Review: Kiss of Steel (London Steampunk, #1)

Author: Bec McMaster

Narrator: Alison Larkin

Series: London Steampunk, #1
Released: May 13th 2013
Publisher: Tantor Media
Lenght: 11 hrs and 35 mins
Buy: Audible

Most people avoid the dreaded Whitechapel district. For Honoria Todd, it's the last safe haven. But at what price?Blade is known as the master of the rookeries—no one dares cross him. It's been said he faced down the Echelon's army single-handedly, that ever since being infected by the blood-craving he's been quicker, stronger, almost immortal.When Honoria shows up at his door, his tenuous control comes close to snapping. She's so…innocent. He doesn't see her backbone of steel—or that she could be the very salvation he's been seeking.

A quick note: This is not Tantor Media’s cover for Kiss of Steel, but their cover is so nondescript that I had to use the print one for my review. I apologize.

Sometimes, a girl just needs some steamy romance in her life, even if it is of the paper (or well, audio) variety. A few days ago, I found myself in desperate need of just that – a hot, romantic steampunk read: part action, part interesting world and three parts swoon-worthy love story. With Kiss of Steel, that’s exactly what I got.

McMaster created a rather impressive world, one strong enough to be the foundation for a lengthy series, if necessary. Although steampunk is not her strong suit, the paranormal elements are strong, fairly original and convincing. The social structure is pretty standard, with blue bloods (not quite vampires, but close enough) pulling all the strings.

Now, Kiss of Steel may be many things, but steampunk it is not. Honestly, one drone does not a steampunk novel make! If I were to determine the genre and be nitpicky about it, I’d say Kiss of Steel is paranormal romance in a historical setting with minor elements of stempunk. Minor elements! As a huge fan of the genre, I dislike being misled in such a way. I don’t mind historical romances or bodice rippers, but I at least like to know what to expect.

Honoria Todd is had the potential to make this a fabulous read, but she, as the protagonist, ended up disappointing me severely. By showing admirable strength and character at certain moments, she gave me hope that she could be more than just an archetypal romance heroines, but each time, she would just slip into the usual patterns, making the disappointment that followed much more bitter.

Unlike Honoria, Blade is the shining star of this novel, a memorable and fascinating character, thought through to the finest detail. He too had more than a few characteristics of your typical paranormal romance hero – an awful reputation, the kindest of hearts and an extremely tortured past – but a few well placed details made him stand out in a way that simply didn’t extend to Honor.

Clever use of a dialect can easily turn a book from good to excellent. McMaster did such a fantastic job with Blade’s speech, telling us so much about his past and present with nothing more than the way he spoke. I admire authors who dare to try this. Admittedly, I’ve seen review complain about the Blade’s Cockney dialect in writing, but since I listened to the book and the narrator did such a fantastic job with it, I can’t really comment on that part, nor do I have a single objection on how it was done.

While the narrator, Alison Larkin, did an excellent job with Blade and Honoria, her secondary characters’ voices were positively dreadful – nasal, all alike and extremely irritating. With them, she gave the impression of not caring in the least, which ruined the final scene when most of them were present.

I will continue the series eventually, but this time I’ll know exactly what I’m getting myself into.