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A review by breecreative
Corsets & Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances by Trisha Telep
3.0
I'm not really sure WHAT to think about this. First, this is my first time reading steampunk. Second, this is my first time reading short stories. I (mistakenly) thought that the best way to dive into steampunk would be to read it bits at a time. But, I'm not really sure that ALL of these stories would be classified as steampunk.
I'm finding it hard to rate this as a whole, though, since I did enjoy about half of the stories, so I guess I'll rate them that way:
1 - Rude Mechanicals by [a:Lesley Livingston|1312879|Lesley Livingston|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1224022972p2/1312879.jpg] (5 stars) - I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's what I'd think of when considering steampunk romance. It started off slow for me, but once I caught on, I loved it, and it ended too soon for me.
2 - The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhithe by [a:Frewin Jones|5824383|Frewin Jones|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg] (3 stars) - I was a bit confused by this one...a bit far-fetched, but enjoyable nonetheless.
3 - Wild Magic by [a:Ann Aguirre|835348|Ann Aguirre|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1275442049p2/835348.jpg] (5 stars) - Another one that I really enjoyed...obviously with a bit of magic in it (which I don't usually like), but I liked the characters and the idea of the story, I was sad when it ended.
4 - Deadwood by Michael Scott (4 stars) - This one screamed steampunk. I liked it, for the most part...I just found bits of it hard to believe (as if a 16-year-old girl could do what she did when nobody else in the history of Deadwood could). I was willing to give that a pass, though, and then the last 2 sentences of the story brought it back down to a 4 star.
5 - Code of Blood by [a:Dru Pagliassotti|1058653|Dru Pagliassotti|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1260752228p2/1058653.jpg] (4 stars) - This one was probably one of the most entertaining and unique of the stories in the book. What brought it down to 4 stars for me was that many of the words were in Italian and I had a hard time figuring out what was going on for about half the story.
6 - The Clockwork Corset by [a:Adrienne Kress|777907|Adrienne Kress|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1325978138p2/777907.jpg] (5 stars) - LOVED this one. Everything about it is steampunk. EVERYTHING. I loved, loved, loved it. It ended too soon for me, it could have been a (short) novel...
7 - The Airship Gemini by [a:Jaclyn Dolamore|3009541|Jaclyn Dolamore|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1250436377p2/3009541.jpg] (1 star) - This one was just bizarre...it could have been good, I actually was enjoying it until halfway through, when there was a BIG revelation that just made me mad. I'm OK with bizarre, but this was just...too far.
8 - Under Amber Skies by [a:Maria V. Snyder|445303|Maria V. Snyder|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1224476079p2/445303.jpg] (4 stars) - Again, another great story. This one had me very excited, but ended strangely. Honestly, if some of these authors had just fleshed their stories out a bit more and finished them properly, they'd have been very successful novels.
9 - King of the Greenlight City by [a:Tessa Gratton|3111338|Tessa Gratton|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1328563756p2/3111338.jpg] (3 stars) - This one was just OK for me...it had good stuff in it, but I didn't really relate it to steampunk so much, except for the clockwork carousel horse mentioned a couple times. I believed the story for the most part, but it ended weird.
10 - The Emperor's Man by [a:Tiffany Trent|345572|Tiffany Trent|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1279853483p2/345572.jpg] (2 stars) - Interesting premise, but flawed in the execution. Not really very steampunk, in my opinion, except for this mysterious heart that got them to the strange land.
11 - Chuckie Hill's Badass Ride by [a:Dia Reeves|2885316|Dia Reeves|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1241028065p2/2885316.jpg] (1 star) - Terrible, terrible, terrible. Again, not really steampunk in my opinion. White aliens that get mistaken for the KKK, poorly written fight scenes, silly ending. Just all around bad.
12 - The Vast Machinery of Dreams by [a:Caitlin Kittredge|823146|Caitlin Kittredge|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1304116660p2/823146.jpg] (1 stars) - This is what happened: I had no idea what this story was about. Seriously. I was confused for the entirety.
13 - Tick, Tick Boom by [a:Kiersten White|3027554|Kiersten White|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1254205920p2/3027554.jpg] (2 stars) - This one had potential, but I guessed at the ending about halfway through.
So, I guess all those averaged out, the collection itself gets 3 stars...
I'm finding it hard to rate this as a whole, though, since I did enjoy about half of the stories, so I guess I'll rate them that way:
1 - Rude Mechanicals by [a:Lesley Livingston|1312879|Lesley Livingston|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1224022972p2/1312879.jpg] (5 stars) - I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's what I'd think of when considering steampunk romance. It started off slow for me, but once I caught on, I loved it, and it ended too soon for me.
2 - The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhithe by [a:Frewin Jones|5824383|Frewin Jones|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg] (3 stars) - I was a bit confused by this one...a bit far-fetched, but enjoyable nonetheless.
3 - Wild Magic by [a:Ann Aguirre|835348|Ann Aguirre|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1275442049p2/835348.jpg] (5 stars) - Another one that I really enjoyed...obviously with a bit of magic in it (which I don't usually like), but I liked the characters and the idea of the story, I was sad when it ended.
4 - Deadwood by Michael Scott (4 stars) - This one screamed steampunk. I liked it, for the most part...I just found bits of it hard to believe (as if a 16-year-old girl could do what she did when nobody else in the history of Deadwood could). I was willing to give that a pass, though, and then the last 2 sentences of the story brought it back down to a 4 star.
5 - Code of Blood by [a:Dru Pagliassotti|1058653|Dru Pagliassotti|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1260752228p2/1058653.jpg] (4 stars) - This one was probably one of the most entertaining and unique of the stories in the book. What brought it down to 4 stars for me was that many of the words were in Italian and I had a hard time figuring out what was going on for about half the story.
6 - The Clockwork Corset by [a:Adrienne Kress|777907|Adrienne Kress|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1325978138p2/777907.jpg] (5 stars) - LOVED this one. Everything about it is steampunk. EVERYTHING. I loved, loved, loved it. It ended too soon for me, it could have been a (short) novel...
7 - The Airship Gemini by [a:Jaclyn Dolamore|3009541|Jaclyn Dolamore|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1250436377p2/3009541.jpg] (1 star) - This one was just bizarre...it could have been good, I actually was enjoying it until halfway through, when there was a BIG revelation that just made me mad. I'm OK with bizarre, but this was just...too far.
8 - Under Amber Skies by [a:Maria V. Snyder|445303|Maria V. Snyder|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1224476079p2/445303.jpg] (4 stars) - Again, another great story. This one had me very excited, but ended strangely. Honestly, if some of these authors had just fleshed their stories out a bit more and finished them properly, they'd have been very successful novels.
9 - King of the Greenlight City by [a:Tessa Gratton|3111338|Tessa Gratton|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1328563756p2/3111338.jpg] (3 stars) - This one was just OK for me...it had good stuff in it, but I didn't really relate it to steampunk so much, except for the clockwork carousel horse mentioned a couple times. I believed the story for the most part, but it ended weird.
10 - The Emperor's Man by [a:Tiffany Trent|345572|Tiffany Trent|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1279853483p2/345572.jpg] (2 stars) - Interesting premise, but flawed in the execution. Not really very steampunk, in my opinion, except for this mysterious heart that got them to the strange land.
11 - Chuckie Hill's Badass Ride by [a:Dia Reeves|2885316|Dia Reeves|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1241028065p2/2885316.jpg] (1 star) - Terrible, terrible, terrible. Again, not really steampunk in my opinion. White aliens that get mistaken for the KKK, poorly written fight scenes, silly ending. Just all around bad.
12 - The Vast Machinery of Dreams by [a:Caitlin Kittredge|823146|Caitlin Kittredge|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1304116660p2/823146.jpg] (1 stars) - This is what happened: I had no idea what this story was about. Seriously. I was confused for the entirety.
13 - Tick, Tick Boom by [a:Kiersten White|3027554|Kiersten White|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1254205920p2/3027554.jpg] (2 stars) - This one had potential, but I guessed at the ending about halfway through.
So, I guess all those averaged out, the collection itself gets 3 stars...