{BlogTour/Giveaway/Review} Chronicles of Steele #1: Raven: Pauline Creedan

Rating: 82%

Series: Chronicles of Steele #1

Genre: Steampunk, Romance, Young Adult, Fiction,

Publisher: AltWit Press

Publication Date: October 28, 2014

Page Count: UNKNOWN

Format: eBook

Source: Xpresso Book Tours

The Book Depository | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis:
Human life has value.
The poor living in the gutter are as valuable as the rich living in a manor.
The scoundrel is no less valuable than the saint.
Because of this, every life a reaper takes must be redeemed.

Raven has lived by this first tenet since she was trained by her father to become a reaper. But since his death, she’s been spending years redeeming the lives she’s taken. By her count, she’s even and it’s time for that life to end. If she settles down and becomes a wife, she might just feel human again. But on the way to the life she thinks she wants, the baron of New Haven asks her to complete a task which she cannot ignore… Just when Raven decides to give up on her life as an assassin, she’s pulled right back in.

About The Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

In simple language, Pauline Creeden creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long. Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy.

Armored Hearts, her joint effort with author Melissa Turner Lee, has been awarded the Crowned Heart for Excellence by InDtale Magazine. It is also the 2013 Book Junkie’s Choice Winner in Historical Fiction. Her debut novel, Sanctuary, won 1st Place Christian YA Title 2013 Dante Rosetti Award and 2014 Reader’s Choice Gold Award for Best YA Horror Novel.

Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this book from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review

Who Would I Recommend This Book To?

Fans of The Clockwork Scarab (Collen Gleason), Infernal Devices (Cassandra Clare), Throne of Glass (Sarah J. Maas)

Background & Backstory?

This was actually one of those blog tours that I signed up for, forgot about, and was promptly sent into a blank panic when informed that I was part of the tour. I had intended on procrastinating reading this until Monday (the 12th) on my plane ride to California. As a blogger, I always read one digital and one physical book at a time, and I had finished my digital one sooner than I had expected. So I picked up Raven before I had intended to and am SOOO glad that I did.

What Was My Reaction Upon Finishing?

That LAST page kind of recked it for me.... But the book was good.

Steampunk: 90% | The very first steampunk novel I ever read was actually also an Xpresso Book Tour novel and I fell in love with the genre. I haven't read many since, but would love if you left me some suggestions. The steampunk elements were perfectly executed, not just in the subtle ways characters lived their lives, but were crucial to the plot. What reminded me of the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare were the human-like automatons and I LOVED the role they played in the story as well as obstacles they provided.

Characters: 80% | If I could smoosh together the cast of Into The Woods and the Throne of Glass Series.... that's who would be in Chronicles of Steele: Raven. Raven seemed a lot like Celaena Sardothien, especially in the way she handled obstacles, plus a reaper is a synonym, of a sort, to an assassin. Celaena is more unapologetic than Raven, but their stubbornness and determination are perfectly matched.

This, of course, makes all of the surrounding character's lives hell. Jack Grant is the captain of the guard, and I couldn't help but draw the parallels between him and Chaol, especially because of his subtle, simmering attraction to Raven and the compassion he showed towards her. I thought Baron Solomon would have a larger role in the book, but the small amount of time we had with him constantly reminded me of Dorian. On the other hand, I envisioned the two witches as the one (played by Meryl Streep) in Into The Woods.
  

Romance: 69% | The romance was next to non-existent in this novel, and I sincerely wish there had been more to contrast Raven's steely personality with passion she felt towards another person. Without spoiling the novel, I will say that her romantic expectations don't follow through, but I wish they had OR that another character would have shown their feelings sooner.

Pacing: 70% | The pacing was a bit odd in the novel because I was interested in what was going on, but every time a new episode occurred, I was a bit bored afterwards. Nevertheless, the very beginning of every chapter were hands-down the best parts of this novel because there was a short passage or phrase in Creedan's beautiful prose that gave you an idea of what the chapter would be about. The moment I read the phrase that's paired with Chapter One, I knew I would enjoy this novel.

Ending: 78% | Chronicles of Steele: Raven, had a nearly flawless ending. The plot's wrap-up was well-done, bittersweet, and satisfying. I could have given the ending 100%.... if it weren't for the VERY last page. There's a conversation between the protagonist and a prominent side character that serves as a verbal montage (of a sort) of the events of the story. It's supposed to supplement the story and make the ending stronger, but what is said between them is hackneyed.

Quotes: 100% | The biggest WOW Factor of Pauline Creedan's writing is her prose. I have SOOO many highlights on my copy of Chronicles of Steele: Raven because of all the phrases that read like liquid poetry.

How Likely Is It That I Will Read Another Book By This Author?

45%
It's unlikely that I will pick up another Creedan book BY MYSELF, but as most often happens, she will probably have another blog tour in a year or so, and I will most definitely sign up for it so I can support her.

Conclusion: Chronicles of Steele: Raven was an intriguing story in a perfectly executed steampunk world, with lovable characters, and relatable conflicts, all told in Pauline Creedan's gorgeous prose.

{Blog Tour+Giveaway+Review} Obsidian Eyes: A.W. Exley

Rating: 9/10
Series: Obsidian Eyes #1
Genre: Steampunk, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance, Young Adult Fiction
Publication Date: March 24, 2014
Publisher: Curiosity Quills
Page Count: 278
Format: Digital ARC
Source: Xpresso Book Tours

Amazon~Barnes & Nobles~Goodreads

Synopsis: 1836, a world of light and dark, noble and guild. The two spheres intersect when seventeen-year-old Allie Donovan is placed at the aristocratic St Matthews Academy. More at ease with a blade than a needle, she finds herself ostracised by the girls and stalked by a Scottish lord intent on learning why she is among them.

She begins to suspect why she is at the school when soldiers arrive to see her friend, Zeb, a mechanical genius. On the hunt for answers she breaks into his underground laboratory. There, Allie discovers he is not just constructing sentient mechanical creatures, he is building a devastating new weapon for the military.

Used to relying on herself, Allie must cross the guild-noble divide to keep Zeb safe and stop the weapon falling into the wrong hands. However, the guilds want the device and she is caught in their trap.

Once rescued from Newgate prison, now she must obey the overlord of the guild and deliver up her friend or he will return her to the gallows. Can she trust her new bonds of friendship to save both their lives?


About the Author: Website~Twitter~Facebook~Goodreads
Books and writing have always been an enormous part of Anita’s life. She survived school by hiding out in the library, with several thousand fictional characters for company. At university, she overcame the boredom of studying accountancy by squeezing in Egyptology papers and learning to read hieroglyphics.

Today, Anita writes steampunk novels with a sexy edge and an Egyptian twist. She lives in rural New Zealand surrounded by an assortment of weird and wonderful equines, felines, canine and homicidal chickens.

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I just want to say something and get it out of the way before I start this review. I freaking LOVED Pbsidian Eyes. *flails* #thefeels all that good stuff you would usually put in a tweet to express your inexplicable love for a book. 

Anyway, as you may know, I sign up for A LOT of blog tours, and sometimes life gets in the way, and I'm not able to read and review the book by my date, or I don't like it enough to give it a rating if 3 stars or above. I had actually pondered telling Giselle (Xpresso Book Tours coordinator) that I couldn't participate in this tour. I am sure as heck glad I didn't do that now.

How about u let you in on a little secret? I have never read a steampunk book before. When I was asked what steampunk meant, I had absolutely no clue as to what to tell say. 

The urban dictionary says it's "A sub genre of speculative fiction usually set in an anachronistic Victorian setting, including science fiction, fantasy, and horror"

Anyway, part of my love for this book is dedicated to the fact that I had never read anything even remotely like this. Yes, there has been the occasionally urban fantasy that's setting was weird, a historical fiction with advance technology, and so forth. But I have never read ANYTHING like Obsidian Eyes. 

One of the largest aspects of this book that I enjoyed were the quotes. I think we all know by now that quotes can make or break the rating and my overall opinion of a book. Obsidian Eyes's unique writing style and voice was presented from the very first sentence, and I knew I was in for a treat. You know how I usually have maybe 10 highlights in an e-Copy, a few annotations, etc? I kid you not, I had more than 3 dozen quote highlights alone for this book. Exley's writing was so poetic and euphonium without being the kind of language stuffy English professors use. It's artistic, and beautiful, yet humorous and thrilling. 

Jared and Allie's romance is one of the most well crafted I have seen in a long time. There was insta-attraction, but because of boundaries, rules, and more that stood between them, their romantic involvement had to slowly develop and brew. Jared was #swoonworthy and my new book boyfriend. It is so easy to have a first impression of him. Read two sentences and you think you know exactly who he is. On the contrary, it takes time to get to know the layered person he is. You think he is an arrogant, intelligent, Multi-skilled, talented.....you understand my point. But both Allie and the readers find out that he is so much more. Allie definitely held onto her self-respect and didn't go running into his arms like some helpless girl that needs a man to protect her (if anything! she would be protecting the man). She was conscious of her actions, decisions, and thoughts, and was aware that Jared could easily play and break her. Yet, she didn't submit to him, and they were evenly matched in all controllable aspects. When Exley wrote the scenes between the two, the passion they had for each other resonates off of the page. They were strangely erotic, without being graphic in the slightest. 

The premise of this book was extraordinary. Exley weaves in the conflicts of upper and lower social classes, underground organizations, 20th century women being strong and independent, ancient Egypt, and much more. There were the guilds consisting of the Runners, Whisperers, Grim Repaers, and Skin Dancers that all have a role to play in this world that is so familiar, yet different compared to our own. There is advanced machinery playing key roles in the plots fuel. There's this.....There's that. An endless amount of threads that make up the tapestry of this truly fantastic novel. 

 

I only had two issues with the entire story. The first, was how unfulfilled I felt at the ending. It was obvious that there would be a sequel (that I have to wait over a year for!), but almsot everything had fallen in to place. The second, was that Allie's best friend, Eloise didn't get the attention of the guy she liked. I know the entire time, I've been saying how independent and strong Allie was, and how she didn't need a man, but Eloise was so lovestruck for Zeb that I was dissapointed when they didn't end up together in the end of book one. 

Conclusion: This was one of the best books I have read in 2014. The writing was crafted like slowly churned butter, the romance was like swordplay, the premise was original, and the story itself was phrenomenal.