Corsets & Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances

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Corsets & Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances (13 Tales)

3.43 of 5 stars 3.43 · rating details · 815 ratings · 212 reviews

Dark, urban fantasies come to life in the newest collection of Steampunk stories, "Corsets & Clockwork." Young heroes and heroines battle evils with the help of supernatural or super-technological powers, each individual story perfectly balancing historical and fantastical elements. Throw in epic romances that transcend time, and this trendy, engrossing anthology is su...more

Paperback, 448 pages

Published May 1st 2011 by Robinson Publishing (first published April 26th 2011)

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Dec 18, 2012 April Sadowski rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would call this a must-read. There might have only been one or two stories in the entire collection I wasn't entirely fond of (and even those weren't "bad", just hard to follow or somewhat cheesy), but the rest I couldn't stop reading. Ones that will stick with me are the last ones after "Code of Blood". The Airship Gemini was probably up there as one of my all-time favorites and was a bit like a steampunk The Night Circus but without the night. The Clockwork Corset was so riveting I had to te...more

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Mar 05, 2011 Stacey O'Neale rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Corsets & Clockwork is a collection of 13 Steampunk short stories by various authors. I really enjoyed this collection and I'm not a big fan of short stories. This is a great introduction into steampunk if you're not familiar with the genre, but have an interest in learning more. Each story was very different, but all had elements of steampunk and romance. I especially enjoyed the cool steampunk inventions and costumes. That's probably why I enjoy steampunk so much. I really liked the author...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Ceridwen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alternate-history, america-and-environs, baying-at-the-moon, books-about-books, capital-l-labor, cthulhu, daddy-drinks-because-you-cry, faeries, fantasy, for-teh-ladies, mermaids-and-selkies, monarchy, necrophilia, reviewed, rule-britannia, steampunk, the-west, short-shories

Cross-posted on Readerling

I went up to the cabin with the best of intentions: a backpack full of books and the will to read them. But, what ended up happening was playing Munchkin, chatting about the local land scandal, and making and eating a lot of food. A very wonderful week, all told, despite the godamn half foot of snow that fell quite prettily down on all and sundry in freaking April, but not a week in which I clapped eyes on much reading. When I did eventually sit down to read, I did hack...more

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Nov 11, 2012 evilqueen21 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not one for short stories but yet I can't resist buying anthos when they contain some of my fave authors. I bought this one for 2 reasons: Ann Aguirre & Maria V. Snyder.

I liked Wild Magic (Aguirre) it was very predictable, yet when the end came I was flipping the page wanting more. In Under Amber Sky (Snyder) the few short pages were PACKED with punch! Snyder doesn't hold back and delivers an exciting little ditty. Of course I'd love to have read more but am content for accepting it for...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk

Let’s get one thing out of the way: I like novels, not short stories. Short stories frustrate me, because one of two things always occurs while I read. 1) As I read I think, “What on earth is going on?” and then it’s over. 2) As I read I think, “Wow this is getting really good – ” and then it’s over. Either there’s not enough time for proper worldbuilding and character development and nothing makes sense, or the story really captures me and then ends too soon.

The problem is that every two years...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Maggie Desmond-O'Brien rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Geek that I am, you have probably assumed all this time that I love steampunk. In this assumption you would be 100%. The problem? I am sadly undereducated. Beyond the already-classics like Philip Pullman's His Dark Material trilogy and Joss Whedon's TV show Firefly, I have yet to venture far into the steampunk genre. So I picked up this anthology in my library. What could possibly go wrong?

A lot, unfortunately. Despite a few standout stories, I was decidedly underwhelmed by this anthology, which...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Wandering Librarians rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, romance, steampunk, ya

The title pretty much says it all. Another steampunk anthology, this one focusing on steampunk romances. The title is fairly silly. I mean, it might as well be Corsets & Clockwork & Top Hats & Goggles & Airships. However, I thought these writers did a much better job at creating steampunk worlds than the authors that were part of Steampunk! Perhaps because these authors were given some kind of direction as to what constitutes steampunk?

I read about half of it. As ever with an ant...more The title pretty much says it all. Another steampunk anthology, this one focusing on steampunk romances. The title is fairly silly. I mean, it might as well be Corsets & Clockwork & Top Hats & Goggles & Airships. However, I thought these writers did a much better job at creating steampunk worlds than the authors that were part of Steampunk! Perhaps because these authors were given some kind of direction as to what constitutes steampunk?

I read about half of it. As ever with an anthology, some stories were good and some were not, but by the time I'd read six stories I was bored and wanted to read something else.

Of the ones I read, I most enjoyed Wild Magic, by Ann Aguirre, who wrote Enclave, and Deadwood by Michael Scott who wrote the The Secrets of Immortal Nicholas Flamel series.

Wild Magic was a fairly straight forward love story, with a high class girl falling in love with a boy beneath her station, but it had a bit a twist, and I thought Aguirre did an excellent job with the world creation. I really got an understanding of how the world Pearl lived in work, and the fear of magic, even though the ruling houses are the ones who have magic in their backgrounds. Pick is one of the Wilds, and convinces Pearl to help him let magic loose into the world. Pearl falls in love with him, and it seems like Pick loves her too, but there's something he isn't telling her. This story was really more fantasy based than steampunk, but there were some automatons that attacked them.

Deadwood was lots of fun. It took place in the American west (Deadwood is in South Dakota) and was very exciting and adventury. Martha and JW meet on and airship on their way to California, and find themselves in the middle of a terrible plot! Luckily for the rest of the passengers on board the airship, both Martha and JW don't let much get in their way, and they're not about to leave anyone behind. There's a funny little reveal at the end.

So it's not that I didn't enjoy the stories I read, it's just that after reading a handful I was all set and ready to move on to something else.(less)

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Dec 10, 2011 Sworthen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this in spite of it getting off to a poor start, with an incoherent introduction. (Indeed, some sloppy editing throughout, most egregiously, three very incorrectly-used "whom"s in two different stories.)

"Rude Mechanicals" - Lesley Livingston - Good story concept about an automaton in the theater, poor pacing.
"The Cannibal Field of Rotherhithe" - Frewin Jones - Weak first two pages (overwrought, plus "grey stew in a Crock-pot inconsistent with setting), gets rapidly better after that wi...more I enjoyed this in spite of it getting off to a poor start, with an incoherent introduction. (Indeed, some sloppy editing throughout, most egregiously, three very incorrectly-used "whom"s in two different stories.)

"Rude Mechanicals" - Lesley Livingston - Good story concept about an automaton in the theater, poor pacing.
"The Cannibal Field of Rotherhithe" - Frewin Jones - Weak first two pages (overwrought, plus "grey stew in a Crock-pot inconsistent with setting), gets rapidly better after that with surprises, shocks, and charms.
"Wild Magic" - Ann Aguirre - Solid story of adventures with fey, magic, and love
"Deadwood" - Michael Scott - Delightful, good sense of humor, well-matched resourceful main characters in the Wild West by dirigible.
"Code of Blood" - Dru Pagliassotti - Solid, some typos in the Italian, but nicely told and satisfying magical version of Napoleon's troops invading Venice.
"The Clockwork Corset" - Adrienne Kress - The title was nearly a distraction, but I liked the voice enough I'm not interested in what else she may have written. Boyishly-raised female heir discovers love, disguises herself as a man, has adventures in a British war against France with clockwork inventor.
"The Airship Gemini" - Jaclyn Dolamore - A story of Siamese twins, magic, airship, vampire, and freak shows.
"Under Amber Skies" - Maria V. Snyder - Very much grew on me, and much more satisfying than the only other thing I've read by this author. Set in Poland during Nazi resistance, with clockwork mysteries.
"King of the Greenlight City" - Tessa Gratton - Liked the worldbuilding, but the story didn't wholly work for me. Six magics, competing powers, heirs to magic, arranged marriage, and disaster.
"The Emperor's Man" - Tiffany Trent - Better worldbuilding than story, but reasonably solid.
"Chickie HIll's Badass Ride" - Dia Reeves - Took a while to settle into it, but it went interesting places with a touch of time travel, 1950s civil rights resistance, faerie soulsuckers, circle skirts, and kitted-out cars.
"The Vast Machinery of Dreams" - Caitlin Kittredge - Rather abstract story musing on alternate versions of what might have happened or may have been remembered by a man whose dreams have been cannibalized by what might be Great Old Ones.
"Tick Tick, Boom" - Kiersten White - Loved the title, enjoyed the story. Fun, restrained, sly, if broadly predictable.(less)

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Jul 23, 2011 Kathy Davie added it · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk, romance, fantasy

A steampunk anthology with a main theme of romance…in some way, shape, or form. The depth of the steampunk varies from story to story but there's a gear pretty much everywhere.

Lesley Livingston's Rude Mechanicals is pure theatre with its so-very-lifelike Actromaton, a Jule of an actress who takes things a little too far but brings life in the end. Excellent with the only odd note on page 11 when this unknown man gets Quint and Agamemnon to come away with him in the night without any questions.

Fr...more

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Sep 07, 2011 Olivia Bolter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wasn't too sure about this book when I first picked it up from the library. I haven't gone out of my way to read short stories before and I was a little nervous. Some of the stories were really hard to get into. I thought that I would skip a few of the short stories, but I felt terrible... so I read them all.

All of the short stories have things in common. As you can tell by the title, Corests and Clockwork, the stories are set in the late Victorian era. Sometimes you can't tell when the settin...more

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Jun 03, 2011 Chioma rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Review from Black and Blue Ink

From animatronic love, to cannibalism, World War 2 references, and back to our beloved vampires, Corsets and Clockwork has something for every book lover, each with some steampunk flavoring to add new excitement.

I love a good sample plate. Have you even been to a restaurant and asked for a sample dessert plate. Where they give you all kinds of variations of cheesecakes, sponge cakes, puddings, and pies to try out and pick what is to your liking. Well, that is exactl...more Review from Black and Blue Ink

From animatronic love, to cannibalism, World War 2 references, and back to our beloved vampires, Corsets and Clockwork has something for every book lover, each with some steampunk flavoring to add new excitement.

I love a good sample plate. Have you even been to a restaurant and asked for a sample dessert plate. Where they give you all kinds of variations of cheesecakes, sponge cakes, puddings, and pies to try out and pick what is to your liking. Well, that is exactly what this anthology was like; a sample plate, begging for the reader to pick their favorites and look into ordering something more from each author.

I think the steampunk genre is one that I will love to read more books on. Who would have thought one of my favorite genres such as science fiction, and my least favorite genre of historical could mingle and create an exciting, new, and extremely interesting mix. The short stories in this book are quick romances, but the amount of depth that is woven into these little stories is astonishing. Though they were short, I felt like I knew a lot of the characters much more than I would have expected, despite the length of these books, I felt like the characters were as developed as a 1000 page novel and so were their plots. The way the authors was able to map out the scenes really made it seems like each short story was it's own, yet they were all cohesive in the way they all had that steampunk commonality about them.

Of course, there were individual stories that I favored, and some that in my opinion were not so great. Among my favorites are The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhithe by. Frewin Jones, Wild Magic by. Ann Aguirre, Code of Blood by. Dru Pagliassotti, Under Amber Skies by. Maria V. Synder (favorite), and Chickie Hill's Badass Ride by. Dia Reeves. As you can see I did like a lot of the stories in this anthology. They were a great introduction into a new and exciting genre, as well as an introduction to new authors whose books I am no extremely excited to read!(less)

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Jun 02, 2011 Cecelia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

How can you tell that a genre has ‘arrived?’ Specifically, how do you know that steampunk has arrived? I got a clue when I heard that a young adult steampunk anthology was on its way, and that several bestselling authors contributed stories to it. Way to go, steampunk! You’re all grown up and fabulous.

“Rude Mechanicals” by Lesley Livingston
This first in the collection is a little tale with many references to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, much like Livingston’s other Bard-influenced fairy adven...more

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Mar 16, 2011 Crystal ♥ RBtWBC rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: request-blog-tour

Overall there were only four stories out of the thirteen that I really loved in this anthology, I like to see happy endings and many of these shorts did not have this. They were also pretty dark and depressing to me. But those four stories were amazing which is why I give this anthology a three instead of a two. You can see my thoughts on each story below.

Rude Mechanicals by Lesley Livingston:
A story about a young man who grew up in the theatre and now directs. The theatre business is failing un...more

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May 07, 2013 Angela Oliver rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories, young-adult, romance, paranormal-romance, urban-fantasy

As I am currently "researching" Steampunk for my Book Club, I thought a collection of short stories would be a good way to get the concept of "steampunk". Because this is short stories, I thought I would review each one at a time, and therefore will be updating my review as I continue:

Rude Mechanicals by Lesley Livingston 4/5
A brief foray into the theatre, with a clockwork woman. An intriguing concept, with a bit of a twist. Fairly simplistic plot - good for a short story.

The Cannibal Fiend of R...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Jenny Schwartz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, steampunk, romance

This is an intriguing collection that interpret steampunk broadly and in doing so, proves a lot of fun. A few stories stood out for me, sometimes I think because their ideas were less familiar (to me).

"The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherlithe" by Frewin Jones startled me. Not what I expected, but interesting. Like a number of these stories it felt more fantasy than steampunk -- I like both genres, so no problem there!

"Deadwood" by Michael Scott was fabulous. Great mix of old Western movies and steampun...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Drucilla rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: t

First, I just want to say that I had a love/hate relationship with this book. Second, I've split this review into two sections (steampunk and romance) to make more helpful (hopefully). Third, I'm going to try my best not to give spoilers.

Steampunk: If you're a fan of steampunk, you should read this book. If you aren't a fan of romances, suck it up. Some, if not most, of the stories demonstrate an excellent use of the steampunk genre. I'm not gonna lie to you...a few of the stories have the bares...more First, I just want to say that I had a love/hate relationship with this book. Second, I've split this review into two sections (steampunk and romance) to make more helpful (hopefully). Third, I'm going to try my best not to give spoilers.

Steampunk: If you're a fan of steampunk, you should read this book. If you aren't a fan of romances, suck it up. Some, if not most, of the stories demonstrate an excellent use of the steampunk genre. I'm not gonna lie to you...a few of the stories have the barest sprinklings of steampunk, but the others have it in spades as well as a healthy dose of alchemical magic in a few of them.

Romance: The romance stories can be divided into 3 categories: 'obvious' romance, 'barely any there' romance, and 'different kinds of love' romance (otherwise known as the misc. category). In regards to the first and last categories, I feel they should be included in this volume. The book describes itself as a collection of steampunk ROMANCES. The first category fulfills this and the last one does as well (who said romance had to be between a boy and girl?). The issue is with the second category. There are a few entries that (in my opinion, of course) can hardly be called romances. I feel this is a pretty big oversight for a collection calling itself steampunk ROMANCES. To give some of those stories credit, however, the plot of 1 or 2 of them greatly outweighs the fact that there was only implied romance within it.

*Extra: This is something that many people will disagree with me about, but I feel I must address it. I'm a happy ending person. I know life doesn't always give happy endings, but I like my fiction with a side of happy endings. In this volume, there are 2 stories which don't have happy endings. I know everyone will yell and throw Shakespeare, Bronte, and a whole host of other authors at me, saying that some of the greatest romances are tragic, but remember this is just my opinion and, as an English major, I'm definitly not knocking the masters. I guess I wouldn't feel the need to get up on a soapbox about this if they hadn't put these two stories back to back. I mean c'mon...two depressing stories back to back?*

So there you have it. If you still need convincing to read this book, then let me just say this *ahem* cannibals, killer robots, vampires, segregation, historical figures, conjoined twins, magical creatures, a 1950's Thunderbird, and watch bombs. Whew. If that doesn't convince you, then I don't know what will. (less)

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May 01, 2011 Maria rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Young adult readers, steampunk, urban fantasy

Recommended to Maria by: Suzanne Lazear

Shelves: ya-steampunk, steampunk, romance

Overall, I feel this collection is worth the money, and I would recommend it to others. Reading this collection of stories was a little difficult for me, and a lot of that has to do with the way in which it is labeled as a collection of 13 Steampunk romances. Of all of these stories, I felt only four could be described as Steampunk with the rest perhaps falling under the label of urban fantasy or horror or some combination thereof. I am concerned by how the description on the back cover promises...more

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Aug 15, 2011 Coranne (The Best Books Ever) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is packed with well known and loved YA authors. I have read something from a majority of these authors, and have nothing negative to say about them. Plus, this book is about steampunk- even better!

I have learned two things from this anthology: 1) I don't think I really know what steampunk is and 2) Never base an author on their anthology short stories.

Some of the stories in this anthology didn't seem to have much to do with steampunk and really had more to do with straight fiction (or...more

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Sep 06, 2012 A.J. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-century, steampunk, young-adult, gaslight-fantasy

So, I did something a little different and wrote mini-reviews of each story as I read, since I think that's a much fairer gauge of what I liked about the anthology.

"Rude Mechanicals" by Lesley Livingston
3 stars. Heavy on the steampunk elements. I'm a little tired of people setting stories in theaters but making it seem like Shakespeare was the only playwright ever, but the main character was a stage manager, so that was nice. Would have liked more of the rehearsal process between Quint and Jewel...more

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Jul 09, 2011 Renée - Novel Nutcase rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: maria-v-snyder, michael-scott, i-own-read, dystopia

It's hard to rate this cause I loved some stories and was annoyed by others! It was entertaining, but it seems Im not a big steampunk and/or short stories kinda girl...

This was the first time I read a book of short stories, and I really missed the depth of the stories. After I finished a story I still was full of questions.

My 3 favorite stories:

Rude Mechanicals by Lesley Livingston
It was good, it captured me right away. The ending was a bit abrupt for my taste...

Under Amber Skies by Maria V. Sny...more

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Jun 26, 2011 Melindeeloo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk

My favorite steampunk stories are ones in which there is still a historical feel but the technology plays a significant role - rather than just being part of the scenary - and adds a twist to turn the familiar into something different - and I don't mind if there is a bit of magic thrown into the mix as well - add a touch of romance and I am good to go...

This collection gets off to a slow start and I was a bit disappointed in the first few stories that the steampunk was mostly incidental. But onc...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In short, this collection of 13 steampunk romances was both what I expected and more. I was interested in reading steampunk stories but I didn't want to just dive in and buy series and expensive books.
I came across Corsets & Clockwork when I finished reading Kiss me deadly.
I must say that of all 13 stories there was only one that I felt was out of place. Everything worked for me, even the two stories that involved a vampire (of the two I only liked one, the other was too disoriented to unde...more

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Jul 14, 2011 Amy Eller Lewis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantastical, paranormal-mystery-romance, steampunk

Like many anthologies of its kind, "Corsets and Clockwork" does veer a little toward the *inconsistent* end of things, but not nearly as much as most. None of the stories are real clunkers, but there were a couple that stood out. Among others, Lesley Livingston's "Rude Mechanicals" had many things I love in any story: run down theaters, idealistic artists and finely-wrought automatons. Its ending hangs like a puppet on a wire, creating that breathlessness only short stories can provide. But then...more

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Jun 05, 2011 Jessica at Book Sake rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love anthologies as they let the reader get a taste of many different authors. Before reading this collection, I had only read Michael Scott and never read anything by any of the other authors, so they were all new to me. Some of the stories didn’t feel as if they actually fit the steam punk genre very well. It seemed to be a normal love story with some machinery thrown in, so it didn’t work very well as one cohesive work.

One of my favorite stories is Wild Magic by Ann Aguirre. It was wonderfu...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Suzy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

CORSETS & CLOCKWORK is an anthology of Steampunk romances. I have to say that I did not like all of them. Some of them were really good and others were just really different. I am not a big fan of steampunk myself, but I would recommend it to teens. I would also recommend this book. It is well written and has great characters and is a good look at the steampunk genre. I think teens would appeal to it because it is different and has historical references. I think it is also just a good read f...more

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Apr 09, 2012 August Bourré rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Of the thirteen stories in this book, I only really enjoyed three (Frewin Jones' mermaid story, Adrienne Kress' piece, and Caitlin Kittredge's piece -- although the latter would have worked better as a straight-ahead Lovecraft homage without all the extra bits, which felt tacked-on). Several of the other stories had potential, most notably Dru Pagliossotti's and Kiersten White's, but they felt too slow to start and too quick to finish, a problem that plagued most of this collection. It's a bit s...more

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Mar 14, 2012 harlequin {Stephanie} rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: challenges, steampunk-me, anthologies

Rude Mechanicals by Lesley Livingston - 4 stars
The Cannibal Field of Rotherhithe by Frewin Jones - 3 stars
Wild Magic by Ann Aguirre - 5 stars
Deadwood by Michael Scott - 3 stars
Code of Blood by Dru Pagliassotti - 3.5 stars
The Clockwork Corset by Adrienne Kress - 3.5 stars
The Airship Gemini by Jaclyn Dolamore - 4 stars
Under Amber Skies by Maria V. Snyder - 4 stars
King of the Greenlight City by Tessa Gratton - 5 stars
The Emperor's Man by Tiffany Trent - 3.5 stars
Chickie HIll's Badass Ride by Dia Re...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Sylvi Shayl rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-teen

Heavy on the gadgets, light on the steam; romantic in only the vaguest of terms. The stories themselves are not bad ( not brilliant either), but the subtitle of the book - Steampunk Romances - is misleading. The "epic romances' are tepid and cloyingly vanilla even for YA readers. The "balancing historical and fantastical' is ludicrous - these stories are pure fantasy within a filmy framework of dubious history.
Problems are in part due to the constraints of the short story itself. Steampunk is b...more

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May 04, 2012 Lynne weir rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk, books-i-got-from-library, short-stories

WARNING!!! This review is long!!!

So I had 13 books to go through, 13 by the way is an unlucky number as we all know which must be a bad omen for this book surely, well lets find out...

Book one) Rude Mechanicals by Lesley Livingston.- One of the more short ones, rather sweet in a way and well written. Three stars. ***

Book two) The cannibal fiend of Rotherhithe by Frewin Jones.- Okay one problem, all the guys apart from one who she meets either tries to rape her or murder her, I don’t know it just...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Marilag rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads, adventure, fantasy, romance, steampunk, short-stories, historical

(OMG YES. I CAN ACTUALLY PUT CHOCOLATE METAPHOR TO GOOD USE. BEAR WITH ME.)

Short stories are usually a mixed box of chocolates. Someone might like the one with the caramel inside and despise the nougat with coconut shavings. Another person might hate the entire box altogether (but the fact one would hate chocolate makes me wonder WHY said person has that kind of box in possession...). And the last person just says "CHOCOLATES?! YESSSSS!"

Needless to say I fall into the latter category.

I enjoyed a...more (OMG YES. I CAN ACTUALLY PUT CHOCOLATE METAPHOR TO GOOD USE. BEAR WITH ME.)

Short stories are usually a mixed box of chocolates. Someone might like the one with the caramel inside and despise the nougat with coconut shavings. Another person might hate the entire box altogether (but the fact one would hate chocolate makes me wonder WHY said person has that kind of box in possession...). And the last person just says "CHOCOLATES?! YESSSSS!"

Needless to say I fall into the latter category.

I enjoyed all the stories to a certain degree. Of course I can't say I enjoyed them all in equal amounts, because some certainly did stand out more than others. But it's steampunk. As Trisha Telep asked her readers to "come for the steam, stay for the punk," I did just that. I'm a long-time fan of this little niche in the scifi-fantasy world, and I'm only too happy that I'm discovering gems like this through goodreads-stalking my friends' lists, and through random Google searches of "steampunk books." I've also managed to add to my to-reads pile with authors whose short stories I absolutely enjoyed. Anyway, here are just a few things to say about my faves:

"Rude Mechanicals" - It was the first story, sure, but it was one great way to start. It was quite tragic, and quite romantic, and the best take of Romeo and Juliet that I could ever read anywhere. And this is saying something, because I hate that tragedy.

"Wild Magic" - Love, love, love, SO MUCH LOVE for this one. No joke. I'm not sure if it's because it involved the faery (or Ferisher) courts, or the fact that there's a lot of clandestine magic meetings and flirting between the heroine and the romantic interest. And the clockwork mechanisms running about! Ugh. I definitely added the author on my to-reads list, and looking forward to reading Enclave at some point in the foreseeable future!

"Code of Blood" - Very chilling, dramatic, and utterly cute. I notice that there's a lot of alchemy as a base in some of these stories. "Code of Blood" was the first one I encountered, and probably my favorite of the bunch where the elementals are concerned (but not the last one I'm going to point out). Also added this author on my list to read.

"Under Amber Skies" - I did not think I would enjoy this as much as I did. I'm pretty sure my thought process was "Oh...a war piece...eh...wait, what...NAZIS?!" Things picked up from there. But heck, I loved it for the little twist at the end that just made me sympathize with the character so much more.

"King of the Greenlight City" - Also one with elementals, but I liked this not so much for that but for the twist at the end. So tragic! I loved it, though, even when I spent a few minutes blinking and thinking that "No, this person could NOT have done what I think she just did!" Sigh.

"Tick, Tick, Boom" - This was the last story in the book, and a basic one about mistaken identity and such. But I enjoyed it for the two characters playing as Scarlet Pimpernels in their own minds. They were two peas in a pod, so to speak, and fit rather well together. Plus, I enjoyed the first-person narrative mind of Lady Ashbury.

So yes, I enjoyed my chocolates. Thank you very much!(less)

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About Trisha Telep

Trisha Telep was the romance and fantasy book buyer at Murder One, a London crime, mystery, and romance bookstore; she's now co-owner of the virtual bookstore www.murderone.co.uk and an editor of romance and supernatural anthologies for Mammoth. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, she now lives in London.

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Books by Trisha Telep

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The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2: Love Bites

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Corsets & Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances (13 Tales)

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