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lynguy1's review
4.0
PRICELESS by Catherine Stein brings independent and somewhat unusual characters as well as humor to a steampunk environment and tackles some serious issues at the same time. It is the second book in the Sass and Steam series and is largely set in Paris, France. So this is both a steampunk mystery as well as a romance. However, it is much more than what it appears to be on the surface.
Our protagonists, Evan Tagget and Violet Dayton, appear to be very different characters and totally unsuited to each other. Evan was raised in a factory in New York City, but had a knack for inventions. He is now a multi-millionaire, lives in Paris, and runs a global business empire with an emphasis on telecommunication devices, mechanical dragons and clockwork gadgets. Violet makes a living painting forgeries as well as her own paintings and saving her commissions to host a Paris art exhibition. She wants to display her works as well as those of her friends. When a corrupt police inspector coerces Violet into tracking down a master art thief in Europe, she teams up with Evan to help her.
Evan and Violet are both far from perfect, but as a reader, I definitely rooted for their success. I got to know their fears, hopes and obsessions and got a good understanding of why they both have trust issues. The secondary characters are well-rounded and enhance the story with believable relationships that are not contrived.
The author did a great job of creating a strong sense of time and place. I felt like I was living the events alongside the characters. There were a couple of twists in the book that caught me by surprise. The writing was entertaining, witty and poignant at times. I was emotionally involved with the characters as well as the story.
Overall, this an engrossing, fascinating and engaging novel that pulled me in immediately. In addition to the mystery and romance, this novel tackles some tough issues. These include trust, love, friendship, family relationships, support of charities, social standing, fighting ignorance and hatred and much more.
If you enjoy steampunk romantic suspense, then this may be the next series for you. It worked well as a standalone novel, but I am looking forward to reading the first book in the series.
Thanks to BookBuzz.net and Catherine Stein for a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for November 20, 2020.
Our protagonists, Evan Tagget and Violet Dayton, appear to be very different characters and totally unsuited to each other. Evan was raised in a factory in New York City, but had a knack for inventions. He is now a multi-millionaire, lives in Paris, and runs a global business empire with an emphasis on telecommunication devices, mechanical dragons and clockwork gadgets. Violet makes a living painting forgeries as well as her own paintings and saving her commissions to host a Paris art exhibition. She wants to display her works as well as those of her friends. When a corrupt police inspector coerces Violet into tracking down a master art thief in Europe, she teams up with Evan to help her.
Evan and Violet are both far from perfect, but as a reader, I definitely rooted for their success. I got to know their fears, hopes and obsessions and got a good understanding of why they both have trust issues. The secondary characters are well-rounded and enhance the story with believable relationships that are not contrived.
The author did a great job of creating a strong sense of time and place. I felt like I was living the events alongside the characters. There were a couple of twists in the book that caught me by surprise. The writing was entertaining, witty and poignant at times. I was emotionally involved with the characters as well as the story.
Overall, this an engrossing, fascinating and engaging novel that pulled me in immediately. In addition to the mystery and romance, this novel tackles some tough issues. These include trust, love, friendship, family relationships, support of charities, social standing, fighting ignorance and hatred and much more.
If you enjoy steampunk romantic suspense, then this may be the next series for you. It worked well as a standalone novel, but I am looking forward to reading the first book in the series.
Thanks to BookBuzz.net and Catherine Stein for a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for November 20, 2020.
bookwormbunny's review
5.0
Priceless by Catherine Stein truly is a priceless piece of literature. I was not prepared for the characters and the unique surprises written into this book. You get a dashing "villain" of a man in the form of Even Tagget, and a vivacious "heroine" in the form of Violet Dayton. Violet simply wants to accomplish her dream of opening an art exhibit with her name on it and to be able to live comfortably as a painter. Too bad a corrupt cop is willing to do whatever is necessary to capture an art thief plaguing the region, and if it means making Violet the scape-goat...that's EXACTLY what he'll do. The clock is ticking and she's going to need all the help she can get if she's to solve this daring mystery thief and stay out of the clink. Too bad it seems that Tagget intends to steal her heart if he can.
This is the first book that I have read by this author and I have to say that it is truly a delightful story. I love that I get a bit of Tagget's story from the beginning and then things fast forward several years to where his life has dynamically changed. He's a a multi-millionaire now and apparently the perfect "target" for Violet to approach to "help" finance her search. Tagget is a lover not a fighter, but I like that he's not a huge playboy. You know the type, flitting from one to another without a care in the world. The author makes a point of saying that his lovers know what they are getting themselves into and that the "relationship" won't last long. The push and pull between Violet and Evan is really tantalizing and I enjoy reading it. They compliment each other and I like that Evan knows how to properly handle certain situations. He knows when a more...conservative approach is best while Violet has a more "devil may care" attitude.
The only thing that I don't like about Violet is how she wants to play things. She barges into his life and hotel and basically sets up "house/shop", let's him pay for literally everything but wants to act like she's not a "free-loader" basically. It annoys me a bit. I feel that at times she's taking advantage of him simply because he has money and she really doesn't. I will admit that I thought that with Evan's connections that he'd have been able to handle things a bit better (?) or at least had some means of cowing the corrupt cop.
My favorite part of this entire book is probably the mystery angle/aspect. I love how they are working together to discover who this mystery thief is and working out to catch him. I also was truly and utterly surprised by the steampunk aspect of this book! It caught me off guard and I love how the author incorporated it so well into this book. It was another element that kept me engaged and page-turning, because this book truly is a page-turner. On one hand this book CAN be read as a stand-alone novel, but I think that the experience will be further enhanced by having read the previous book in this series as the author does tie in Evan's past with another woman, Eden, into this book in places as well which piques my curiosity about who she is.
I am rating this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. I really did enjoy this book and I am looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future. This story is well-done and truly enjoyable. I loved the romance and the slow build of it, even if I did find Violet a bit irritating in certain moments with her behavior. If you love a good romance, enjoy this author or just like the surprise of steampunk then this is a good book to pick up.
This is the first book that I have read by this author and I have to say that it is truly a delightful story. I love that I get a bit of Tagget's story from the beginning and then things fast forward several years to where his life has dynamically changed. He's a a multi-millionaire now and apparently the perfect "target" for Violet to approach to "help" finance her search. Tagget is a lover not a fighter, but I like that he's not a huge playboy. You know the type, flitting from one to another without a care in the world. The author makes a point of saying that his lovers know what they are getting themselves into and that the "relationship" won't last long. The push and pull between Violet and Evan is really tantalizing and I enjoy reading it. They compliment each other and I like that Evan knows how to properly handle certain situations. He knows when a more...conservative approach is best while Violet has a more "devil may care" attitude.
The only thing that I don't like about Violet is how she wants to play things. She barges into his life and hotel and basically sets up "house/shop", let's him pay for literally everything but wants to act like she's not a "free-loader" basically. It annoys me a bit. I feel that at times she's taking advantage of him simply because he has money and she really doesn't. I will admit that I thought that with Evan's connections that he'd have been able to handle things a bit better (?) or at least had some means of cowing the corrupt cop.
My favorite part of this entire book is probably the mystery angle/aspect. I love how they are working together to discover who this mystery thief is and working out to catch him. I also was truly and utterly surprised by the steampunk aspect of this book! It caught me off guard and I love how the author incorporated it so well into this book. It was another element that kept me engaged and page-turning, because this book truly is a page-turner. On one hand this book CAN be read as a stand-alone novel, but I think that the experience will be further enhanced by having read the previous book in this series as the author does tie in Evan's past with another woman, Eden, into this book in places as well which piques my curiosity about who she is.
I am rating this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. I really did enjoy this book and I am looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future. This story is well-done and truly enjoyable. I loved the romance and the slow build of it, even if I did find Violet a bit irritating in certain moments with her behavior. If you love a good romance, enjoy this author or just like the surprise of steampunk then this is a good book to pick up.
cakt1991's review
3.0
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
My mixed luck with the Sass and Steam series continues with Priceless. But while I’ve come to view book one more fondly as I’ve become more accustomed to steampunk world building, especially as the shorts have been good, this one was underwhelming from a character standpoint.
I already knew going in that Evan was different from Stein’s previous heroes. He had his moments that triggered eyerolls, like a moment when he and Violet draw comparisons between him and Lord Byron where he remarks he’s “better,” and just his general arrogant behavior, of course masking the darkness of his past. And ultimately, while I appreciate someone who’s self made, he has the drawback of many of those heroes of using his past as an excuse to put up a wall and not letting himself be vulnerable, having to act the big shot all the time, and it’s like, I read that before and hated it all those times, so I didn’t see a reason to care much this time around.
In some ways, Violet is a good match for him, in that she also has a checkered past, and I think this is absolutely a step up from the dozens of bad boy/delicate wallflower books. However, at one point she expresses a desire to herself of their relationship being more, while having to remind herself it’s just a fling, and my heart hurt for her, and wanted her to find someone who could be more up front and nurturing, especially given that both have these issues with trust. And when she declares that all she wants is him, and he’s trying to get her material things, after assuming she’s out to trap him? Ultimately, they declare they are both “wretched and selfish,” but the way it manifests in him vs. her is very different, at least in my opinion, probably because I love a good complex heroine, but consider broody heroes tired and wish they’d stop being a thing. She’s relatable to me, and I wanted so much more for her than someone who has already disappointed her.
However, as I mentioned before, the world building has started to appeal to me more and more, and I’m coming to enjoy the blend of historical and technical/fantastical. I especially enjoyed the setting of this one, being in Paris with scenes at the Louvre. Famous pieces are name-dropped, and it really appealed to my love of art history, leading me to reminisce about the other fiction I’d read concerning the Louvre and the works contained inside.
While I didn’t care for this one as much as I hope I would, I do think it will have its audience, given that other people eat up stories about the detached, roguish rich guy. And with a complex heroine, it provides a nice twist on the conventional “rake” romance, in addition to the steampunk elements, that will diversify the offerings for ardent fans.
My mixed luck with the Sass and Steam series continues with Priceless. But while I’ve come to view book one more fondly as I’ve become more accustomed to steampunk world building, especially as the shorts have been good, this one was underwhelming from a character standpoint.
I already knew going in that Evan was different from Stein’s previous heroes. He had his moments that triggered eyerolls, like a moment when he and Violet draw comparisons between him and Lord Byron where he remarks he’s “better,” and just his general arrogant behavior, of course masking the darkness of his past. And ultimately, while I appreciate someone who’s self made, he has the drawback of many of those heroes of using his past as an excuse to put up a wall and not letting himself be vulnerable, having to act the big shot all the time, and it’s like, I read that before and hated it all those times, so I didn’t see a reason to care much this time around.
In some ways, Violet is a good match for him, in that she also has a checkered past, and I think this is absolutely a step up from the dozens of bad boy/delicate wallflower books. However, at one point she expresses a desire to herself of their relationship being more, while having to remind herself it’s just a fling, and my heart hurt for her, and wanted her to find someone who could be more up front and nurturing, especially given that both have these issues with trust. And when she declares that all she wants is him, and he’s trying to get her material things, after assuming she’s out to trap him? Ultimately, they declare they are both “wretched and selfish,” but the way it manifests in him vs. her is very different, at least in my opinion, probably because I love a good complex heroine, but consider broody heroes tired and wish they’d stop being a thing. She’s relatable to me, and I wanted so much more for her than someone who has already disappointed her.
However, as I mentioned before, the world building has started to appeal to me more and more, and I’m coming to enjoy the blend of historical and technical/fantastical. I especially enjoyed the setting of this one, being in Paris with scenes at the Louvre. Famous pieces are name-dropped, and it really appealed to my love of art history, leading me to reminisce about the other fiction I’d read concerning the Louvre and the works contained inside.
While I didn’t care for this one as much as I hope I would, I do think it will have its audience, given that other people eat up stories about the detached, roguish rich guy. And with a complex heroine, it provides a nice twist on the conventional “rake” romance, in addition to the steampunk elements, that will diversify the offerings for ardent fans.
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