Review – Wolves and Daggers (Steampunk Red Riding Hood, Book 1) by Melanie Karsak (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 138 pages
Publisher: Clockpunk Press
Release Date: May 8, 2018
ASIN : B07C86DP9J
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series
Source: Borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars
“When London’s brightest tinkers and alchemists come up missing, Red Cape Society Agent Clemeny Louvel is on the case.
To help Clemeny get the problem in hand, Queen Victoria assigns her a temporary partner–a werewolf with a knightly history and a tendency to be far too flirtatious for either of their good. Can she trust him to help her chase down the monsters they’re hunting?
It’s Penny Dreadful meets Supernatural in this exciting new gaslamp urban fantasy. Wolves and Daggers retells the classic Red Riding Hood fairy tale with hefty doses of badassery and steampunk.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series. There are six books (more novella length stories) in this series and the series is complete. I borrowed this through Kindle Unlimited to read.
Story (4/5): I enjoyed this story; it’s fast-paced and full of action. Clemency is fun, tough and obviously has some issues. She is plunged into a mystery involving missing scholars and werewolves right away. I did feel like I kind of got dropped in the middle of a world I knew nothing about with very little explanation, which I imagine may be because I haven’t read the Steampunk Fairy Tales first (which were written before this series and are also part of this world). I plan going back to read those books before I read any more of this series. There is a lot of action here, a lot of mystery, and some fun paranormal races and characters.
Characters (4/5): Clemey and her partner in the Red Cape Society (Quinn) are fun and easy to engage with. Clem definitely has some rough edges; she is wickedly dismissive of other women and is constantly being told she needs a man (which she kind of agrees with). While this doesn’t make her the most endearing character, she is still fun. I love the way she cares for those that are close to her and enjoy her toughness and resourcefulness. Quinn helped to dull some of Clem’s rough edges and they worked well together. I am curious to see how things progress now that Clem is forced to work with Lionheart instead. There are a ton of interesting side characters in here too, I feel like they were probably introduced in previous steampunk fairy tales. They all seem to have complex histories that I was missing out on and are part of what makes me want to go back and read some of the earlier books written in this world.
Setting (4/5): I enjoyed the setting a lot. It’s kind of your typical steampunk paranormal London setting (I know, I read too many of these types of books if this setting is typical to me!). The setting was really well thought out and had lots of good detail on how this alternate steampunk London works and operates. It was very well done and very well described.
Writing Style (4/5): Karsak’s writing style flowed well and moved quickly. If anything it was a bit stark for me and could have used some more description. However, the style mirrors Clem’s style well and I found myself really liking the fast-paced story structure and no nonsense writing style. This book is very short (barely clearing 100 pages) but it packed a lot of story into that space and I found myself really enjoying it.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I liked this, it’s a fun and fast-paced read set in an intricate world that is well designed. The characters aren’t necessarily likable but they are interesting and entertaining and definitely have room to grow. I would recommend reading the Steampunk Fairy Tales before starting this series because I really felt like I was plopped into a full world without much intro here, also I feel like there are a lot of references to characters that probably featured in those books. I plan on going back to read the Steampunk Fairy Tales before I read anymore of this series. I would recommend to those who enjoy fast-paced steampunk paranormal reads with a heroine that is tough but not all that sympathetic to those around her. This is entertaining, quick, and packs a lot of story into a small page space.
