Hey everyone! Today I have a stop on the Skies of Gold Tour. There is a review and excerpt for you all to check out of this great Steampunk book.
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Skies of Gold
The Ether Chronicles Book 5
By: Zoe Archer
Available August 6, 2013
From Avon Impulse
ISBN (Print on Demand): 9780062241443
ISBN (e-book): 978006210963
Blurb
Two Lonely Hearts…
Kalindi MacNeil survived the devastating enemy airship attack that obliterated Liverpool, but even her engineering skills can’t seem to repair her broken heart. Seeking to put her life back together, Kali retreats to a desolate, deserted island—only to discover she’s not alone. Captain Fletcher Adams, an elite man/machine hybrid, a Man O’ War, crashed his battle-damaged airship into this deserted island after Liverpool, never expecting to survive the wreck. But survive he did.
Believing he is nothing but a living weapon, Fletcher is wary of his new-found companion—a pretty, damaged, but determined young woman. Together they are stranded on the deserted island, and it is only a matter of time until desire gets the best of both of them. Soon Kali and Fletcher find they may be just what the other needed. But a danger from beyond the island puts them to the test. Will it rip them apart or bond their hearts forever?
My Review
Kali survived an attack on Liverpool that killed many and destroyed the place. She survives but she is not whole. Going to a deserted island she hopes to reconnect with her self, heal and work on her inventions. She thinks she is alone till she finds out she isn't the only survivor seeking refruge. Fletcher is a captain of one of the airships that help save lives in Liverpool. It crash landed on the island and he never thought he would live. He isn't your normal man as he is a hybrid that is part machine. he is a Man O' War and really wanted to give up. When they come together they both realize they do have things to live for and some of those things may just be each other. When someone comes to the island looking for Fletcher they know their time is up. They have to work together to help save many lives. The danger is steep and not only are their hearts in the line but their love for each other as well.
Kali at first is so beat down by what's happened. You can see she struggle with all that happened to her. You can't call her weak by any means as she could have went home to her parents but chose to heal on her own. She is very smart and a hard worker. Fletcher is also beat down but for different reasons. He thinks he doesn't help anyone and wants to give up. He has been done wrong in the past and that left a mark in him as well. He is also so sexy and he is protective of Kali but he doesn't coddle her. These two are great at helping each other.
Get ready to take a trip to the wonderful world of steampunk. I love this genre of books and sometime they fall flat. Not this one. This is how adult steampunk should be done. Great inventions, action, love, danger and a sexy hybrid I would love to tinker with. Oh yeah this book has it all. You get to know the characters as you read on an inside level. You really get to see what they are about and how they feel. I love how both Kali and Fletcher help each other and show each other what it means to live. There is some sexy scenes as well if you like that in a book and one scene where if I was Kali I would have needed a cold shower after getting caught in a storm. Fletcher may be part machine but he really is all man. I like how the author lets you get to see the two main characters then you really get the action as danger appears. This book is very easy to read but hard to put down. You don't want to put it down. If you love steampunk pick this up right away. If you haven't read one before do so now with this one. The book is a great one for all who love a great love story as well.
5 out of 5 Stars
Excerpt
At least he didn’t press her with questions—what had brought her here, how long she planned on staying. And she wouldn’t ask him the same questions.
Still, she couldn’t help her curiosity. He wore a long navy coat, patched in places and a little threadbare, with tarnished buckles. Standard naval issue. All of his clothing seemed clean but slightly ragged, from his linen shirt, to the buckskin breeches clinging tightly to his dense, burly thighs, to the scuffed tall boots, stained with seawater.
Was he a disgraced sailor? A deserter? Or one who’d left the navy but kept some of the trappings.
Whoever he was, he continued to stare at her as if she’d descended from the sky on iron wings. Well, he hadn’t looked in disgust at her artificial leg, and he wasn’t leering at her, either. Two small elements in his favor.
“You’ve got an odd voice,” he said suddenly.
“And you’re an expert conversationalist,” she retorted.
A slight ruddy color stained his cheeks above his beard. “Been a while since I had company. But”—he narrowed his eyes, thoughtful—“I hear a burr in your accent, and a lilt of Hindi, too.”
She tried to hide her surprise. “My father’s Scottish. Maa’s from Nagpur.”
He nodded contemplatively. “Bit of Scouse in there, too.”
Here was another shock. She’d only lived in Liverpool for five years, but apparently it had been enough to give her accent some color. A perceptive man, this wild former sailor. Unease crept through her belly. She’d come here to be alone, not to think of the past, but those plans were crumbling apart.
“The last place I lived was Liverpool,” she said cautiously. She could turn and flee, ending the conversation, but even under good conditions, her prosthetic didn’t let her run fast. This stranger could easily catch her. The length of his stride was twice her own. Maybe more.
He was silent, however, for a long moment. Then, “The Battle of Liverpool. You were there.”
Her left leg suddenly ached, and the air in her lungs turned brittle. “And I survived. Which is more than I can say for more than half the people with me on the ground.”
Images, sounds, smells—phantom senses assaulted her.
Hapsburg and Russian airships, captained by Man O’ Wars, dropping explosive devices upon the city, setting everything ablaze. Flattening buildings and crushing the men, women, and children within them. Screams. Cries. The useless clanging of the fire brigades’ bells. Seafaring ships at dock turned to charred, sunken wrecks. The British Man O’ Wars and their airships arrived quickly, and they’d fought the enemy in the skies above Liverpool—something mythical and terrible straight from the Mahabharata.
Trapped beneath a collapsed wall, Kali had seen it all. The bursts from ether cannons. Airships plunging out of the sky, crashing into the rubble as the men within shouted in terror. She’d watched the world become a fiery hell. She’d seen, too, the remaining British ships destroy or chase off the enemy vessels. Until loss of blood had claimed her consciousness. And her leg.
“It’s still a smoking ruin,” she said. Just as she was. “There’s no Liverpool left in Liverpool. And the navy lost a lot of airships that day.” She stared at the man, his face ashen.
“The sun’s going down,” he growled. “Better get back to wherever it is you’re staying.”
Without another word, the big man turned and strode away. The mists engulfed him, and in an instant, he’d vanished. She couldn’t even hear his footsteps. It was as though he’d never been there.
Kali was many things, but never fanciful. She hadn’t imagined the meeting and conversation with the stranger. He’d left giant footprints in some of the mud amongst the rocks. So he was real. But her exploration of the island had left her with more questions than answers. Who was he? Why had he run away so abruptly? It had to have been his home casting the light—but why did his house hum?
It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. She was here to be alone. He didn’t concern her.
Whoever the man was, though, he’d spoken truly. Daylight didn’t last long this far north. And the mists still hadn’t cleared. The safest thing to do was retrace her steps.
Carefully, she made her way back, taking extra care not to get her prosthetic leg caught in the uneven terrain.
He clearly wanted to be left alone. Just as she did. They could share this island without actually sharing it—couldn’t they?
Yet if she’d come to Eilean Comhachag in search of peace, she knew now she wasn’t going to find it.
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Author Info
Zoë Archer has always loved stories of adventure, but she didn’t love how most of the women depicted in these stories had a nasty habit of screaming, fainting, being kidnapped by the bad guys, pulling the wrong lever, falling overboard, and generally being pains in the butt. So when it came time for Zoë to write her stories of adventure and romance, she wanted to make sure that her heroines were just as kick-ass and capable as the heroes, and that the heroes loved them for it—which is exactly what she writes. From historical paranormal adventure, to steampunk, to sci-fi, to historical romance, Zoë writes confident heroines and sexy heroes in waistcoats and tall boots.
For her novel REBEL, she received a RITA Award nomination for Best Paranormal Romance. Her historical romance LADY X’S COWBOY won the Book Buyers Best Award for Best Historical & Regency Romance. SCOUNDREL also received a starred review and Pick of the Week from Publisher’s Weekly.
Zoë earned her MFA in Fiction from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, but she’s lived almost her entire life in California. In fact, she and her husband, fellow romance author Nico Rosso, currently live in Los Angeles. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys baking, spending too much time on the Internet, and attempting to amass the world’s largest boot collection.
Author Links
Zoe Archer
Nico Rosso
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