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Obsidian Eyes by A.W. Exley
Published by: Curiosity Quills Press
Publication date: March 24th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Synopsis:
1836, a world of light and dark, noble and guild. The two spheres intersect when seventeen-year-old Allie Donovan is placed at the aristocratic St Matthews Academy. More at ease with a blade than a needle, she finds herself ostracised by the girls and stalked by a Scottish lord intent on learning why she is among them.
She begins to suspect the underlying reasons when soldiers arrive to see her friend, Zeb, a mechanical genius. On the hunt for answers she breaks into his underground laboratory. There, Allie discovers he is not just constructing sentient mechanical creatures, he is building a devastating new weapon for the military.
The guilds want the weapon and Allie is trapped by ties of blood. She must obey the overlord of the guild and deliver up her friend, unless she can rely on bonds of friendship, to save both their lives.
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This is the third book I've read from A.W. Exley and I was crushed when I reached the end. I was so enjoying the action, the characters, the banter between them, the camaraderie building, the hints at what is to come, etc., that I was genuinely crushed when it ended. (The other two books are the first two books in her series The Artifiact Hunters. You can find book one here: http://amzn.to/1rQlSvK.)
Allie Donovan is a mystery. Exotic in looks from her mixed heritage, mysterious from her obvious lack of social stature and yet attending a school that caters to nobility, and possessing a strong sense of self, she draws both interest and hatred immediately from her peers. As the reader, I found her practical nature mixed with her quixotic thoughts totally enchanting. She is, despite her recent years running around in Egypt, merely 17 years old, still a child, on the cusp of adulthood, and would still be prone to some fanciful thoughts.
Allie's ease with the blade, struggle to share anything from her background, and tightlipped about guild secrets as well as secrets of her own create this enigma that Jared McLaren wants to solve. Betrothed to a vile girl of noble birth, he is frustrated between duty and heart.
This book is a romantic adventure set right before Victoria is to take the throne. Full of delightful steampunk whimsies, a plot that keeps you turning the pages, and a budding romance that you are rooting for despite the complications, this book will capture you and pull you in until your fingers are just itching to pet Weasel, slap Jared, and find out what it is about that Stone that changed his family. Once again, while the book's plot finished fine, I'm left wanting more and more and more and more. A.W. Exley is a must read for me!
Thank you to the publisher for the complimentary copy.
Books and writing have always been an enormous part of Anita’s life. She survived school by hiding out in the library, with several thousand fictional characters for company. At university, she overcame the boredom of studying accountancy by squeezing in Egyptology papers and learning to read hieroglyphics.
Today, Anita writes steampunk novels with a sexy edge and an Egyptian twist. She lives in rural New Zealand surrounded by an assortment of weird and wonderful equines, felines, canine and homicidal chickens.
http://www.awexley.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6585392.A_W_Exley
https://www.facebook.com/AWExley
https://twitter.com/AWExley
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