Review – Lycans and Legends (Steampunk Red Riding Hood, Book 6) by Melanie Karsak (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 212 pages
Publisher: Clockpunk Press
Release Date: April 27, 2019
ASIN : B07ND7JLN4
Stand Alone or Series: 6th book in the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series
Source: Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Someone is trying to assassinate the Queen.
After stopping a mysterious preternatural assailant wielding an enchanted dagger, Clemeny is on the hunt. Why is someone after Victoria? To find answers, Clemeny Louvel must travel to the one place she’s been avoiding, the Summer Country. Among the mist and standing stones, secrets about her case—and herself—are hiding. An ancient grudge with roots deep in the heart of Britannia is about to unfold on the Victorian stage.
Unless Clemeny can stop it first.”
Series Info/Source: This is the sixth (and final) book in the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series. I borrowed this through Kindle Unlimited.
Story (4/5): When Clemeny finds out a dark elf is trying to kill the Queen for a magical artifact, she ends up having to journey to the Summer Country to track the dark elf down. There she not only helps to save England but finds out the secrets of her past. I enjoyed this quite a bit. I loved that Clemeny finally learns about her past and thought the incorporation of various Arthurian elements was well done. My only complaint is that this huge climatic reveal happened so quickly and abruptly that it felt almost anti-climatic.
Characters (4/5): As mentioned above I loved that we finally get to find out Clemeny’s secrets, although they were huge secrets that were revealed in a somewhat anticlimactic way. I do wish that Loveheart had been in the story a bit more; he supposed to be the love of Clemeny’s life but he kind of pops in and out of the story. I felt like I didn’t know him as well as I would have liked to, we got to know Edwin way better and he was just kind of brushed to the side. Harper is also kind of off on the sidelines, which was a bit disappointing as well.
Setting (3/5): The setting was a bit confusing this time, Clemency does a lot of traveling between various places in England and they aren’t easy to distinguish. I was happy that she finally got to travel to the Summer Country but then disappointed that it was very well described and that we spent so little time there. The settings were fine but probably the weakest in this series so far.
Writing Style (3/5): I felt like this whole book was rushed and that maybe Karsak just got sick of writing about Clemeny. Everything feels a bit slapped together. The major elements of the story are wrapped up fine and I really loved the inclusion of the Arthurian elements. I also love that the Pellinors are back in the story (these characters are from Karsak’s “Golden Braids and Dragon Blades” novel). The action is still decently done and the pace is fast (too fast at some points). I have mixed feelings about this book; I loved some stuff about it but found other elements kind of disappointing.
My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a decent conclusion to this series but a weaker book in the series as well. I love some of the secrets that were revealed and really enjoyed where the story went but felt like everything was really rushed. There are some seriously big revelations that just feel like they weren’t given a lot of weight in the book and it made a lot of the story feel anti-climatic, when it should have been exciting. Of course read this if you are finishing up the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series.
Right now I am uncertain on whether or not I will continue reading Karsak’s books. I enjoy them but the writing quality is also really uneven. I wanted to check out both her Airship Racing Chronicles and her Chancellor Fairy Tales, but now I am not sure if I want to get involved in another series by her or not.
