Review – A Whisper of Bone (Elemental Steampunk Tale, Book 6) by Anne Renwick (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Anne Renwick
Release Date: March 7, 2023
ASIN: B0BPZYS5PH
Stand Alone or Series: 6th book in the Elemental Steampunk Tales
Source: Bought ebook for Kindle
Rating: 4/5 stars
“After years of avoiding his family, cryptobiologist Ryan Nolan returns to New Haven to investigate rumors of a dragon sighting. Yet instead of a giant mythological lizard, he stumbles upon a dead body. Connecting the murder to missing Mexican artifacts leads him on a path straight back to his long-lost love, Charlotte.
Charlotte Reid has never been one to shy away from a challenge. As a bone hunter in the Wild West and a paleontologist in the East, she has a taste for adventure. But when secretive neighbors move in next door, and strange groundhogs invade her backyard, she finds herself in the middle of a cryptozoological conspiracy.
As their feelings for each other emerge stronger than ever before, the duo must pair Charlotte’s knowledge of the past with Ryan’s expertise in the present to uncover the truth. Encountering unimaginable dangers in their search for clues, will their bond be strong enough to survive the unknown?”
Series Info/Source: This is the sixth book in the Elemental Steampunk Tales. This series is a set of loosely connected stories that is set in the Elemental Steampunk world but features a couple that hasn’t been featured in the series before. I bought this on ebook for my Kindle.
Thoughts: This was a well done continuation of this series. It unites two characters who have a history together in a mystery to find a giant mythological lizard and stop a series of crimes.
This story is told from Ryan and Charlotte’s POV. Ryan is a cryptobiologist who is trying to hunt down the elusive Culebre (an ancient winged Mexican dragon) and Charlotte is an archaeologist trying to prove that mammals can have feathers. They both get embroiled in a mystery around strange goings-on and mangled groundhogs. On their way to uncovering the truth they reignite their past relationship as well.
I always enjoy how Renwick incorporates a lot of science into her stories. I love reading about cryptozoology and really enjoyed the heavy themes of that here. I also love that she features strong women who have solid careers. Both the characters in this book were wonderful to follow; they have a strong sense of self. I love that they respect each other for their respective careers even before re-visiting a mutual attraction.
I did have some small issues with this book. I thought the plot felt a bit forced and hard to follow at times. I also thought that some of the scientific explanations got a bit too detailed and bogged down the flow of the story. This wasn’t the easiest story for me to stay engaged in and read, although I still had fun reading it.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I really enjoyed the themes of this story and the characters. Renwick really differentiates herself as a writer by bringing a lot of scientific aspects into her historical paranormal steampunk books. I did struggle to stay engaged with the plot here, it felt a bit thin and contrived. Part of that may be because it’s been quite some time since I read the last book in this series. I would recommend all of the Elemental Steampunk books if you enjoy all things science and steampunk and don’t mind some romance. The books vary a bit in writing quality but are always fun reads.
