kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
As I was reading this last night I realized I'd probably read it before, but couldn't find a review. Ah well, better late than never, and I didn't mind re-reading this one at all because it's a lark of a story with a very determined, young heroine with principles and honor, and a satchel full of magical herbs she can use to heal people in an adventurous Steampunkery tale.
Yep, time to buckle on your gears and leather for this fast-paced, murder-mystery-on-a-dirigible tale of Octavia Leander and her companions (which include a hunky steward with a tragic past, a mysterious and cranky old lady and a gremlin with a thing for silver).
Octavia is a powerful medician in a country still reeling from a long and destructive war against a neighboring territory called the Waste. She's traveling incognito to a remote village where she hopes to make a home. But the first person she meets on her dirigible is connected to the tragic death of her parents, and then gremlins attack the ship and Octavia angers all the passengers by defending them, and then someone tries to murder her berth-mate Viola Stout, and someone tries to murder her, and that handsome steward is always lurking around.
And then the handsome steward invites her to see a shining road as they pass over it and not enough hanky or panky results (in my humble opinion) which is really the only major quibble I have for this book. Sometimes the references to the gremlin seemed a bit too prophetic of a neat, deus-ex-machina role he later played, and sometimes huge revelations kind of got glossed over and didn't seem to impact the characters as much as I thought they should....
But the villains were nicely dastardly and the author does a great job of tying together Octavia's religion and the villain's plan at the end...so the tepid romance is forgiven. On to the next one!
Yep, time to buckle on your gears and leather for this fast-paced, murder-mystery-on-a-dirigible tale of Octavia Leander and her companions (which include a hunky steward with a tragic past, a mysterious and cranky old lady and a gremlin with a thing for silver).
Octavia is a powerful medician in a country still reeling from a long and destructive war against a neighboring territory called the Waste. She's traveling incognito to a remote village where she hopes to make a home. But the first person she meets on her dirigible is connected to the tragic death of her parents, and then gremlins attack the ship and Octavia angers all the passengers by defending them, and then someone tries to murder her berth-mate Viola Stout, and someone tries to murder her, and that handsome steward is always lurking around.
And then the handsome steward invites her to see a shining road as they pass over it and not enough hanky or panky results (in my humble opinion) which is really the only major quibble I have for this book. Sometimes the references to the gremlin seemed a bit too prophetic of a neat, deus-ex-machina role he later played, and sometimes huge revelations kind of got glossed over and didn't seem to impact the characters as much as I thought they should....
But the villains were nicely dastardly and the author does a great job of tying together Octavia's religion and the villain's plan at the end...so the tepid romance is forgiven. On to the next one!
strangebehavior's review against another edition
Hard time rating this one. Elements of the story were interesting but I often got distracted by the inconsistency of the language. I'd be reading along and all of a sudden there'd be a pretty contemporary turn of phrase or words which would be jarring. Something about the way the way the main character's inner monologue was handled also bothered me for some reason. For now I'm giving the writing a 2.5 & the story 3 stars.
kyshakitty's review against another edition
4.0
I was given this book as part of the Harper Voyagers Super Reader program.
I love Steampunk and am so glad to see more books coming out. I have read most series already. This is a new duology.
I enjoyed the story line and the characters. I especially love the little Gremlin, Leaf. I am a sucker for animal characters. I did feel that the characters were somewhat cliche. Octavia is s do-gooder who is very young and naive, and she has no idea how powerful she is. Alonzo is the son of a disgraced general whom everyone humors due to his mother's constant nagging. He is like a child that everyone just wants out from under foot. Mrs. Stout is a sweet plump old lady, with a hidden past and a secret identity. The other characters are also very cliche and formula like.
The story is a mix of magic, paranormal, religion, romance, military, and mystery. There is the mystery of who wants to kill Octavia. The mystery of who Alonzo and Mrs. Stout really are. And the mystery of what Octavia's powers really are and how powerful they are.
The magic, paranormal, and religion are all intertwined in The Lady. The nature magic is healing and destructive. It is powerful and just. But it also seems a little uncontrollable and unreliable.
The military part is just all the people from both sides who are simultaneously trying to kill and save Octavia and the kingdoms. The romance always follows the saving of virtue or life.
I felt that there were too many things going on at once. The multiple genres were at times overwhelming. I understand the magic and religion being together, but the paranormal inclusion of Leaf was unnecessary. Military and mystery usually go together also but they do not mix well with the other two usually. The Steampunk ideal is to mix old & new and typical & extraordinary so this whole story works. I did like the mix for the most part, just that there was so much to keep up with. I would have liked a little more background on the Percival Academy and what it is that they actually taught Octavia there. I felt that everyone but her knew about The Lady and the Academy. For a dying religion, the minor characters sure knew a lot about it.
The ending was a too neat and clean for me. Every one of our "heroes" rode off to do their part to save the kingdom. The bad guys all got what they deserved and Octavia was still left with the mystery of her power and who might try to harm her next. Alonzo got to save the day and be the hero that his father should have been. Mrs.Stout got to go home to her children and grandchild and still live in hiding. I hope that in the next book we get to see what happens to both Octavia and Mrs. Stout.
Overall the story was intriguing and the characters likable. I look forward to the next book.
I love Steampunk and am so glad to see more books coming out. I have read most series already. This is a new duology.
I enjoyed the story line and the characters. I especially love the little Gremlin, Leaf. I am a sucker for animal characters. I did feel that the characters were somewhat cliche. Octavia is s do-gooder who is very young and naive, and she has no idea how powerful she is. Alonzo is the son of a disgraced general whom everyone humors due to his mother's constant nagging. He is like a child that everyone just wants out from under foot. Mrs. Stout is a sweet plump old lady, with a hidden past and a secret identity. The other characters are also very cliche and formula like.
The story is a mix of magic, paranormal, religion, romance, military, and mystery. There is the mystery of who wants to kill Octavia. The mystery of who Alonzo and Mrs. Stout really are. And the mystery of what Octavia's powers really are and how powerful they are.
The magic, paranormal, and religion are all intertwined in The Lady. The nature magic is healing and destructive. It is powerful and just. But it also seems a little uncontrollable and unreliable.
The military part is just all the people from both sides who are simultaneously trying to kill and save Octavia and the kingdoms. The romance always follows the saving of virtue or life.
I felt that there were too many things going on at once. The multiple genres were at times overwhelming. I understand the magic and religion being together, but the paranormal inclusion of Leaf was unnecessary. Military and mystery usually go together also but they do not mix well with the other two usually. The Steampunk ideal is to mix old & new and typical & extraordinary so this whole story works. I did like the mix for the most part, just that there was so much to keep up with. I would have liked a little more background on the Percival Academy and what it is that they actually taught Octavia there. I felt that everyone but her knew about The Lady and the Academy. For a dying religion, the minor characters sure knew a lot about it.
The ending was a too neat and clean for me. Every one of our "heroes" rode off to do their part to save the kingdom. The bad guys all got what they deserved and Octavia was still left with the mystery of her power and who might try to harm her next. Alonzo got to save the day and be the hero that his father should have been. Mrs.Stout got to go home to her children and grandchild and still live in hiding. I hope that in the next book we get to see what happens to both Octavia and Mrs. Stout.
Overall the story was intriguing and the characters likable. I look forward to the next book.
scifimagpie's review against another edition
4.0
This is definitely more of a bubblegum read, but it has a darkness to it that offers a sense of grounding and foundation. The cloak and dagger elements are delivered with a pinch of self-awareness and plenty of charm, but Cato avoids falling into screwball territory or Whedonesque banter.
I did figure out some of the twists before they happened, but certainly not all of them. The antagonistic force felt maybe a bit Evil (tm), but their reasons still felt logical and even understandable.
All in all, if you miss steampunk as a genre or if you're craving a good escapist read, I can recommend this for sure. The magic system and worldbuilding are intriguing, and it's a bit of a shame that this is a duology rather than a longer series.
I did figure out some of the twists before they happened, but certainly not all of them. The antagonistic force felt maybe a bit Evil (tm), but their reasons still felt logical and even understandable.
All in all, if you miss steampunk as a genre or if you're craving a good escapist read, I can recommend this for sure. The magic system and worldbuilding are intriguing, and it's a bit of a shame that this is a duology rather than a longer series.
felinity's review against another edition
4.0
An unusual combination of fantasy steampunk, set in a dystopian world with a strange magical element. Add in the Clockwork Daggers, royal spies and protectors, and some genetic tinkering and you have a very enjoyable read. Some might class this as YA because of the heroine's youth, but it worked just fine for me as an adult reader.
lindacbugg's review
3.0
I really wanted to like this more. Even had a used book alert in and was so excited when an arc turned up. Some interesting ideas but I found myself confused at times and some things didn't pan out for me. But I'll probably read the second volume if it turns up. ;)
sarajean37's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. If this is the pinnacle of steampunk fiction I've been led to believe, I'm clearly not the ideal audience. Like the lady's tree, this book has too many loose tendrils. It would work as steampunk or vaguely Wiccan fantasy or weird romance, but it doesn't really do well as all 3. Just like Octavia needs her magic circle to focus, Cato could do well with a similar story boundary. It wasn't bad; it just wasn't good.
mygeekblasphemy's review against another edition
3.0
This was enjoyable enough, quick to read, some fun world-building. There's some interesting blending of science and religion that I enjoyed, and I'm a big sucker for a murder (or attempted murder, anyway) mystery on any kind of transport, whether it be a train or an airship. Though, obviously, airships are a little cooler.
Octavia's an okay heroine. She has good moments and she's often funny, but I don't know that I always found her character consistent. Obviously, people are layered; they aren't just one thing or the other, but I bought Octavia as a sheltered convent girl. I didn't really buy her so much as someone who'd been on the front lines of war. I wanted to, but I didn't. I also could have dealt with a lot less "Lady" this "Lady" that. I have no problem at all with a religious protagonist, and actually I'm quite interested in learning more about the Lady, questions that clearly won't be solved until the sequel. But it does often seem like Octavia can't even stand up without asking for the Lady's permission or thanking her for her providing strength, and that got a little tiresome, for word repetition if nothing else.
Also, there's a moment--I wish I had marked the page--where Octavia still doesn't seem to believe how special she is, despite the staggering amount of evidence against such a belief? Yeah, I kind of want to attack her with her own herbs right then.
As a general rule, I found a lot of the characters a bit archetypal. I didn't dislike any of them, which is great, but I also didn't feel like much was going on beneath the surface. Especially when it comes to Alonzo, who is pleasant enough but not hugely intriguing, either. (I did like that he had a prosthetic leg, though. The scene with them in the swamp worked fairly well for me.) It took me a while to get into the story, mostly because I didn't buy everyone's voices right away. On the other hand, once I did get into the story, it went by pretty fast and I liked some of the plot developments, twists, and reveals. There's just enough left undiscovered that I'm curious about the sequel. Maybe this book wasn't entirely my thing, but I can see how a lot of people would find it really fun.
Octavia's an okay heroine. She has good moments and she's often funny, but I don't know that I always found her character consistent. Obviously, people are layered; they aren't just one thing or the other, but I bought Octavia as a sheltered convent girl. I didn't really buy her so much as someone who'd been on the front lines of war. I wanted to, but I didn't. I also could have dealt with a lot less "Lady" this "Lady" that. I have no problem at all with a religious protagonist, and actually I'm quite interested in learning more about the Lady, questions that clearly won't be solved until the sequel. But it does often seem like Octavia can't even stand up without asking for the Lady's permission or thanking her for her providing strength, and that got a little tiresome, for word repetition if nothing else.
Also, there's a moment--I wish I had marked the page--where Octavia still doesn't seem to believe how special she is, despite the staggering amount of evidence against such a belief? Yeah, I kind of want to attack her with her own herbs right then.
As a general rule, I found a lot of the characters a bit archetypal. I didn't dislike any of them, which is great, but I also didn't feel like much was going on beneath the surface. Especially when it comes to Alonzo, who is pleasant enough but not hugely intriguing, either. (I did like that he had a prosthetic leg, though. The scene with them in the swamp worked fairly well for me.) It took me a while to get into the story, mostly because I didn't buy everyone's voices right away. On the other hand, once I did get into the story, it went by pretty fast and I liked some of the plot developments, twists, and reveals. There's just enough left undiscovered that I'm curious about the sequel. Maybe this book wasn't entirely my thing, but I can see how a lot of people would find it really fun.
waclements7's review against another edition
4.0
I love books about interesting female healers, especially cool healing ideologies and kick-ass heroine healers. Octavia Leander is one of my new favorite characters, along with Alonzo. I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the second.
The plot was twisty and while there were some people who I was pretty certain were bad guys there were others I didn’t suspect at all. I liked that it was a mystery on an airship for a period of time.
I adored Leaf. I could really picture him in my head. I thought Viola Stout was a very interesting character, and an unexpected one. Highly recommended.
The plot was twisty and while there were some people who I was pretty certain were bad guys there were others I didn’t suspect at all. I liked that it was a mystery on an airship for a period of time.
I adored Leaf. I could really picture him in my head. I thought Viola Stout was a very interesting character, and an unexpected one. Highly recommended.