I do love my work, and how I get to read books before they’re released. 😉 This one will be on store shelves on Aug. 2.
I started reading this thinking, “If ever there was a ‘proper romance’ I would enjoy, it should be this one.” I can’t stand proper romances. First of all, I prefer my romances to be sub-plots, not main plots. Then, as much as I love London and its history, I really don’t care for the flowery formal language, pompous ridiculous characters, or dramas between high and low societies. But I picked up “Beauty and the Clockwork Beast,” by Nancy Campbell Allen, thinking, “It’s Beauty and the Beast (one of my favorite fairy tales) and it’s Steampunk (for which I can’t explain my strange fascination).” Here are my thoughts AFTER reading it:
It’s advertised on the front cover as a “Steampunk Proper Romance.” I’d add “Paranormal” in there too, since ghosts, werewolves, and vampires are as big an influence to the characters and plot as the gear-dependent inventions they use for labor and travel.
Unfortunately, the main characters do resemble traits from those of “Twilight.” For some reason, the girl’s not terrified when she finds out a man’s a werewolf, and feels the stupid need to do things on her own. The werewolf also has some stupid “Edward” moments when he thinks to push people away because he’s ‘dangerous’ (and is supposedly forbidden to be loved), but then he’s also over protective at times.
Mrs. Allen’s book shows the perspective of both the woman and man in interest. Personally, I don’t like it when stories do this because it turns all miscommunication into dramatic irony, which frustrates me to no end.
My rating: low end of ***3 stars***. Even though it’s not my cup of tea, I drank it all. Here’s another one for the hoards of “Twilight” fans out there.
C. Rae D'Arc 