If I had judged this book by its cover I would have saved myself needless confusion, for the cover clearly shows that it is a steampunk novel; the top hat with gears attached, and the mechanical parasol, are giveaways. Not having looked at the cover, however, I read through the first several chapters under the firm impression that it was a regency, mainly because of the repeated phrase “wish him happy,” and was only completely disabused of this notion when Queen Victoria appeared. (In fact, I am still so bothered by that phrase that I’d be grateful to anyone who could tell me just when it appeared and disappeared – and I find myself wondering whether the novel were first written as a regency and then roughly transplanted into the Victorian era, which might help explain the contorted posture of the lady on the cover.)
But setting covers and my own confusion aside, this story was an amusing romp with a likeable heroine, appealing hero, and fascinating social structure. I especially enjoyed the way vampires and werewolves were integrated into society, with both social groups and loners holding their specific places. The werewolves and vampires we got to meet were both interesting and distinctive. And the idea of a heroine without a soul intrigued me from the beginning, though it had a whiff of deus ex machina in it, as did the job she was finally appointed to. In my experience of Victoriana, however, one must expect the hand of god to be in evidence whenever the monarch appears, so I can hardly complain about that.
What I can complain about, though, is the depiction of scientists in the book. They carry on like idiots! The very idea of killing a unique specimen, or of letting one’s creations run out into the night to be lost to further observation – well, these are the kind of scientists who will certainly be defeated the minute a werewolf invades their sanctuary, because they are just plain dumb. As a scientist myself, I was slightly offended. But only slightly, because the book is a romp and they were obviously playing the parts of stock villains.
The core of the book is the relationship between our heroine and the alpha werewolf, which is highly reminiscent of the Amelia Peabody mysteries. The strong-willed heroine meets and overcomes the irascible, bossy gentleman – this is great stuff, and hardly requires steampunk or supernatural trappings to make it delightful when it is well done, as it is in this novel. I look forward to reading the sequels to see what happens to our couple, now that the romantic tension of their meeting is to be replaced with the everyday tension of their married lives.
