Dru Pagliassotti

I was not totally lost by reading the third volume of three before the first two, but it may have been easier to discern the characters traits and their behaviors having some background history. Some authors give a brief catch-up for those of us just climbing aboard the airship, this may have benefited from that at the beginning. Lots of action, some romantic tension and oodles of fun. Imagine a battle with cannon and flamethrowers between airships. Wee-dogies! My thanks to the author and LibraryThing for a complimentary copy.… (mere)

This was an excellent conclusion to this steampunk series. There is a lot of action and intrigue and things are tied up nicely. While I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first two books (too much politics and war), it was still well done. You definitely want to read the two previous books in the series before reading this one, this book does not stand alone well.

Taya and Cristof are being sent to Alzana to try and prevent a war between Alzana and Ondinium. Enroute they are ambushed and are wrongly accused of killing the Alzanan rulers. They end up on the run with an Alzanan princess and find out that both Alzana and Ondinium are preparing ancient machines for war. Taya and crew end up in Cabisi and find out that Cabisi has been selling dangerous war tech to the Alzanans. Can Taya and Cristoff figure out a way to prevent Alzana from decimating Ondinium?

The book is very fast-paced with our heroes racing from one disaster to another with no breaks. There are a lot of politics and a lot of war scenes.

I continue to enjoy the unique world that this story is set in. I also really enjoy Taya and Cristof as character; they have a wonderful and respectful relationship together. I was a bit disappointed that we spent so much time racing between one disaster to another and less time exploring the interesting parts, cultures, and inventions of this world.

Things are wrapped up very nicely and I enjoyed how everything played out.

Overall a solid conclusion to this unique steampunk fantasy series. I really enjoyed the characters and the world, but thought the pace was almost too fast. Our characters are just thrown from one dire situation to another the whole book without any breaks for character development. I would recommend if you enjoy fantasy steampunk reads that tend a bit more towards epic fantasy in style.… (mere)

Taya and Cristof are sent to Alzana as ambassadors to try to avert the coming war. However, the Alzanan nobility rise up against their king and frame Taya and Cristof for the assassination of the royal family. Taya and Cristof are forced to flee Alzana in an ancient ornithopter. Low on fuel, they land in Cabiel to refuel and repair their ship, where they learn that the Alzanans have purchased advanced weaponry from the Cabisi. Taya and Cristof must hurry back to Ondinium to warn the Council before the Alzanan army invades.

I loved this book, from the aerial battles to the sightseeing and shopping trips in Cabiel to Taya playing matchmaker for Lieutenant Amcathra.… (mere)