funny, paranormal romance. If you want to read a steampunk paranormal romance that is awesome pick up The Iron Duke by Meljean Brooke; The Iron Duke has an actual plot, awesome characters, and an absolutely fantastic world. If you feel like you still absolutely need to read this book do yourself a favor and get it from the library.
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Aug 07, 2010 Natasha rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk

Cheesy. The characters irked me. I liked Jack well enough until he gets transported into Octavia's world. He says he is not a ladies' man yet is painfully obviously ogling Octavia and "knows" what she wants. He even tells her that her mind is saying no, but her body is saying yes. If he knows that, then he shouldn't have pressed her. The mind makes the final decision. He says he cares for her, loves her even, yet treats her as less than an equal. He's too pushy and a creep. Octavia always talks...more

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Jul 22, 2012 Danielle rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steam-cyberpunk, no-one-likes-you-mc, cardboard-love-interest, please-stop-fucking

I tried. I tried so hard.

The main character, Jack, is the most insufferable asshole in romance history. He's a nerdy Quaker nanoelectrical engineer who loves cons and Steampunk and hasn't met a woman he can't seduce. Oh and everyone thinks he's Indiana Jones. From the second he's introduced to Octavia, the love interest, he treats her like dirt. Even if you wake up on a dirigible and believe yourself to be at a convention, you should no openly oggle a woman's breasts. You certainly cannot touch...more I tried. I tried so hard.

The main character, Jack, is the most insufferable asshole in romance history. He's a nerdy Quaker nanoelectrical engineer who loves cons and Steampunk and hasn't met a woman he can't seduce. Oh and everyone thinks he's Indiana Jones. From the second he's introduced to Octavia, the love interest, he treats her like dirt. Even if you wake up on a dirigible and believe yourself to be at a convention, you should no openly oggle a woman's breasts. You certainly cannot touch them, or her, after she tells you to stop. You should never make a woman so uncomfortable with her body that you force her to button her coat so you'll stop sexually harassing her. And if you do all of these things, she will not fall madly in lust with you. And I will not read your terrible novel where this seems like a logical and reasonable course of action.

I stopped reading once on page 89, when Jack and Olivia "share" their first kiss.

"I'm going to kiss you, Octavia Emmaline Pye."

"You may refer to me as Captain Pye, and I decline your offer," I said, a bit breathless to be true. *snip*

"Your mind says no, but your body says yes," he said, gently, persistently tugging me closer to him.

ENTHUSIASTIC CONSENT. PLEASE LEARN THE CONCEPT, AUTHORS.

But, despite how badly that line pushes my buttons, I soldiered on until page 111-112 when I actually threw the book across the room. Emphasis mine.

I shook away the memory of her mouth so softly enticing beneath mine and made an effort to focus on the words that emerged from between those delectable, delicious lips. "Sorry, you asked me what? Oh, what would interest us both? I though you could tell me a little bit about your father."

Her gaze left my lips, the pupils flaring. "My father? Robert Ansthruther?"

"Yes. Matt said you were missing him. I take it he's dead?"

"He's gone, yes." She bowed her head. "And I do miss both him and his wife, Jane. As I mentioned, they were my foster parents, not my true parents, but I could not love them more if they had been."

"Does it upset you to talk about them?" I asked, my erection dying in the face of her grief. I wanted to comfort her, to take her in my arms and protect her from the sadness in the world, but I had as suspicion if I touched her, my dick would take control again.

So you pumped a crewmember for information on this woman you just met, found out about the greatest tragedy in her life, confronted her about her dead parents, and then, what, felt bad when your dick wilted? I can totally see why your secretary, who you mock behind you hand, wants another go. I'm going to stop there. Let's not ruin what we have, Jack. (less)

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Sep 05, 2011 Nenia Campbell rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: x-2010s, did-not-finish-or-skimmed

The Aisling Grey series is one of my favorite paranormal romances. I had high expectations when I came across her (quasi) new release in the bookstore, Steamed, a steampunk romance. The main character, Jack Fletcher, finds himself hurdled into an alternate universe when his sister accidentally triggers a reaction in his quantum mechanics laboratory, which sends him straight into Octavia Pye's airship. The beginning was okay. Not great, but okay. We find that Jack is a playboy Quaker with a heart...more The Aisling Grey series is one of my favorite paranormal romances. I had high expectations when I came across her (quasi) new release in the bookstore, Steamed, a steampunk romance. The main character, Jack Fletcher, finds himself hurdled into an alternate universe when his sister accidentally triggers a reaction in his quantum mechanics laboratory, which sends him straight into Octavia Pye's airship. The beginning was okay. Not great, but okay. We find that Jack is a playboy Quaker with a heart of gold (he flirts like the devil himself but has only slept with four women). After that, though, things start to fall apart pretty quickly.

I didn't like Octavia at all, which was a problem considering that she's one of the other main characters. She's simultaneously naive and slutty, like that old saying that women should be a lady in the street, a saint in the kitchen, and a whore in the bedroom (or something like that). It was awful, like reading a man's stereotype of what the ideal woman should be like, especially since she was all about the sex and not emotional at all, really.

Jack wasn't much better. He wasn't at all like any men I know. Instead of being a three-dimensional character, he was completely flat. When he wasn't talking about his balls, or how completely sexy Octavia was, he was talking about his emotions and stuff (despite repeated assurances that he, being a man, did not do such crap, in addition to not liking quiche or Jane Austen and no, I am not joking), and also numerous jokes about being a Quaker that weren't all that funny.

I wish I could say something good about this book, because Katie MacAlister is one of my favorite authors, but I really can't. I guess the premise was good? It's too bad the plot fell apart after two chapters. The characters were awful, stupid, juvenile. There were running gags about the crew members seeing various prostitutes and then going into too much graphic detail, and a crazy chef named Francisco with a hair fetish who likes to spout recipes for the hearts he'd like to cut out of his enemies that just weren't funny and even borderline disturbing.

Give this book a miss, especially if you enjoy the Aisling Grey series.(less)

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Aug 07, 2012 Whitelady3 rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, not-own

I gave up about page 130...

The premise was interesting and I kind of enjoyed the travel between parallel worlds but it dragged! There was plenty of bosom's description and a lot of backside and bustles and how the female character's scent was tormenting the hero but plot? It was nowhere to be seen! And it was ridiculous how a captain would be defied in front of her crew. Meljean Brook does a better work with her Yasmeen.

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Feb 02, 2010 Katie(babs) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There has been a great deal of buzz in regards to Katie MacAlister’s Steamed, a so-called steampunk romance being released today. The main question lies, is Steamed such a book that may jump start steampunk for the romance genre that so many have been waiting for?

If Steamed is any inclination, I would have to say no. Steamed is an alternative universe with a post World War II feel rather then a Victorian Steampunk type setting. There’s a grating amount of times the term “steampunk” is mentioned...more There has been a great deal of buzz in regards to Katie MacAlister’s Steamed, a so-called steampunk romance being released today. The main question lies, is Steamed such a book that may jump start steampunk for the romance genre that so many have been waiting for?

If Steamed is any inclination, I would have to say no. Steamed is an alternative universe with a post World War II feel rather then a Victorian Steampunk type setting. There’s a grating amount of times the term “steampunk” is mentioned by the characters, as well as Katie making sure to tell and show in great detail these specific things that must make it so. Honestly, if you take out these very precise rules that make steampunk what it is, what you have is a historical alternate world where the hero and heroine team up to save their country from the enemy. But hey, we have flying ships that run on steam, so this must be a steampunk, right?

Steamed begins in present day 2010, where Dr. Jack Fletcher, a nanoelectrical systems engineer, who has reputation of being a wild ladies’ man. This is so far from the truth, mainly because the rumors about him being compared to an Indiana Jones like hero are false. Jack just happens to be at the right place at the wrong time, and through these bizarre circumstances, he has become larger than life. He’s more comfortable working in his research lab and listening to part steampunk, part goth and part industrial music. By the way, this combination of music sounds like it would be quite painful on the ear drums. And get this- Jack is a Friend, or better known as a Quaker. (I have visions of Indiana Jones meeting the movie Witness, which coincidentally stars both Harrison Ford).

Jack loves everything to do with Steampunk. And he’ll soon become lost in that world he loves so when his sister Hallie comes to visit him at his office and touches something she shouldn’t. She spills a canister full of liquid helium all over an electrical system that sends her and Jack through a portal into another dimension. They end on the airship Tesla under the command of Captain Octavia Pye. Octavia thinks Jack and Hallie are spies, which if they are, may ruin her maiden voyage. There are several female captains in the Southampton Areocorps, but this is the first time Octavia has ever commandeered an airship. There are very important reasons why Octavia must be successful and arrive safely in Rome. Not only does she have to worry about the revolutionary group known as the Black Hand, and their leader Etienne Briel, who she was intimate with, but also the Moghuls who are enemies of the His Imperial Majesty that Octavia serves.

You’d think Jack would freak out more, just like Hallie does, but he loves being in this world. He especially likes Captain Pye, with her luscious red hair and great eye catching chest, as well as her buttoned up dress uniform he would love nothing more to rip off. After Jack explains to Octavia and her crew where he and his sister have come from, they welcome them on board until they can find a way to return them to their own world. Jack is much like a kid in a candy store as he learns about the Tesla and all those wonderful steampunk type gadgets. He also gets to know Octavia very well, where he tries to make his romance reputation, a reality, but only with her. Everything is smooth sailing for Jack as he shows his redheaded captain different ways to loosen up, but then Hallie ends up missing. Octavia must help Jack find his sister before she’s hurt or worse, and stay under the radar of revolutionaries and the emperor himself who Octavia also has had an unfortunate past with.

Steamed was very disappointing. I really was expecting a romance set in a steampunk world. What I read instead was a slap stick, too silly to take serious, let’s fall through the rabbit whole because it will be too ha-ha for words. There was too much fluff, ridiculous amount of conversations and eye rolling action scenes that really didn’t keep my interest. Jack come across too immature for my tastes and his ease at being a strange man in a very strange world, where his main goal is to seduce the proper Octavia grated on my nerves. Octavia wears too many hats, as in, she has multiple disguises and really doesn’t know what she wants to in life. Not only is she an air ship captain, but a revolutionary in secret, who also has been in the beds of many high powered men. I couldn’t get a handle on her motivation for anything. She was also too unrealistic in the way she jumps into Jack’s arms, just because he is a good kisser and the main aggressor sexually. The final last straw that made me want to throw this book across the room is a major twist with Octavia and who she actually is and where she originally has come from.

The first person points of views jump back and forth between Jack and Octavia and the use of the letter “I” becomes very overwhelming and pushes you out of the story. In one paragraph alone, this figure of speech was used eight times. The silliness of the characters and the way they talk and act with one another was another annoyance, especially with Jack and Octavia, as their whole world is crumbling around them, they still have time to engage in a great deal of hanky panky.

I feel like I’ve been duped mainly because Steamed is not a straight up steampunk romance. Just because you throw in flying ships that run on water and steam or have a set of characters with Victorian values and beliefs, does not make it so. If you want to moan and sigh, but not in a good way by what you’re reading, Steamed maybe for you
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Jun 03, 2010 Juju221 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This a book I have had for a while and only just got round to reading (I really must get through my TBR pile) I actually started reading it over 2 weeks ago and it has taken me this long to read. Why? Nothing to do with the book and more to do with altered deadlines for reports which interrupted me. So what about the book? This is my first venture into the Steampunk world and I enjoyed it. The premise is that Jack Fletcher and his sister Hallie and zapped into the world of Octavia Pye, an airshi...more This a book I have had for a while and only just got round to reading (I really must get through my TBR pile) I actually started reading it over 2 weeks ago and it has taken me this long to read. Why? Nothing to do with the book and more to do with altered deadlines for reports which interrupted me. So what about the book? This is my first venture into the Steampunk world and I enjoyed it. The premise is that Jack Fletcher and his sister Hallie and zapped into the world of Octavia Pye, an airship captain. But Octavia has secrets of her own, some of which are revealed in the book and some which aren't. Whilst this is the story of Octavia and Jack this has an overarching story which would connect future novels.

So what did I think? I liked it... I loved the characters... I loved the steampunk settings... the corsets... Jack's obsession with goggles... so why only like? The chapters are written alternately in the voice of either Jack or Octavia, I actually love dual narratives, however due to my circumstances and drawing out out reading it I kept having to think, OK who is telling this chapter. But that is my foible and I actually read the second half of the book yesterday and the dual narrative had no impact on my enjoyment of the story. What it did mean was that I had an insight into the feelings and fears of both characters.

Is it sexy? Yes! The sexual bantering and bristling between Jack and Octavia is fun, and when they finally get it together oh baby! I want to be Octavia Pye! I particularly enjoyed one scene in a secret passage way, the absurdity of it and the events which preceded it and followed it made it all the more fun, or intriguing and hot.

It is a book where everything that can go wrong will and that makes for a very interesting plot full of twists and turns, some of which you can guess, others which you can't!

A good book, interesting concept, interesting and mad cap characters, the cook who is obsessed with romancing Octavia is particularly fun, as is the disappearing Mr Llama! Perfect for a summer read!

I give this book 4 panties out of 5 a frilly panty read! Or as I am recommending it as a summer fun read, a frilly bikini bottom read! (less)

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Oct 27, 2011 Kana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, chic-lit, steampunk, mystery, kickass-heroines, fantasy, dystopia

Katie MacAlister has a way of dragging you into a story, right smack in the middle of it, and I love it. She does it in such a way that isn't confusing, but surrounds you. (Alright, I admit, it may confuse some.) You instantly find the characters appealing and care about what happens to them, within the first few sentences. I find this talent uncanning. Very jealous.
I've had this book for a while, but wasn't sure how I'd like it, until I read her Dragon books. I admit, this one isn't as well th...more

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Jan 29, 2010 Fiendishly Bookish rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunkromance, steampunk

Zapped into the aether by a zany laboratory mishap, Jack Fletcher and his sister Hallie find themselves aboard a real live airship-in an alternate universe, at the mercy of Captain Octavia Pye and her crew of the Tesla. Grappling with the realization that they are far from Kansas and no Toto, Jack and Hallie are thrust into the madcap adventures of the Tesla, the ongoing war with the Moghuls (against the Emperor), and the revolutionary force Black Hand who are dead-set at toppling the Empire. An...more Zapped into the aether by a zany laboratory mishap, Jack Fletcher and his sister Hallie find themselves aboard a real live airship-in an alternate universe, at the mercy of Captain Octavia Pye and her crew of the Tesla. Grappling with the realization that they are far from Kansas and no Toto, Jack and Hallie are thrust into the madcap adventures of the Tesla, the ongoing war with the Moghuls (against the Emperor), and the revolutionary force Black Hand who are dead-set at toppling the Empire. And that’s just what they have to deal with first in order to find a way back home. If they can even get home.

I was endlessly grinning throughout this book because MacAlister’s characterizations are engaging and fiercely funny. Always. She has a knack for writing the most amazing comedic scenes and dialogue and its not just restricted to Steamed but in all her books. With a great cast of supporting characters such as Francisco, Mowen, Piper, Dooley, Christian and others each with their own eclectic bent, you’ll find yourself laughing nearly at every page. (I still want to know Mr. Llama’s secret!)

The mating dance between Octavia and Jack is charming, and hilarious. Jack is such an easy going character so different from other author’s conception of a hero: he’s affable, sexy in an Indiana Jones’ kind of way, and he’s not a shapeshifter or vampire. He’s not laden down with any tattoos or mysterious power other than his priceless sense of humor. Just a geeky tech scientist who wants Tavey in his bed and will connive anyway to do it and while she’ll protest the entire time, she wants Jack in the fiercest way.

There’s no stopping it. Steamed is an adventure to read and one that I enjoyed. The romance is snugly inserted into one daring event after another. Once you’re on the Katie Mac express prepare for dips, turns and loop-de-loops. Make sure you’re strapped in tight (and got your goggles on) because this irrepressible author will take you for the ride of your life. Spicy, zesty, with all the fat and calories, Katie MacAlister slaps you upside the head with a whammy of ginormous proportions. Who says that love can’t be fun?

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Jul 13, 2010 A.J. rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk, unowned, reluctantly-admitted-romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 12, 2013 Jens Kuhn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'll admit it at once. I deliberately bought this book because of the huge amount of bad reviews and one stars on Goodreads. Things like that do intrigue me sometimes, and as this was advertised as a steampunk romance it fitted the genre I am currently reading (and researching) well. Now, having just finished reading it I am sat here with a distinct feeling of sadness that it is over and there isn't even a sequel. Because the book is actually brilliant.

I think the main reason for the bad reviews...more I'll admit it at once. I deliberately bought this book because of the huge amount of bad reviews and one stars on Goodreads. Things like that do intrigue me sometimes, and as this was advertised as a steampunk romance it fitted the genre I am currently reading (and researching) well. Now, having just finished reading it I am sat here with a distinct feeling of sadness that it is over and there isn't even a sequel. Because the book is actually brilliant.

I think the main reason for the bad reviews is that many people did not quite grasp the fact that the author here takes a very light-hearted stance on the steampunk genre. In a way, this book isn't really steampunk at all, it's more some kind of Back-to-the-Future thing but set into a parallel world rather than a different time. The whole idea of putting a modern American man into a pseudo-Victorian society can obviously only be funny and might irritate anyone who perfers a steampunk world which is not interfered with by other ideas.

That aside, some of the things mentioned in other reviews I cannot understand at all. Yes, Quakers are mentioned and yes, the book is full of cliches but not at all so much that it would be irritating. Neither is the mentioning of steampunk itself, which, I agree, would be a definite no-no in any other book in the genre. In any book that does not have anyone from a different world put into it that is. Or the fact that the story is written from his and her perspective alternately. Some people seem to have gotten confused by that and felt unsure of who was talking. A hint: if it's her talking, it says "Ships log" on top...

Another review states that the heroine, Octavia, would not let herself be involved in a sexual relationship with anyone on the ship, let alone this irritating American zapped into her world. That might be true for several reasons, mainly because Jack isn't actually that likeable a character, at least not compared to her. But this is a romance novel after all and while Octavia is a strong and self-reliant woman, she is also passionate and how boring wouldn't she be if she wouldn't let her desires have their way once in a while (or quite often).

Most importantly though, this book is well written, capturing and utterly charming. It's simply a good read and a fun one too. And the sex bits are really nice. While it isn't steampunk erotica (another genre it doesn't quite fit in) in any way, and nothing like other books I have promoted here, the salacious encounters between Jack and Octavia alone are worth reading this book for. Even though they do talk too much during the act.
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Nov 13, 2010 Candace rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a quirky and fun book with some crazy and unique characters. But what else would you expect from the lovely Katie MacAlister? She has a knack for quirky and crazy characters with super strong personalities. I have to say that I like and dislike that at the same time. I think sometimes they are a little over the top, but they also make me laugh. So although I would maybe tone them down a notch, I do like them. Most of the time.
I think this one was fascinating in the way the author laid...more

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