God Save the Queen
2012

Ratings9

Average rating3.6

15

This was a fun romp of a book! While God Save the Queen is definitely an urban fantasy, any steampunk elements seem to be more incidental then anything else. That's not to say this is a bad thing and the alternate reality in which the story takes place does a fantastic job of explaining the technology and customs of the day, and why they work for the world it's placed in.

While I liked the main character, she's frankly overpowered. You never feel as if she's really in any danger. She's far to ‘kick-ass' for that, as she's fond of saying herself. She's well fleshed out though, and her attitudes and actions come off as believable and understandable. And despite her overpowered status, she's fun to read about, so it's easy to overlook.

There is a lot of cursing thrown nonchalantly into the book, and while this isn't something I minded at all (it's the kind of smarmy, smart aleck kind of speech that most twenty year olds have currently) people with overly tender ears probably won't like it. And while there is the occasional sex scene, they are never graphic or described with any kind of detail.

The story itself moves along quickly, and I never felt myself growing bored with it. Every chapter ends in a way that makes you want to keep reading, without feeling like they're all ending cheap cliff hangers. With an interesting cast of characters and intriguing events to keep the pace going, I enjoyed every minute I spent with this book. That being said, it's a fairly quick read, which definitely works in its favor!

Overall, the weird combination of a present day, yet Victorian twinged paranormal world with a splash of steampunk for spunk works well. While it's certainly not a perfect novel, and definitely not deep or thoughtful, it was fun- And sometimes that's all that counts! I'd definitely recommend this to any fan of urban fantasy with a bit of light steampunk, and I for one will be picking up the next in the series.

November 19, 2013