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I really thought about writing a complete review of this book, but then worried it would just become an extended rant about...well...everything I think is wrong with women's literature these days. It's the "Fifty Shades" syndrome: Lots and lots of escapist "mommy porn" that no woman would really want to experience in real life. I hope, anyway.

What I did like about the book:

The rather absurd cover of the book (in which our heroine is pictured wearing a ridiculous outfit that she never actually wears in the book) hints that there will be Steampunk elements in the book. I really appreciate the way these elements are introduced in the novel. I've read a lot of Steampunk, and it bothers me when authors randomly use clothing or accessories to force their work to conform to what they think might pass for SP. Ok, so there's an airship, and articulated lenses, and a new-fangled battery operated flashlight, but these things make sense in the story and the reader isn't overwhelmed with assurances that this is, indeed, an SP story. The technology is appropriate to the period described (such as it is), and it makes sense in the progress of the story.

What I didn't like about the book:

It never bothers me when characters in a story have sex. Heck, I like a good sex scene as much as the next girl, but it does bother me when a story becomes a thinly veiled excuse to string together a variety of sexual positions and situations. I mean, there's pretty much everything here! The book starts with our heroine asking the hero (?) to save her by faking a liaison, only to find herself impaled on "the Duke" (quoted directly from the book). But he insists she liked it, and that the experience was part of her sexual awakening, so her rape is ok. And then there are voyeuristic episodes with people watching other people having sex, sometimes with spanking/whips/bondage, yee haw. Oh, and let us not forget that all the important males in the story are all hung like horses and have women salivating to be rutted on at every opportunity, with an audience or not. I'm glad our hero and heroine fall in love and all that, but it would have been nice if there had been a little more substance and a little less coitus. Too much "Fifty Shades," indeed.

Some might even argue that Miss America Jones is a strong female character because she is sexually empowered in the story. As in, every time she makes a decision that he needs to honor her body and respect her integrity what she really means is that she wants to be impaled on the Duke. Or her attempts to take back property that was stolen from her are completely managed by the males in the story. I don't see her as either financially, physically, or personally empowered, and I'm disappointed that our hero is a walking erection who sometimes behaves honorably when it occurs to him. There might have been a really good story here, but it was buried under stroking and flowing juices and an assortment of sex noises.

My final analysis:

Some women really like these kinds of stories, and view them as escapist fun and wish fulfillment. If that's the case, this story is for you! If you like a little more substance, well, read Gail Carriger's "Parasol Protectorate" series. Or "The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences" series by Pip Ballentine and Tee Morris.

As for this series, there was just barely enough story for me to keep reading, and I hope that future installments spend a little less time on describing the many and varied sexual positions of the characters and a little more time on character development and world building.