By Nancy Campbell Allen
Hazel Hughes enjoys her work healing alongside Dr. Sam MacInnes and is grateful for his friendship and kindness, even as she wishes that a romantic relationship with him were possible. But she knows she's not his equal socially, and so she contents herself with work and learning. Her life takes a drastic turn, however, when Dravor Pretescu, a Romanian count, comes to London, finds Hazel, and tells her that she is his niece and has a twin sister who is gravely ill and needs Hazel's help. Hazel has long had visions of her twin, without understanding what they mean, and while she senses something isn't quite right with the count, she also can't leave her sister to suffer.
When Hazel agrees to travel to Romania, there's no way Sam is going to let her go without him. He trusts the count even less than Hazel does, and as he and Hazel work together to try to figure out his secrets, he finds his underlying attraction to Hazel growing even more; she's beautiful and intelligent and his perfect match--but if they're going to have a shot at a future together, first they have to save her sister--and possibly themselves.
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters--Sam and Hazel are both smart, capable people who understand the value of knowledge and learning. (Maybe it's the former librarian in me, but I loved their many forays to the library!) I liked seeing how they worked together and depended on and trusted each other.
The pacing was really good and the story moved steadily. This is an interesting mix of genres--romance, steampunk, fantasy, mystery, etc.--but it works well. I'm not really a steampunk fan, but I've enjoyed this series because it focuses on the characters and plot with the steampunk elements complimenting the story, not overwhelming it. I did feel like the ending was a little quick--at 93% finished, I was really worried there was going to be a cliffhanger ending because it didn't seem like it could wrap well in the remaining pages. It did have a good ending but it was a little rushed. Although this is the third book in a series, I think it can be read as a stand-alone.
4 stars.
I read an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Expected publication date: August 6, 2019
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