A review by moonpie
Poison or Protect by Gail Carriger

2.0

I've read a book set in this world before (almost 10 years ago) and found it middling, and honestly, I still find it middling. Poison or Protect doesn't contain as many LOOK THIS IS STEAMPUNK OKAY descriptions as the one I read in 2012, maybe because this is a novella and there's not a lot of space for that. However, there are also fewer explanations, period, and I am sure I missed some subtleties while half-remembering the basics of Carriger's universe. Gotta give it up for consistency, though: there is STILL a vampire who speaks half-italicized, and it's STILL very annoying. At least the main character doesn't completely write off all other women in this one.

As seems to be my habit now, I picked up a book and didn't realize it was a romance until I was already reading it. And romance was... okay? It didn't really ring true and I couldn't really figure out the attraction, maybe because

Spoiler

the dude the protagonist hooked up with seemed to have no discernible personality besides being large and Scottish

. Also, once the romance kicked in, the intrigue that took up the first part of the book was basically brushed off for the rest of the story. Why even bother with the mystery part of it? Weird.