From My Book Shelf> The Affinity Bridge

Title: The Affinity Bridge

Author: George Mann

This has been sitting in my goodreads "to read" list since November of last year, but I was too busy reading YA dystopian, Vampire, changling, psychic, romance to bother with this until now. 

I have mixed feelings about this book. The dialogue was pretty snappy and some of the concepts were great and really creative, but there was just so much going on! It was steampunk, and zombies, and mystery, and magic and psychics and it all seemed like just too much. At one point i was like "really? you want to include that genre too? okay then!" Romance was minimal, which is okay, but I like my steam punk mysteries like I like my TV crime procedurals, rife with sexual tension. I found what tension there was between the lead characters to feel pretty forced and one sided...and I'm not sure if I like the way Mr. Mann writes from a woman's perspective.

While I said most of the concepts were pretty creative, there were a few times where I thought to myself, "I've seen this used before" and I really haven't read that much steam punk. 

All in all I think I'll be waiting quite a while before I even attempt to tackle the next two books in this series. Now back to witches, vampires, pixies, demons, and weres! Loving The Hollows series <3 (and please CW make it a TV Series!!!)

>Cassie

from my bookshelf> The Parasol Protectorate

Title(s): Soulless, Changeless, Blameless
Author: Gail Carriger

Like Jessi, I am also on a vampires and werewolves kick; but throw in a dash of steampunk, comedy, romance and mystery!  Mixing so many genres should be a mess but I found it to be funny and engaging.  I read this series a while back while I was looking for something to introduce me to steampunk writing and I guess you could call this steampunk light. Less automatons and dirigibles, more vamps, werewolves, & ghosts. I couldn't put the first book in the series down and quickly got the rest of them.


The Victorian mannerisms almost seem like a caricature and it's funny to see characters trying to keep up their decorum in situations that definitely do not call for it.  "Mr. Vampire, if you would kindly stop trying to attack me maybe we could discuss this in a civilized manner?"  I kind of love witty banter ... the same sort of thing that makes me watch old Bogey and Bacall movies :)


I also like it when love interests infuriate each other and there's plenty of that here! A stubborn, strong willed heroine and a fiery short tempered suitor? Yes, please!  I can't wait for the next installment, Heartless, that's being published this summer!


> Cassie