February was Steampunk Month

After the chaos of January, it was lovely to spend the month of Feb at home, and catch up on some reading;
Two great authors over the month were YS Lee and Gail Carriger; both of whom write alternative versions of Victorian(ish) England. Absolutely terrific reads for people who love to mix in the old with the fantastical.
I started the month by re-reading Gail Carriger's debut Souless which is the first of the parasol protectorate series, and was a "best new debut in 2010" (according to me). This book cracked me up the first time I read it, and improved on reading the second time - I flew through it so that I could get on to Changeless and Blameless; which are the continuation of Alexia Tarabotti's tale. I'm not going to spoiler all over you, but to say that if you have even the remotest knowledge of the historical period and love a tall tale, these books are really great fun - diabolical family and friends, never mind the enemies! Carriger has put a lot of detail into these stories and with Heartless and Timeless to follow close behind (June release for Heartless according to Amazon), she has obviously got more to say... which is exciting because these reads are fun and fresh (for me at least - if you have found other steampunk/paranormal books out there, I would love to hear about them).

I followed up the parasol protectorate with the start of "The Agency" series from YS Lee. A Spy in the House introduces us to Mary Quinn, a former thief who; saved from the gallows, is given the opportunity to better herself, completing an education at Ms Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls - the front for a spy agency built on the beliefs that a woman "minding her own business" may be privy to talk than any man. Its a great premise and Lee carries it off really well; and the depiction of James Easton makes me want to scream - where is the next book!!!!! The Body in the Tower continued Mary's story and Lee's depiction of the underbelly of Victorian(ish) London gets more and more detailed as the books continue. There is a depth of description that is just incredible, and Lee keeps the story moving; which is always appreciated by me... as much as the fact that I am even more appreciative of the fact that I didn't have to live that way!

A quick shout-back to Laura Bickle as well, having finished both Embers and Sparks (yay for the name, I only got that when I was halfway through the book!); I am again keen to highlight these books as being a great new series - although I'm worried about the depiction of Detroit? is it really like that? (If so, strike it from my list of places to visit, sorry!). Sparky and Anya's story has continued in the second book which again creates massive change not only for Anya and her Slamander side-kick (who has a very busy book!), but for Detroit's population of ghosts, witches and other things that go bump in the night.

Anyways, that's going to have to do for me - I'm currently doing the telecomute thing from the sunny Tweed Heads region of NSW/QLD... living the dream

Cheers

LB