Book Review: Gossamer Wing

Author: Delphine Dryden
Publication Date: November 5, 2013
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Series: Steam and Seduction # 1

A Spy. An Airship. And a Broken Heart.

After losing her husband to a rogue French agent, Charlotte Moncrieffe wants to make her mark in international espionage. And what could be better for recovering secret long-lost documents from the Palais Garnier than her stealth dirigible, Gossamer Wing? Her spymaster father has one condition: He won’t send her to Paris without an ironclad cover.

Dexter Hardison prefers inventing to politics, but his title as Makesmith Baron and his formidable skills make him an ideal husband-imposter for Charlotte. And the unorthodox undercover arrangement would help him in his own field of discovery.

But from Charlotte and Dexter’s marriage of convenience comes a distraction—a passion that complicates an increasingly dangerous mission. For Charlotte, however, the thought of losing Dexter also opens her heart to a thrilling new future of love and adventure.

In the sky, things were quiet. Cold, and sometimes uncomfortable, but blessedly quiet except for the intermittent rush of the gas feed and the occasional radio transmission.

It looked more fantasy than machine.

Silence. It was so rare, so precious.

Political marriages are hardly uncommon in these modern times.

This brand new series by Delphine Dryden is called Steam and Seduction, and focuses around two of my favorite things: steampunk and a steamy love story! This action-packed adventure trails Charlotte Moncrieffe, a recent widow, who wants to continue her husband’s work as a spy. Charlotte is a pilot of the Gossamer Wing, and she plans to go to France to recover some long-lost documents; however, her father will not allow her to travel alone. So to please her father and still get to continue her journey, it is proposed that she marry Baron Dexter Hardison, as a sham, thus allowing her a cover for traveling through France on her mission. They’re the perfect pair really, and Charlotte begins to see this a little too clearly when she starts to develop feelings for her fake new husband!

I have been on the Steampunk wagon for about two years now. I love the fantastical world, the Victorian era, and all the steam-powered locomotives and other new-fangled toys. Dryden has built a beautiful world in this book that I am anxious to read more about in the rest of the series. Her creative abilities are endless, and while reading I spent most of my time trying to picture all the scenes, characters, and inventions that she was describing. She adds an exciting historical twist to the story that should be fun for any and all history fans as well. She writes this world as if America lost the Revolutionary War and are still under British rule!

Please do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this book today and delight yourself in a brand new series that is sure to be a major hit with readers!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Berkley in exchange for my honest review***