Reviewed by Sid

TITLE: Clockwork Tangerine

AUTHOR: Rhys Ford

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 90 Pages

BLURB: The British Empire reigns supreme, and its young Queen Victoria has expanded her realm to St. Francisco, a bustling city of English lords and Chinese ghettos. St. Francisco is a jewel in the Empire’s crown and as deeply embroiled in the conflict between the Arcane and Science as its sister city, London—a very dark and dangerous battle.

Marcus Stenhill, Viscount of Westwood, stumbles upon that darkness when he encounters a pack of young bloods beating a man senseless. Westwood’s duty and honor demand he save the man, but he’s taken aback to discover the man is Robin Harris, a handsome young inventor indirectly responsible for the death of Marcus’s father.

Living in the shadows following a failed coup, Robin devotes his life to easing others’ pain, even though his creations are considered mechanical abominations of magicks and science. Branded a deviant and a murderer, Robin expects the viscount to run as far as he can—and is amazed when Marcus reaches for him instead.

REVIEW:

Steampunk is a genre that is very new to me. I have never read a single book till date and after reading this book I feel like I have been introduced to the darker side. And this side of the world is definitely exciting!

Clockwork Tangerine is a forbidden love story of Marcus and Robin. While Marcus belongs to a wealthy, aristocrat family, Robin Harris is considered a Sodomite of the society, whose invention brought about the fall of previous government. The man is hated by many even though he wasn’t directly related to the attacks. But the attack had caused deaths and Marcus’s father is among the ones who had gotten killed.

The book begins with Marcus rescuing this handsome man being beaten up by some ruthless men on the streets. Robin loses his consciousness soon after but Marcus cares for him selflessly even though he recognizes Robin to be the murderer of his own father. But the attraction toward the handsome man is undeniable. After days when Robin wakes up, he finds a strange man in his house. After he comes to know who Marcus is, especially the fact about Marcus’ father, Robin is ready to bet the attraction he develops toward the man would be one-sided only. However, it surprises him when Marcus offers to introduce him to his grandmother!

Marcus’ grandmother was a fine lady, I thought. Being so open-minded in an era when everything different was frowned upon, got my respect for her. Marcus looks up to her opinion and when she approves of their relationship, given the fact, he is overjoyed!

Robin knows it would be difficult for them to survive if the secret of their relationship came out. I loved to see that the men were worried for the other, rather than themselves. I really adored Marcus when he told his grandmother he didn’t care about his reputation. And I sort of just melted when he says this to Robin when the latter expresses his concern –

“… I told you, I know what I’m risking. And that is you. If I don’t do this – if I don’t spend my life listening to you, breathing you in … waking up next to you, then I’ve lost everything. That is what I am risking – a life without the man who makes me feel alive.”

The book was a page-turner and I think the pages went into flames by the time these men had sex. Oh lord! That was one of the best sex scenes I’ve ever read I think. Kudos to the writer for getting me all sweaty and restless by the mere description of their action time. But then again, the concept of forbidden love always has a distinct hotness to it 😉 So, in that case, double kudos to Rhys Ford! Especially since she walked me through a world totally unknown to me and made me like it. After all, firsts are always memorable aren’t they?

RATING:

BUY LINKS: Dreamspinner Press  ::  Amazon US  ::  ARe