Early Review – The Dastardly Miss Lizzie (Electric Empire, Book 3) by Viola Carr (3.5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 464 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0062363121
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Electric Empire series
Source: eGalley from Edelweiss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
“Dr. Eliza Jekyll must turn to her dark side, Miss Lizzie Hyde, to stop a madman who’s targeting London’s most important scientists and sorcerers, terrorizing the city with dark magic, in this third Electric Empire novel—a dazzlingly original steampunk fantasy set in the gritty world of alternate Victorian London, with echoes of H. G. Wells’s classic, The Time Machine.
Being two people in one body isn’t easy. Metropolitan Police crime scene physician Eliza Jekyll is trying to maintain a semblance of control, even as her rebellious second self, Lizzie, grows increasingly wild—threatening the respectable Eliza’s reputation and her marriage to Remy Lafayette, the Royal Society investigator and occasional lycanthrope. With England on the brink of war, Remy’s away in sorcery-riddled Paris on a secretive mission that grows ever more sinister. Has he been an enemy agent all along? Or is coping with her secret divided self finally driving Eliza mad?
Eliza needs her mind clear and sharp if she’s to catch an evil genius who is killing eminent scientists. The chase uncovers a murky world of forbidden books, secret laboratories, and a cabal of fanatical inventors whose work could change the world—or destroy it—and who may hold answers to Eliza’s mysterious past.
As sorcery-wielding terrorists attack London, Eliza discovers her own enemies are closing in, driving her to desperate measures—enlisting the aid of the wily, resourceful, mercurial Lizzie—to thwart the killer. But Lizzie’s got her own life now, and true to her nature, will resort to the devious and diabolical to keep it. Even if it means throwing Eliza to the wolves, and letting the world burn. . . .”
This is the third book in the Electric Empire series. I was unable to find how many books are planned for this series, but this would be a decent book to end the series on. This was a good read, I didn’t like it as much as the first book but it was on par with the second book.
The beginning of this book was horribly slow and I really struggled with it; I almost stopped reading it a couple times. Luckily the last third or so of the book was very fast-paced and interesting, leaving me to wonder why the first part was so slow.
I think part of my issue with this book is Eliza; I enjoy her less and less as a character with each book. She just comes off as very hypocritical with the way she represses and admonishes Lizzie. I liked Lizzie a lot in this book, but unfortunately most of the book is from Eliza’s perspective.
There were a few scenes in this book where Eliza and Remy are talking politics together and these scenes were mind-numbingly boring. There is a lot of throwing around of names and discussion of things that don’t really pertain to the story.
Things are wrapped up fairly completely at the end of this book. This seems like it would be a good book to end the series on. However, I am not sure if it actually is the last book or not. I personally don’t plan on reading any more books in this series (whether or not this is the last book). The pacing in this book was too inconsistent and there were parts that were very boring.
Overall an okay read. I loved the ending but really struggled with the beginning. This wraps things up nicely. I would tentatively recommend this series if you are a fan of the whole gaslight steampunk genre. The first book was amazing and the following two books are decent enough to be entertaining.
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– New Release Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge
– Steampunk Reading Challenge
