4.5 stars out of 5

This is a thrilling and imaginative book in what I gather will be a marvellous series! I could hardly wait to receive my ARC in the mail, and now I do not know if I can wait until the second book is released.

Xandra Varden is employed as a bodyguard to London's aristrocracy. However, these nobles are far from normal. They all possess a mutuated gene, transforming them into vampires, werewolves, and, if you're unlucky enough, golbins. Xandra is a also a daughter of one of these aristocrats, and therefore, gifted with many vampiric abilities, though her blood is often seen as filth, rather than a gift. She is hated by the human race, looked down upon by the pureblood betters and a point of intrigue for the revolting golbin prince. Her life becomes even worse when her sister is musteriously sent to Bedlum asylum and subsequently commits suicide. Only Xandra doubts the veracity of her sister's death and is thrown into a web of deception and intrigue that will destroy everything she believed to be true.

Kate Locke - who some might know as Kady Cross, author of The Girl in the Steel Corset - makes a very auspicious foray into adult literature. Her characters in this book are, as always, marvelous! Xandra is independant and strong. She follows her gut and doesn't let others tell her what is best. If you're a fan of strong female characters, you'll thoroughly enjoy her no-nonsense attiutide and how aptly she kicks butt! Her male love interest, Vexation McLaughlin is as delectable as his name might indicate. Strong, protective and devlishly handsome, many ladies will swoon for his charms and will desperately want to see more of him, just as I did. All the supporting characters in the novel are just as interesting, albeit a little somber throughout the book.

The story was certainly captivating as well, if somewhat predictable. What I kept thinking was, "For being called 'God Save the Queen' one certainly doesn't see much of the queen." If you are thinking the same, hold on, you will soon realize why it is thusly entitled. What I really liked is that the story kept me interested without much of a lull. One aspect of the book I found refreshing was the romance between Xandra and Vex. It was coy and witty rather than gratuitous as it can be in many books.

Vampirisim and lycanthropy being written as a mutation rather than a curse was a novel idea. Miss Locke certainly did her research and thought of several creative reasonings behind reactivity to sunlight and silver. I do wish I would have seen more vampires and werewolves in action, though. the story concentrates heavily on Xandra - which makes sense, seeing as how it's written from her point of view - but we see very little of the aristocracy that we hear so much about. Hopefully there will be more about them in books to come.

On a sidenote, I would like to say how friendly Kate Locke is as a author. I jokingly requested that she send me an ARC of God Save the Queen in a comment on Twitter, and she kindly obliged without hesitation. Not to say that she'll send every reader a copy, but she is incredibly receptive to feed back and conversting with her fans. If you haven't already, I encourage you to send her a message, it will doubtless be a friendly exchange.

Overall, this book is marvelously good! Fans of Gail Carriger and other steampunk novels will certainly adore this one!