Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Doctor

SERIES:  Magic & Steam

AUTHOR:  C.S. Poe

PUBLISHER:  Emporium Press

LENGTH:  2xx pages

RELEASE DATE:  May 26, 2022

BLURB:

1882—Magic caster and Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Magic and Steam, Gillian Hamilton, has been stripped of his title, badge, and freedom. Gillian’s true name and powers have been exposed, so now he’s being kept under lock and key. To make a tragedy worse, Gunner the Deadly has returned to his life out in the Wild West and has not been heard from since.

Rumors of a doctor, known only as Sawbones, with access to illegal magic, has persisted into the new year. Gillian believes that violence, chaos, and certain death will befall New York City if this criminal isn’t apprehended. And despite having lost his sense of purpose, Gillian knows he’s the only one capable of confronting this new madman—with or without the backing of the FBMS.

But such dangers should never be undertaken alone. Gillian will need both Gunner’s deadeye marksmanship, as well as his love, if he’s to detain Sawbones before irreparable damage is done to the magic of his world.

REVIEW:

Note:  This is the third book in the series and cannot be read as a standalone.  Please read this series in order to appreciate these characters.

Ok, well I don’t feel like I can say too much about this book plot without being spoilery, so I’ll settle on a few high points.  First, the cliffhanger ending of The Gangster had me all kinds of worried.   Turns out with good reason.  Gunnar and Gillian are separated at the end of that book and Gillian ends up captured and held on Blackwell’s Island with the criminally insane.  He’s tried to escape but to no avail.  Unexpected help shows up, but things are not what they appear to be.  Addison O’Dea his old friend in the bower helps, but when Gillian is doing what he can to try to stop the madness, it turns out that he’s misplaced his trust.  Only with Gunnar’s help can he attempt to stop and even more deadly foe in Sawbones.

Holy hell batman!!  I did not expect all this.  Each book in this series ramps up the stakes.  I thought the cliffhanger for the last book was something, but this?  Man, oh man, C.S. Poe knows how to torture/entice her readers!  I guess I didn’t realize that this was going to be a five-book series and I don’t know how she’s going to up the ante with the next book, but I am here for it.  This book was a crazy ride and I felt like I couldn’t read it fast enough.  I just wanted to zoom ahead to make sure that Gillian/Simon was going to survive all this.  This, more than any of the author’s other series has a pace that seems to increase with each book.  I’m a bit worried about the next two books to be honest!  Not sure my heart can take it if things are leveled up two more times.  I am a complete sucker for the broken and underdog character and Gillian has that in spades.  He’s a survivor and he’s been through more than any person should be.  This series is fire and I cannot wait for the next book.  The character development of both Gunnar and Gillian are greatly enhanced in this book as we learn much more about their pasts and how that has affected them.  I couldn’t believe the ending and I hope the next book is out soon!

RATING: 

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