Monday, June 24, 2013

Her Ladyship's Curse by Lynn Viehl (Steam punk, Paranormal)

Her Ladyship's Curse is a book set in an alternate history where the United States lost the Revolutionary war and thus we are still ruled by England.   Women are still treated as chattel and have very few rights and privileges.  Magic works in this universe and the technology is consistent with the steam punk genre.

A young woman who is a disbeliever in magic, Charmian "Kit" Kittrege has set herself up as an investigator of sorts, though most folks hire her to remove curses, she sees her job as finding out what the real problem is and fixing it for them.

Lady Diana Walsh visits her office and asks for her help.   It seems that she is being attacked at night and insulting words are being carved into her person.  She can't tell her husband or family, so asks Kit to investigate and end this curse for her.  

Kit agrees to help the woman, but things get complicated, not the least because of the fact that she is a commoner interacting with the aristocracy.   Since she has no male to protect her, she is vulnerable to accusations that she might not otherwise face.   In addition, she has attracted the attention of two very different men, one, a death mage and the other a police inspector who each add their own level of complexity to her life.

No matter, whatever the others say, Kit can not see abandoning Lady Diana to the vicious attacks.

This was a wonderful tale with complex world building and characters that jumped right off the page for me.   There were aspects to the steam punk technology that were unique to any that I have previously read and very interesting.   I loved the web of friendship and loyalty that Kit had, despite her being largely alone in the world and the idea of her bartering in her business transactions, thus gaining favors from people that would be useful to her later.

I am very much looking forward to seeing more of these stories!  An Excellent Read!

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