Title: Steamed

Author: Katie MacAlister

Publisher: Signet 2010

Genre: Steampunk Romance

Pages: 332

Rating: 3 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; Steampunk

I read another review of this book; one that didn't like the book very much. I must say that I have mixed feelings about this book. Some parts I loved, and others I hated.

The Good

I enjoyed the politics behind Octavia's actions. That may be because I like politics in general. I find it interesting to see how people get wrapped up in competing agendas. It wasn't hard at all to keep all the different factions separate. I loved the intrigue, the uncertain nature of various characters, the keeping secret of information. It made the book at bit more than a steampunk romance. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the steampunk world. having Jack and Hallie come from the real 2010 world created a great way for the characters to explain the steampunk technology. So the weapons and airships run on nuclear physics? Interesting. I liked the scientific side of the story.

The Bad

There were two big things wrong with the book: Hallie and the romance. Jack's sister was a nonexistant character, simply a plot device. The little we saw of her wasn't good at all. She was stuck up and stiff and stupid. I mean who gets herself captured while standing at a fountain. Wouldn't you be a little cautious in a war zone? Better yet, wouldn't you be a little cautious in a completely different world? Instead she wanders over to look at a fountain and gets captured as a spy. Seriously! We could have done without her character all together. The other issue I have is with the romance. It just wasn't believable at all. Jack comes off as a complete sex crazed chauvinist masquerading as a Quaker (really a Quaker?). And Octavia comes off as a pretentious slut. (I know harsh language, but that was my initial thought) I wasn't interested at all in their "romance." Just get to the action (fighting, no sex) scenes already.

Overall, interesting premise and background plot but boring characters and romance.