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mothreadsbookssometimes's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
Rude Mechanicals (4/5): decent story, good intro to steampunk
The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhithe (5/5): my favorite story of the collection; friendship (rather than romance), vengeance against men; ✨selkies✨
Wild Magic (3/5): fey, heist story with magic
Deadwood (3/5): strong start/conflict intro, but rushed the rest
Code of Blood (2/5): no strong feelings, a little too long
Clockwork Corset (4.5/5): MC gives off Autistic vibes, sweet romance (though the fake-brothers thing was a little weird), well-described wartime setting
The Airship Gemini (3.5/5): unexpected (but good) vampire romance, girlbosses, disability rep (conjoined twins)
Under Amber Skies (3.25/5): not great romance, interesting concept (unexpected villain mother)
King of the Greenlight City (3.75/5): cool mythology, interesting plot twist, cool magic system
The Emperor’s Man (2.5/5): meh
Chickie Hill’s Badass Ride (3.5/5): started boring but I liked the monster concept, ended poorly
The Vast Machinery of Dreams (2.5/5): interesting, unique writing, but ultimately boring
Tick, Tick, Boom (3/5): plain romance, not a great ending to the collection
The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhithe (5/5): my favorite story of the collection; friendship (rather than romance), vengeance against men; ✨selkies✨
Wild Magic (3/5): fey, heist story with magic
Deadwood (3/5): strong start/conflict intro, but rushed the rest
Code of Blood (2/5): no strong feelings, a little too long
Clockwork Corset (4.5/5): MC gives off Autistic vibes, sweet romance (though the fake-brothers thing was a little weird), well-described wartime setting
The Airship Gemini (3.5/5): unexpected (but good) vampire romance, girlbosses, disability rep (conjoined twins)
Under Amber Skies (3.25/5): not great romance, interesting concept (unexpected villain mother)
King of the Greenlight City (3.75/5): cool mythology, interesting plot twist, cool magic system
The Emperor’s Man (2.5/5): meh
Chickie Hill’s Badass Ride (3.5/5): started boring but I liked the monster concept, ended poorly
The Vast Machinery of Dreams (2.5/5): interesting, unique writing, but ultimately boring
Tick, Tick, Boom (3/5): plain romance, not a great ending to the collection
marimoose's review
4.0
(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!
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!
peyton_'s review
Ride Mechanicals:
Where is the romance? I didn’t get anything from this story other than an obsession with Shakespeare and acting, and since these are interesting to me I found the story dull. I hope other stories in this anthology are more spicy.
The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhithe
Another let down. WHERE IS THE ROMANCE?!! This was all about the cannibal and in the end she made a friend. No romance. An interesting look at mermaids for a quick second, but that was it for interesting bits. I’m going to try one more story and if there’s not romance than I’m done with this book.
The Clockwork Corset:
Finally, a romance! Well, sort of. There’s kissing and a sweet story, but it didn’t give me the romance vibes and feelings. Maybe because it’s a short story and I couldn’t really get an in-depth understanding of the characters. However, I find with each of the stories I have read in this collection that the romance isn’t the heart of the story. For this one, it is about a war and growing up. Why isn’t the story about the characters? Romance is about the emotions of two people and I’m just not getting good vibes from this book. I don’t have time in my life to continue with this, since none of the stories has been successful for me.
jessfm's review
5.0
Wow...I really really loved it...i had some minor issues along the stories but nothing really serious but oh the romance and the twists and the magic and the clockwork and the elementals...every one of those stories left me wanting more.
infinitelibrary's review
4.0
Steampunk is a genre I’ve started to get into of late, so when I saw this book on one the shelves in my local library I just had to pick it up. I’m generally not too fond on anthologies and have struggled in the past with short stories – I prefer longer novels which have time to develop a full plotline rather than anecdotes. This one was a good example though – although there were inevitably some hits and misses in this book, there were more hits and the quirky steampunk genre did lend itself well to smaller plotlines. It’s hard to rate a book when it’s really a series of short stories by different authors but I gave it rating based on my overall feeling at the end of it all. Each story was very different from each other and the use of romance was also imaginative.
For the sake of this review then, I’ll just be giving a few lines on what I thought on each story, keeping spoilers to a minimum as much as I can.
Rude Mechanicals by Lesley Livingston
The first in the collection, this one worked extremely well as a short story. The visuals were very strong throughout, particularly when describing Jewel, the automaton actress. It tells the story of a young theatrical who is close to despair at the lacklustre performances of Shakespeare his cast are producing and turns to a clockwork alternative, who proves to be eventually too good, with dire consequences. The story flowed well and really captured my imagination. (Rating: 9/10)
The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhithe by Frewin Jones
Told in a fairy-tale style, this was one story where it felt it worked against the flow of the narrative, making the events and characters too isolated from the reader. I didn’t care much about the characters and the events too felt very predictable with little emotion so I ended up just skim-reading this one. More of a horror story than a steampunk one, I felt. (Rating: 4/10)
Wild Magic by Ann Aguirre
This was another nice addition, with young noble woman, Pearl caught between a mysterious boy in a world of magic and the duty of her family. Overall, I liked this story a lot and Pick was a great counterpart for the heroine. However, Pearl felt inconsistent to me at times – she seemed to alternate between being intelligent or naïve according to the plot which just left me feeling a bit confused about her in the end. The finale too felt a bit rushed and too neatly tied up when it could have been a little better handled. (Rating: 8/10)
Deadwood by Michael Scott
The air ship setting on this one was nice and the initial conversation between the two travellers was a good touch but I felt the overall reveal at the end of this story was a bit too gimmicky. I never really warmed to the characters and this one also felt too neatly concluded, when the potential was there for more. (Rating: 6/10)
Code of Blood by Dru Pagliassotti
Really liked the setting here of Italy for a change and it leant a nice atmosphere to the story and the main character, but this was one that just didn’t quite hit for me and I didn’t end up finishing it. Ironically, this was one that I felt could have been shorter rather than longer as it definitely felt like it dragged a bit. (Unrated as unfinished)
The Clockwork Corset by Adrienne Kress
The war time feel of this one was good and the two protagonists worked well together, even if the actual romance scene felt a little cringe-y and clumsy. A good, short story overall, with the strength lying in the characters themselves rather than the steampunk elements which were minimal. (Rating: 7/10)
The Airship Gemini by Jaclyn Dolamore
Another airship one, but one that tackled elements of the supernatural as well and a pair of Siamese twins who have performed together for years in a circus-style act. When a sinister doctor wants to separate them via a risky operation, can they find a way to escape the knife? And is it possible for one of the twins to find a way to be with her lover if they are still joined? This one was a pretty good story with imaginative characters, even if I felt the vampire subplot was one too many elements randomly thrown in to really work well. The ending felt a bit unsatisfying to me and I felt really bad for one of the twins. (Rating: 8/10)
Under Amber Skies by Maria V. Snyder
Another foreign setting here (Poland) for another wartime story, but this one worked the best out of the others in this collection. It felt authentic and very realistic, even down to the romance elements which were very believable. Zosia was very much believable as a real girl and easy to relate to. The air of mystery surrounding the story concerning the protagonist’s father’s whereabouts added that extra layer of tension too and the twist at the end was particularly horrific. (Rating: 9/10)
King of the Greenlight City by Tessa Gratton
Another story that comes across a bit like a fairy-tale, but this one worked better. It tells of how a young man, Ever, on the way to meet his fiancée discovers he has magical abilities far beyond expected. Learning to control these powers is dangerous and his teacher might prove even more so. The start of this one was particularly strong and drew me into the story straight away. The mix of magic and nobility again was interesting, particularly in how each noble family was known for being defined by one element. The romance worked well enough, but it was helped by both Ever and his fiancée Alys were strong, independent characters in their own right. (Rating: 9/10)
The Emperor’s Man by Tiffany Trent
The plot in this one was very interesting and worked well within the time-frame. It tells the story of a soldier in the emperor’s army, unable to remember his past, but somehow drawn towards the unusual princess and the strange creatures that threaten their home. I particularly liked the character of the princess and how Trent chose to stress how ordinary she was. (Rating: 9/10)
Chickie Hill’s Badass Ride by Dia Reeves
Another one I never managed to finish – the slightly later 1950’s time era on this one was a nice change but didn’t really match too well with the steampunk for me. I struggled to warm to the characters and gave this one up after a few pages. (Unrated as unfinished)
The Vast Machinery of Dreams by Caitlin Kittredge
An interesting concept in this one in that of a writer whose own life is influenced by the mysterious girl in his stories, but ultimately this one felt really confusing to read with the constant rewritings of the timeline. (Rating: 5/10)
Tick, Tick, Boom by Kiersten White
Another noble’s daughter is the protagonist in this one, who also part-times as a mechanic on the side, making bombs. This was a pretty good story with a twist that I unfortunately saw coming from the beginning, even if the protagonist didn’t. It had a lot of humour in it though and was a nice read. (Rating: 8/10)
For the sake of this review then, I’ll just be giving a few lines on what I thought on each story, keeping spoilers to a minimum as much as I can.
Rude Mechanicals by Lesley Livingston
The first in the collection, this one worked extremely well as a short story. The visuals were very strong throughout, particularly when describing Jewel, the automaton actress. It tells the story of a young theatrical who is close to despair at the lacklustre performances of Shakespeare his cast are producing and turns to a clockwork alternative, who proves to be eventually too good, with dire consequences. The story flowed well and really captured my imagination. (Rating: 9/10)
The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhithe by Frewin Jones
Told in a fairy-tale style, this was one story where it felt it worked against the flow of the narrative, making the events and characters too isolated from the reader. I didn’t care much about the characters and the events too felt very predictable with little emotion so I ended up just skim-reading this one. More of a horror story than a steampunk one, I felt. (Rating: 4/10)
Wild Magic by Ann Aguirre
This was another nice addition, with young noble woman, Pearl caught between a mysterious boy in a world of magic and the duty of her family. Overall, I liked this story a lot and Pick was a great counterpart for the heroine. However, Pearl felt inconsistent to me at times – she seemed to alternate between being intelligent or naïve according to the plot which just left me feeling a bit confused about her in the end. The finale too felt a bit rushed and too neatly tied up when it could have been a little better handled. (Rating: 8/10)
Deadwood by Michael Scott
The air ship setting on this one was nice and the initial conversation between the two travellers was a good touch but I felt the overall reveal at the end of this story was a bit too gimmicky. I never really warmed to the characters and this one also felt too neatly concluded, when the potential was there for more. (Rating: 6/10)
Code of Blood by Dru Pagliassotti
Really liked the setting here of Italy for a change and it leant a nice atmosphere to the story and the main character, but this was one that just didn’t quite hit for me and I didn’t end up finishing it. Ironically, this was one that I felt could have been shorter rather than longer as it definitely felt like it dragged a bit. (Unrated as unfinished)
The Clockwork Corset by Adrienne Kress
The war time feel of this one was good and the two protagonists worked well together, even if the actual romance scene felt a little cringe-y and clumsy. A good, short story overall, with the strength lying in the characters themselves rather than the steampunk elements which were minimal. (Rating: 7/10)
The Airship Gemini by Jaclyn Dolamore
Another airship one, but one that tackled elements of the supernatural as well and a pair of Siamese twins who have performed together for years in a circus-style act. When a sinister doctor wants to separate them via a risky operation, can they find a way to escape the knife? And is it possible for one of the twins to find a way to be with her lover if they are still joined? This one was a pretty good story with imaginative characters, even if I felt the vampire subplot was one too many elements randomly thrown in to really work well. The ending felt a bit unsatisfying to me and I felt really bad for one of the twins. (Rating: 8/10)
Under Amber Skies by Maria V. Snyder
Another foreign setting here (Poland) for another wartime story, but this one worked the best out of the others in this collection. It felt authentic and very realistic, even down to the romance elements which were very believable. Zosia was very much believable as a real girl and easy to relate to. The air of mystery surrounding the story concerning the protagonist’s father’s whereabouts added that extra layer of tension too and the twist at the end was particularly horrific. (Rating: 9/10)
King of the Greenlight City by Tessa Gratton
Another story that comes across a bit like a fairy-tale, but this one worked better. It tells of how a young man, Ever, on the way to meet his fiancée discovers he has magical abilities far beyond expected. Learning to control these powers is dangerous and his teacher might prove even more so. The start of this one was particularly strong and drew me into the story straight away. The mix of magic and nobility again was interesting, particularly in how each noble family was known for being defined by one element. The romance worked well enough, but it was helped by both Ever and his fiancée Alys were strong, independent characters in their own right. (Rating: 9/10)
The Emperor’s Man by Tiffany Trent
The plot in this one was very interesting and worked well within the time-frame. It tells the story of a soldier in the emperor’s army, unable to remember his past, but somehow drawn towards the unusual princess and the strange creatures that threaten their home. I particularly liked the character of the princess and how Trent chose to stress how ordinary she was. (Rating: 9/10)
Chickie Hill’s Badass Ride by Dia Reeves
Another one I never managed to finish – the slightly later 1950’s time era on this one was a nice change but didn’t really match too well with the steampunk for me. I struggled to warm to the characters and gave this one up after a few pages. (Unrated as unfinished)
The Vast Machinery of Dreams by Caitlin Kittredge
An interesting concept in this one in that of a writer whose own life is influenced by the mysterious girl in his stories, but ultimately this one felt really confusing to read with the constant rewritings of the timeline. (Rating: 5/10)
Tick, Tick, Boom by Kiersten White
Another noble’s daughter is the protagonist in this one, who also part-times as a mechanic on the side, making bombs. This was a pretty good story with a twist that I unfortunately saw coming from the beginning, even if the protagonist didn’t. It had a lot of humour in it though and was a nice read. (Rating: 8/10)
clairetrellahill's review
4.0
As a young high schooler, this collection was my first introduction into the world of steampunk, and it captured my attention completely. The variety in this anthology is wonderful—some stories lean more towards the fantastic, others rooted more in logic, but all are very good.
Standout favorites from the collection:
"The Airship Gemini" by Jaclyn Dolamore—examines what it might be like to be a third wheel to a romance when you're a conjoined twin, featuring an airship, some evil plots, and also a vampire. WONDERFUL.
"Tick, Tick, Boom" by Kiersten White—How to make and sell incendiaries to revolutionaries when you are a high-class lady of quality while also trying to dodge romantic entanglements with annoying men—until you learn a few secrets that change everything. FANTASTIC.
Standout favorites from the collection:
"The Airship Gemini" by Jaclyn Dolamore—examines what it might be like to be a third wheel to a romance when you're a conjoined twin, featuring an airship, some evil plots, and also a vampire. WONDERFUL.
"Tick, Tick, Boom" by Kiersten White—How to make and sell incendiaries to revolutionaries when you are a high-class lady of quality while also trying to dodge romantic entanglements with annoying men—until you learn a few secrets that change everything. FANTASTIC.
felinity's review
4.0
As always seems to happen with anthologies there were some great stories, some good stories, some which just didn't appeal to me, and a couple that reminded me I need to reread Ray Bradbury... All in all, the anthology gets 3.5 stars, but I rounded up. Excellent variety in tone, pace and inspiration, and I'd consider these "steampunk with a touch of romance" than direct steampunk romances.
"Rude mechanicals" - 4 stars
"The cannibal fiend of Rotherhithe" - 4 stars
"Wild magic" - 3.5 stars
"Deadwood" - 3.5 stars
"Code of blood" - 2 stars
"The clockwork corset" - 3 stars
"The airship Gemini" - 4 stars
"Under amber skies" - 4 stars
"King of the greenlight city" - 3.5 stars
"The emperor's man" - 3 stars
"Chickie Hill's badass ride" - 4 stars
"The vast machinery of dreams" - 3 stars
"Tick, tick, boom" - 4 stars
"Rude mechanicals" - 4 stars
"The cannibal fiend of Rotherhithe" - 4 stars
"Wild magic" - 3.5 stars
"Deadwood" - 3.5 stars
"Code of blood" - 2 stars
"The clockwork corset" - 3 stars
"The airship Gemini" - 4 stars
"Under amber skies" - 4 stars
"King of the greenlight city" - 3.5 stars
"The emperor's man" - 3 stars
"Chickie Hill's badass ride" - 4 stars
"The vast machinery of dreams" - 3 stars
"Tick, tick, boom" - 4 stars
bellatora's review
3.0
Writing a good short story is hard, and most people don’t seem to have the knack. Even authors whose books I liked don’t seem to be able to do it consistently (on the other hand, sometimes they write short stories better than novels).
I didn’t really love any of the stories in this collection except for Kiersten White’s “Tick, Tick, Boom.” It was also the only one I thought was actually kinda romantic. It was a total Scarlet Pimpernel situation – girl thinks that boy is boring and useless when really he is the mysterious rebel she is in love with. Nicely done, White! I would read a full book about this. The others I wasn't nearly as impressed with.
I didn’t really love any of the stories in this collection except for Kiersten White’s “Tick, Tick, Boom.” It was also the only one I thought was actually kinda romantic. It was a total Scarlet Pimpernel situation – girl thinks that boy is boring and useless when really he is the mysterious rebel she is in love with. Nicely done, White! I would read a full book about this. The others I wasn't nearly as impressed with.
beammey's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this anthology! For me the stand out was Maria Snyder's story, but all of them were good in their own respect. I'm not usually into romance books, but I thought I would give this one a try and I'm glad I did. It was fun, engaging, and I looked forward to the next story. Good book, well written. Would recommend. 4 out of 5 stars.