Tag: steampunk

Posted in book review, book series, ebook, hooked on books, Indie Author

Book Review: Obsidian Eyes by A.W. Exley

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

Obsidian Eyes Book One in the Queen’s Blade Series by A.W. Exley is available in kindle and paperback.

Last Friday, I had a desire to find a book the had a strong female character, was sexy, and a little bit weird. So I decided to try one of A.W. Exley’s books. I read her Artifact Hunters series last year, and absolutely loved it, so I wanted to see if another one of her series could deliver again. It did, at least so far with the first book Obsidian Eyes.

Set just before the Victorian Age, Allie Donovan is a seventeen-year-old who is full of secrets as she attends an aristocratic school, a place she really has no business being since she’s a commoner. But her grandfather’s position as the school’s librarian gives her a way into the exclusive St. Mathew’s Academy.

Once there, Allie makes some friends and enemies as well, and also meets a young man that infuriates her as well as captivates her at the same time. But she is cautious of him, because he’s supposed to be the enemy. Allie tries to find a way to walk between her world of a commoner and guild member, and the elite gentry of England and Scotland, but it’s full of potential disasters, including her biggest secret, the man who put Allie in the exclusive school to begin with and why.

This story is full of wit, friendship, estrangement, intense action, subterfuge, political conspiracies, and steampunk brilliance. It also has a hint of the exotic as it explores some of Allie’s ties to an Egyptian harem.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. It was a little slow reading at first. Exley develops a very rich and complex background for her Heroine Allie. So I think it was a little bit of a struggle to put all the pieces together because some of the background information Exley sprinkles into the story seems a contradiction. But as the story progresses, Exley brilliantly weaves the pieces together for a very colorful and interesting past for Allie. After I hit the halfway point, I couldn’t even put the book down, and ended up finishing the book in the early hours of the morning.

So if you are looking for a book full of weird and wonderful steampunk inventions, an intense forbidden romance, and a story you simply can’t put down, try out Obsidian Eye’s.

The Queen’s Blade has two other books in the series Opaque Lies and Oubliette Lost, which I very much look forward to reading next.

Posted in author, author interview, book series, books

An Author Interview with A.W. Exley

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

Isn’t it fun to get obsessed about a book, or a book series? It’s a great feeling to get lost into something exciting. And my latest addiction happens to be A.W. Exley’s Artifact Hunters series. If you missed it, please check out my review of the first book Book Review: Nefertiti’s Heart By A.W. Exley, and earlier this week I did a review of the entire series Series Review: The Artifact Hunters. Now it’s time to get a peak at the author herself. Check it out below.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview! First, I have some questions about the Artifact Hunters series.

This is a fantastic series that brings together an amazing cast of characters. All of the characters loveable with their own quirks. Did you find one character that you liked the absolute most, and why?

Jackson! He didn’t have much of a role in the first book and he was supposed to be this thug in the background. But as the series progressed, he grew on me. He’s got this really tough exterior, and as the story unfolded, I discovered why he was like that. As Cara says he’s a crème brulee––crack that tough outer shell and he’s all soft and gooey inside LOL

I love the way you brought Cara and Nate together. Their stories so intertwined, especially once Nefertiti’s Heart became involved. What gave you the idea for this complex and fascinating artifact? And does it prolong their life in any way? How long will Cara and Nate be around (if you can say without ruining any potential new books in the series)?

Oh gosh… I wrote the book so long ago, I’m going to have to scrap the memory banks! Lol I remember trying to decide what to write and I pulled out my Egyptology books, a stack of true crime, and decided I was going to mash them together. That got me thinking about Nefertiti and what sort of artifact she would inspire. As to how long Cara and Nate might be around… I’ve tried killing them both off already and it didn’t work, so its safe to say they will be around for a bit longer yet 😉

This series is set on the backdrop of cool steampunk artifacts in the Victorian age. It’s a great world you built with lots of history, but with your own personal spin complete with mechanical hearts and beasts. Where did you get your inspiration to create this impressive world? Did you find it difficult to walk the line between fact and fiction?

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Posted in book addict, book review, books, series review

Series Review: The Artifact Hunters

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

I picked up a book in November that sent me on an exciting reading spree. I did a Book Review: Nefertiti’s Heart By A.W. Exley in November, but after finishing the series decided to contact the author directly. I loved her books so much, I wanted to find out more about them, and her. But before I post her author interview, I wanted to do a post summarizing the five books of her series.

The Artifact Hunters is a series set in the Victorian age with steampunk as the background. The two main characters are Cara Devon and Nathan Lyons. They are two members of the London peerage, but with much different backgrounds. But it’s their fighting spirit and love of adventure that draw these two together.

A series of five books showcase each of their stories, and the their combined story that throw them into some intense situations that will have you on the edge of your seat. Each book also showcases a particular artifact that either needs to be found, or stopped from creating chaos. Here’s a brief summary of each of the books.

Book 1: Nefertiti’s Heart is where the characters Cara and Nathan meet under precarious circumstances. Cara has to decide if she should trust the nefarious Lyons so she can get the money she needs to set herself up for a comfortable life. She also has to deal with her recently departed father and all the ancient artifacts he left behind. You can read more about this book through Book Review: Nefertiti’s Heart By A.W. Exley

Book 2: Hatshepsut’s Collar finds Nathan on Queen Victoria’s bad side. She’s detained Nathan in the Tower of London. Cara must decide how far she will go to help him. And when she discovers that the Queen is wearing a dangerous artifact, Cara must find away to convince the Queen to give it up. In the meantime, Nathan and Cara have a lot of trouble on their heels as they travel by airship to Russia and Siberia.

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