A review by lekiare
Steamside Chronicles by Ciar Cullen

2.0

This book deserves 2.5 stars. It's not the worst thing I've read, yet it wasn't the best either.

The protagonist, Emily Fenwick, is a police officer who is suddenly whisked into an alternate New York set in 1890. Except it's not really an alternate New York, nor are there any scenarios that could be labeled steampunk. It's more fantasy-based with a world that I found intriguing.

Emily wakes up in Steamside, a world connected to 1890's "normal" New York. Steamside's inhabitants are refugees like Emily who long to return to their times. Why are they here? It's not clearly explained, and that's not a good thing, which is a shame because Steamside is interesting.

Rather, the setting is used more as a backdrop to a juvenile, nonsensical romance between the two leads. POVs were difficult to distinguish, and the dialogue was all jumbled up. The romance was tedious and unbelievable. Have I mentioned juvenile?

It was a fun read, but Steamside Chronicles just wasn't the best.