Thanks to the fine folks at BookBub, I got the Kindle edition of this book for free last spring. Part of my quest with this Cannonball Read was to try out new genres and forms, so this book, the first in the Airship Racing Chronicles, fits the Steampunk bill. And you know, it was kinda fun.
As the book opens, Lily Starship and her airship crew are flying over London, racing in the Airship Grand Prix. After a thrilling finish, in which they disappointingly come in second, a mysterious man dressed as a harlequin accosts Lily, shoves a kaleidoscope down her pants, then does a swan dive off the scaffolding to his death. Intrigue! Next, Lily does what I imagine any airship captain does after such a crushing defeat: heads straight to her favorite opium den to smoke up and do the nasty with Lord Byron.
Our dear Lord Byron, after hearing her tale, suggests she go to Venice and gives her the money to do so. Once there, she discovers her family ties to a creepy and secretive ancient cult and must save their relic from greedy hands of English collectors who will do anything to find it, no matter who or what gets in the way.
I must say the pacing of this book was quite zippy as Lily searches for answers to the mysteries of the cult and her own troubled past. A flawed heroine but a relatable one, I had to admire her determination and moxie. I don’t know that I’d read any more in the series, though. Sometimes things just felt a little flat and I rarely felt myself thinking about her or her adventure when I wasn’t reading. Maybe it’s just me.
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