Anyhow it was OK and even enjoyable in some parts, so I think author deserves her kudos. If she'd stayed true to 'more steampunk, less romance' line in second volume, it'd be even good. Good book.
As it is I can recommend only first volume, since it's more fun reading and story flow is generic, while in 2nd book it is a bit... artificial. You almost can feel author's tension to come up with next scene. May be a result of over-editing, though.
Who knows.
Hm, but I like the cover of the 2nd book better :)
The concept of the world is good, though. Kudos.
This one is closer to definition of steampunk than series i recently finished - Parasol Protectorate by Geil Carriger [Soulless, Changeless, Blameless, Heartless, Timeless] - but nevertheless not quite steampunk enough.
Also these series are a bit special because when I was reading it I had a strong feeling it was written somewhere right after WW II. Figures, the last book only came out in 2012. Lol. After giving it some thought, I decided not to judge whether it is a good or bad thing.Speculating is pointless. It wasn't the language, though, but ... the contents? Not the old-wrodly charm you can find in works of classics of 20th century, no, just ... something that gave a feeling of it being old. Can't ascertain what it was.
