Lady Claire is back with her horde of children, defending
her patch of London with lightening and bombs, if necessary. But far more
fraught than keeping her squad of gamblers safe on the mean streets of London
is negotiating the pitfalls of marriage.
Because her erstwhile employer and frequent foe, Lord
Selwyn has proposed to her. And it seemed like such a good idea at the time
that she found herself saying yes. Unfortunately, it’s never that simple –
especially since she still holds on to the desperate ambition of attending
university and becoming and engineer, something that becomes all the more ideal
after the help she gives Andrew in his device for improving coal.
Despite her unorthodox successes in the lab, she is denied the kudos due to her because she is a woman – and it’s clear that both her mother and Lord Selwyn will see her dragged down the aisle sooner rather than later. And once married not only will her future as an engineer be lost – but so too will her connection with the children she has promised to protect.
Like
the first book in this series, this book was just fun. Fluffy? Yes. A little
silly? Certainly. Not hugely deep? Perhaps so. But it was immense fun. It was a
book you could happily lay back with and read cover to cover with a big smile
on your face. It was fun, it was funny, it was light, it was interesting, it
was a thoroughly enjoyable read.
And the protagonist is excellent. Of course, part of that is for the social justice issues she fights and faces around class and sexism and her wilful battle against the forces that oppress her. But ultimately, she’s excellent because she’s fun as well. She’s one of those protagonists you can really get behind. From the very first page you’re rooting for her, you’re on her side and cheering for her to succeed. When someone angers or offends her, you’re angry and offended on her behalf. When she wins you celebrate her victory. She carries you into the story which is the number one priority of any protagonist.
The story itself is nicely put together. The pacing is
great with no lags or down time and, similarly, no rushing, skipping or
skimming. It was also intriguing and unpredictable, for so much of the book I
didn’t know what Claire was going to do and why and didn’t predict her path or
anything like the ending (which had some excellent twists to it). There was
never a point when I wanted to put the book down and I resented any interruptions
that pulled me away and, as I said, the story quickly got me emotionally
invested.
Does it rely on amazingly fortuitous events falling into place just so? Yes, it does. It’s a feel good story of joy and success – it’s not gritty, it’s not meant to be. It’s fun – and if part of that fun requires a pretty major stroke of luck or some coincidences coming together, well, sit back and enjoy the damn fun already.
Despite the fluff and the fun, this book does a good job
of addressing some important social justice issues, better than the last book
(where Claire’s rise from poverty was a little too lucky and easy). Now
established, we don’t see the miraculous rise from poverty, but as she moves
more in her old circles – including with her mother and her fiancé – we do see
the naked classism that was so prevalent. The fact the children she looks after
are orphans earns no pity, the fact she feels invested in them or their future
doesn’t matter. The fact these children will have nowhere else to go means
nothing to her noble peers. They’re “alley mice” and not worthy of time and
attention. Whenever Claire “forces” the children on her noble connections they
are brushed aside as much as possible, to servants quarters if possible or out
of their lives entirely if they can. Without breaking the fluff and fun of the
book, it starkly addresses how these children are simply not seen as people –
and contrasts that with a missing noble child that all society pities and
worries over.
And on the servants we also see 2 servants in love but
putting aside – and even burying – their love as hopeless since they both have positions.
Love is a luxury consideration that is much more secondary to a secure position
that will put food on the table.
Which brings us to a major issue covered in this book
which is the sexism of the time. Claire’s repeated desire to study to become an
engineer is mocked and never taken seriously despite her clear talent and mind.
Her mother has an overwhelming obsession to marry Claire off and Claire even
accepts a proposal for marriage simply because the cachet of being the first in
her circle to marry is so high that it would be unthinkable for her, with so
few prospects, to turn it down. Claire is never taken seriously and is outright
denied her rightful recognition as an inventor and as an engineer simply
because she is a woman. In the end this cumulates into Claire almost being
forced down the aisle whether she wants to go or not.
In terms of minority inclusion, one of the children under
her control, Trigg, is POC - he also
seems to be taking the most pro-active and involved role and following her down
her path as an engineer. There are still no GBLT characters.
So far, both the books in this trilogy have been more than
worth buying. They’re great fun, extremely feel-good reads that make you share
all of the protagonists journeys and victories. They’re an excellent steampunk
series and I can’t wait for book 3.
(Side note - while the cover is gorgeous I do have to ask - who on Earth is this woman supposed to be?)
