Review – Treasure, Darkly (The Treasure Chronicles, Book 1) by Jordan Elizabeth (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 289 pages
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Release Date: February 15, 2015
ASIN: B00TOV9A6Q
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Treasure Chronicles series
Source: eGalley from Publisher for review
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I got a copy of this book from the publisher to review (thank you to Curiosity Quills Press for forwarding a copy on when I kind of didn’t download it from NetGalley before it was archived). I really enjoyed this book a lot. There is a lot of action and adventure, some magic, and tons of wonderfully western steampunk goodness.

Clark Treasure stole a bottle of what he thought was absinthe off of one of his mother’s customers. Well, it ended up being something else…something that made Clark very hard to kill and gave him the ability to raise the dead. It also made it so that Clark is being hunted down by the military who wants to use him for his ability. When Clark finds out his unknown father is the famous General Treasure he goes to the General’s home seeking protection.

However, Clark was not counting on a ghost haunting him to demand Clark retrieve his inventions which are being weaponized by General Treasure’s rival Horus. Clark did also not count on the beautiful and spunky Amethyst Treasure who is set on making her summer away from the city something to remember.

This was a very well written and entertaining read. I read this book very quickly, it was engaging and incredibly hard to put down.

Clark has such a good ole’ noble cowboy tone to him, but with a dangerous roguish edge. He has a great sense of humor, has some interesting magical abilities, and is just all around fun to read about.

I loved the rest of the Treasure family as well; they are surprisingly supportive of Clark (well most of them are) and very entertaining.

There is some great world-building here. The story has a very old-west feel to it, however in this alternate old west there has been a technological revolution. The result is a number of crazy contraptions and high tech inventions that you don’t expect to see in a western.

The story wrapped up nicely and I am very eager to read more about the adventures of Clark and Amethyst and about this fascinating world.

Overall I absolutely loved this book. The story is fast-paced and engaging. It’s a wonderful blend of steampunk, fantasy, and western with tons of excellent action. I loved the characters as well. The story balances action, adventure, politics, mystery, and romance in perfect proportions. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of alternate history, steampunk or fantasy with a western feel to it. I can’t wait to read Born of Treasure when it releases in September!

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