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A review by missbookiverse
Corsets & Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances by Trisha Telep
3.0
GENERAL IMPRESSION
This collection of stories was entertaining enough to keep me coming back. There were some really good stories ("Under Amber Skies", "King of the Greenlight City", "Vast Machinery of Dreams") but no outstanding ones. I wish there had been more 4 star reads.
I think a lot of the stories could've been better if they'd had more space to develop, some felt novel-worthy to me. Others would've needed more time to feel more authentic, because there was a lot of insta love involved. Not very believable but hard to do differently if you only have a certain amount of words to go with, I guess.
Surprisingly most stories didn't feel very steampunky to me. Some authors just dropped in a few clockworks here and there to make it fit the theme, I think. Romance on the other hand was displayed widely.
STORY BY STORY
Rude Mechanicals by Lesley Livingston ★★★☆☆
A Shakespearian stage director gets a new actress in form of an "actromaton" who takes her role a bit too seriously.
I didn't see that coming. Could've been longer. I would've liked some scenes in which Quint teaches Jewel how to act and they get to know each other better, some more scenes for the heart.
Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhithe by Frewin Jones ★★★☆☆
A half-mermaid leaving her secluded childhood behind to seek her fortune in London.
I really liked the first half of the story because it had this creepy fairytale vibe to it (the mermaids in this story are no music-loving Arielles). Then the tone shifted into something average and the ending didn't really fit together with the creepy mermaid-descriptions of the beginning. :(
Wild Magic by Ann Aguirre ★★★☆☆
A girl from a rich family learns how to use her magical powers from a handsome, young man not quite of her standards.
The story itself had potential but it felt too rushed. The characters fell in love too quickly and the really interesting parts (like how she actually trains her powers) weren't described at all. I can see this working as a novel, not as a short story though.
Deadwood by Michael Scott ★★★☆☆
A young man and woman meet on an airship that is being kidnapped.
This one had a more steampunky feel to it than the previous stories. The characters were likable but the conflict wasn't anything thrillingly exciting.
Code of Blood by Dru Pagliasotti ★★★☆☆
A girl has to save her city (Venice) from foreign attackers.
I really liked the writing of this one but I also had trouble with all the Italian vocabulary. Foreign words just were thrown around with no explanations. The setting was very atmospheric and described well though. The story itself was a bit I-don't-really-care, especially about the girl falling in love while being busy saving her city.
Clockwork Corset by Adrienne Kress ★★★☆☆
A girl attempts to go to war to save the boy she loves.
I loved the first part of the story were the childhoods of the girl and her friend are described. I really liked the writing in this one and actually underlined some quotes. The plot fell a bit flat and the ending was sweet but also rather cheesy. Nevertheless, my favourite story in the collection so far.
Airship Gemini by Jaclyn Dolamore ★★★☆☆
Siamese Twins are displayed as a freak attraction by their aunt until a magician/doctor offers to seperate them.
Very unique idea, good writing style but the ending kind of ruined it for me. First of all the fact that seemed to come out of nowhere and didn't fit with the rest of the story. It could've just been about Siamese Twins, that would've sufficed. Second of all everything just worked out too smoothly and with no real losses.
Under Amber Skies by Maria V. Snyder ★★★★☆
A girl who's father is a great inventor has to face Nazi soldiers who are looking for her father.
More like 3.5 stars. I liked it more than the previous stories. The family dynamics were very interesting to explore but some reactions (especially from Zosia's mother) felt unnatural, like I didn't know the character well enough yet to really believe the action. With more space to develop this would've made a great story. I loved Zosia's father's inventions, they reminded me of Maurice from Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
King of the Greenlight City by Tessa Gratton ★★★★☆
A boy with an affinity for more than one element has to choose between developing his skills and the girl he loves.
So far this is my favourite story in the book. It doesn't really deal with Steampunk (actually all I remember is a clockwork horse) but it was very well told and had a beautiful fairytale touch to it. Unfortunately some parts felt rushed (like the romance), this story just needed a lot more space. I can easily picture this as a full-length novel. I really didn't expect this from Tessa Gratton because her novel [b:Blood Magic|8715032|Blood Magic (The Blood Journals, #1)|Tessa Gratton|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1285013996s/8715032.jpg|7201708] didn't have much of an impact on me.
Emperor’s Man by Tiffany Trent ★★☆☆☆
A soldier starts questioning his past and the world he lives in when the princess he's supposed to protect tells him strange things.
Neat idea but I didn't care about the characters and it only scratched the surface of what it presented.
Chickie Hill’s Badass Ride by Dia Reeves ★★★☆☆
A girl and a boy try to save a group of kids from a monster "klan".
I love how Dia Reeves sets all her stories and novels in the fictional town Portero. So the setting and the monsters were great but the plot was a bit too straightforward. I liked the underlying theme of racism though, added more depth to the story.
Vast Machinery of Dreams by Caitlin Kittredge ★★★★☆
A boy meets a girl and attempts to write stories about the strange things she shows him.
I loved this one because of the way it was written. There are a lot of paragraphs and each one takes a little step back in the plot and redefines the way the story is going. It's hard to explain but I found it very creative.
Tick, Tick, Boom by Kiersten White ★★★☆☆
A girl of high stand is supposed to marry a lord she finds quite boring, she'd rather spend her time inventing things.
The story was sweet and uncomplicated, I liked the main character. The outcome wasn't too hard to guess though.
This collection of stories was entertaining enough to keep me coming back. There were some really good stories ("Under Amber Skies", "King of the Greenlight City", "Vast Machinery of Dreams") but no outstanding ones. I wish there had been more 4 star reads.
I think a lot of the stories could've been better if they'd had more space to develop, some felt novel-worthy to me. Others would've needed more time to feel more authentic, because there was a lot of insta love involved. Not very believable but hard to do differently if you only have a certain amount of words to go with, I guess.
Surprisingly most stories didn't feel very steampunky to me. Some authors just dropped in a few clockworks here and there to make it fit the theme, I think. Romance on the other hand was displayed widely.
STORY BY STORY
Rude Mechanicals by Lesley Livingston ★★★☆☆
A Shakespearian stage director gets a new actress in form of an "actromaton" who takes her role a bit too seriously.
I didn't see that coming. Could've been longer. I would've liked some scenes in which Quint teaches Jewel how to act and they get to know each other better, some more scenes for the heart.
Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhithe by Frewin Jones ★★★☆☆
A half-mermaid leaving her secluded childhood behind to seek her fortune in London.
I really liked the first half of the story because it had this creepy fairytale vibe to it (the mermaids in this story are no music-loving Arielles). Then the tone shifted into something average and the ending didn't really fit together with the creepy mermaid-descriptions of the beginning. :(
Wild Magic by Ann Aguirre ★★★☆☆
A girl from a rich family learns how to use her magical powers from a handsome, young man not quite of her standards.
The story itself had potential but it felt too rushed. The characters fell in love too quickly and the really interesting parts (like how she actually trains her powers) weren't described at all. I can see this working as a novel, not as a short story though.
Deadwood by Michael Scott ★★★☆☆
A young man and woman meet on an airship that is being kidnapped.
This one had a more steampunky feel to it than the previous stories. The characters were likable but the conflict wasn't anything thrillingly exciting.
Code of Blood by Dru Pagliasotti ★★★☆☆
A girl has to save her city (Venice) from foreign attackers.
I really liked the writing of this one but I also had trouble with all the Italian vocabulary. Foreign words just were thrown around with no explanations. The setting was very atmospheric and described well though. The story itself was a bit I-don't-really-care, especially about the girl falling in love while being busy saving her city.
Clockwork Corset by Adrienne Kress ★★★☆☆
A girl attempts to go to war to save the boy she loves.
I loved the first part of the story were the childhoods of the girl and her friend are described. I really liked the writing in this one and actually underlined some quotes. The plot fell a bit flat and the ending was sweet but also rather cheesy. Nevertheless, my favourite story in the collection so far.
Airship Gemini by Jaclyn Dolamore ★★★☆☆
Siamese Twins are displayed as a freak attraction by their aunt until a magician/doctor offers to seperate them.
Very unique idea, good writing style but the ending kind of ruined it for me. First of all the fact that
Spoiler
James turns out to be a vampireUnder Amber Skies by Maria V. Snyder ★★★★☆
A girl who's father is a great inventor has to face Nazi soldiers who are looking for her father.
More like 3.5 stars. I liked it more than the previous stories. The family dynamics were very interesting to explore but some reactions (especially from Zosia's mother) felt unnatural, like I didn't know the character well enough yet to really believe the action. With more space to develop this would've made a great story. I loved Zosia's father's inventions, they reminded me of Maurice from Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
King of the Greenlight City by Tessa Gratton ★★★★☆
A boy with an affinity for more than one element has to choose between developing his skills and the girl he loves.
So far this is my favourite story in the book. It doesn't really deal with Steampunk (actually all I remember is a clockwork horse) but it was very well told and had a beautiful fairytale touch to it. Unfortunately some parts felt rushed (like the romance), this story just needed a lot more space. I can easily picture this as a full-length novel. I really didn't expect this from Tessa Gratton because her novel [b:Blood Magic|8715032|Blood Magic (The Blood Journals, #1)|Tessa Gratton|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1285013996s/8715032.jpg|7201708] didn't have much of an impact on me.
Emperor’s Man by Tiffany Trent ★★☆☆☆
A soldier starts questioning his past and the world he lives in when the princess he's supposed to protect tells him strange things.
Neat idea but I didn't care about the characters and it only scratched the surface of what it presented.
Chickie Hill’s Badass Ride by Dia Reeves ★★★☆☆
A girl and a boy try to save a group of kids from a monster "klan".
I love how Dia Reeves sets all her stories and novels in the fictional town Portero. So the setting and the monsters were great but the plot was a bit too straightforward. I liked the underlying theme of racism though, added more depth to the story.
Vast Machinery of Dreams by Caitlin Kittredge ★★★★☆
A boy meets a girl and attempts to write stories about the strange things she shows him.
I loved this one because of the way it was written. There are a lot of paragraphs and each one takes a little step back in the plot and redefines the way the story is going. It's hard to explain but I found it very creative.
Tick, Tick, Boom by Kiersten White ★★★☆☆
A girl of high stand is supposed to marry a lord she finds quite boring, she'd rather spend her time inventing things.
The story was sweet and uncomplicated, I liked the main character. The outcome wasn't too hard to guess though.