Nefertiti’s Heart (The Artifact Hunters Book 1)
Cara Devon has always suffered curiosity and impetuousness, but tangling with a serial killer might cure that. Permanently.
1861. Cara has a simple mission in London – finalise her father’s estate and sell off his damned collection of priceless artifacts. Her plan goes awry when a killer stalks the nobility, searching for an ancient Egyptian relic rumoured to hold the key to immortality.
Nathaniel Trent, known as the villainous viscount, is relentless in his desire to lay his hands on both Cara and the priceless artifacts. His icy exterior and fiery touch stirs Cara’s demons, or could he lay them to rest?
Self-preservation fuels Cara’s search for the gem known as Nefertiti’s Heart. In a society where everyone wears a mask to hide their true intent, she needs to figure out who to trust, before she sacrifices her own heart and life.
A rollicking good read,
I rated this book at 4 1/2 stars; a really enjoyable, gripping read that I’d happily recommend. The writing is filled with vivid imagery and flows beautifully, I was drawn inside Cara’s head from the word go and couldn’t wait to find out where she was going next. The characters were all highly individual, especially the creepy pseudo-alive house which added plenty to the atmospheric setting. I loved the way the mechanicals and the Victorian setting meshed together and suspension of disbelief was a breeze. The plot was riveting, the dialogue crisp, and all the loose ends wrapped up – for now.
So why not the full 5 stars? There were a small number of proof reading misses (extra words that had been left in after the final edit) but it was two small plot points that detracted slightly from the overall experience for me. With Cara’s history of abuse, I felt she gave herself up to Nate way too fast. This is an area I know a little about, and I just didn’t quite believe it. And second, after painting Cara as such an amazing, strong, independent woman, I was disappointed that at the climax she had to be rescued by two men. I’d have liked to have seen her find her own way out, or at the very least have some sort of input in her rescue. She did a great job of delaying the villain, but then had no more to do with the dénouement.
Despite those small points, I’d highly recommend this book as a rollicking good read and I’m off now to read Hatshepsut’s Collar.
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|A fresh take on steampunk,
Sassy heroine? Check! Steampunk? Check! Dark and brooding hero with a mystery involvement? Check! Links to Egyptian history and artefacts? Check. A series of grisly murders? Check! Yes, I was one-clicking this as fast as my mouse could move!
I loved it. The story is well written and romps along at a thrilling pace, through murders and social etiquette and romance in a well-melded and perfectly balanced mix.
Cara, our heroine, is a very likeable character. She’s such a strong person but she has her vulnerable moments, usually around the dark and dashing Lord Nathaniel Lyons, but the story is carefully crafted in such a way that the reader doesn’t know until the end whether he is to be trusted or not. He’s a classic anti-hero and I love him as a character. He’s a bad dude. You don’t mess with him because you’ll die horribly. He traffics in illegal goods and sometimes he’s controlling in the way that men were back then, but it’s tempered by irrepressible charm and a desire to see Cara safe. He has his own moral code that he doesn’t step over the lines of. He’s a sky pirate. A SKY PIRATE. What’s not to love??
This isn’t “pure” steampunk, for the people that care about that sort of thing. As well as the classic steam powered gadgets, there are batteries and wind turbines, some of which power mechanical steel horses. There are the classic air ships though, which are always my favourite.
I think what I liked most about this book was that I totally didn’t see the villain coming, which is rare for me. I usually have it worked out by about 40%.
I enjoyed it enough that I finished the book and went straight and downloaded the rest of the series! Definitely recommended, particularly if you enjoy steampunk and aren’t a puritan.
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|Enjoyable Action and Romance,
The mystery aspect was well written, and enjoyed the way you got a glimpse into the killers pov. I did like Cara and thought her history was very tragic but well handled. I admired her struggle to come to grips with her past. Nate was interesting, he’s definitely a villain but our hero too, so to get that juxtaposition correct is a balancing act but it worked. While his personality is strong willed, I was slightly put off at him forcing certain things at times, though I did feel it was consistent with his character, and how he deals with all things in his life. Maybe he was what Cara needed, as no one else has tried to help and she met her match in Nate which helped her overcome her past.
All in all, a very enjoyable read.
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