Review – Forged by Desire (London Steampunk, Book 4) by Bec McMaster (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk/Romance
Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: September 2, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1402291913
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the London Steampunk series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This was another very engaging and well done book in this series. This series is heavy on the romance but there was also a lot of mystery, paranormal, and steampunk elements in this book. I have really enjoyed the last two books in this series and am excited to read what sounds like is going to be the concluding book, Silk and Steam.

This book follows the story of Perry and Garrett, two of the Nighthawks we meet in the previous book. Perry has been in love with Garrett for years and her actions in the last book definitely caught Garrett’s attention. Now rather than just being good friends Garrett is realizing that he might want more with Perry. However nothing is ever easy. When multiple cases of murdered debutantes come to light Perry realizes that a creepy figure from her past that she thought long dead might be stalking the streets again. On top of this Garrett has never fully recovered from his injuries in the last book and his craving virus levels are skyrocketing…driving him closer and closer to the Fade.

As with all of these book the two main characters, Perry and Garrett, have wonderful chemistry together and are a pleasure to read about.

Perry is incredibly tough as one of the few women vampires in the country, she also has a complicated history she has always kept hidden. We learn her history in this book as a series of murders bring everything back to haunt her.

Garrett came off as rather jovial and light-hearted in the last book. However in this book we learn his past as well and it’s not pretty. He is also struggling and losing a battle with his rising CV levels.

There are more steampunk elements in this book than in the first two books of the series. There is some about mechanical hearts and amazing inventions that could potentially help to fight the craving virus.

There is also an excellent mystery as Garrett tries to unravel Perry’s secrets and as they both try to figure out who this mysterious murderer is.

Overall this was a wonderfully engaging read. This is a wonderful mystery with steampunk elements that is heavy on the romance. The two main characters have excellent chemistry and are very engaging to read about. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of this series or fans of Kristen Callihan’s Darkest London series. I still think Meljean Brook’s Iron Seas series is a better steampunk romance series, the world-building in that series is just so spectacular. However, the London Steampunk series is also a very engaging read and well done, I would recommend to fans of steampunk with romance in it.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge