Book Review: Tethered

Tethered

By:  Meljean Brook

Publisher:  Penguin

Publish Date:  July 3, 2012

Format:  eARC of novella ~ Novella included in back of 2nd book, Heart of Steel

Genre:  Steampunk, Romance

Series:  2.5 in The Iron Seas series; Book 1.5 ~ Mina Wentworth and the Invisible City

Recommendation:  Oh yes!! That high seas adventure in the sky, with a dash of love to soften the heart.

Book Synopsis:
When a request for help from an old friend threatens everything that Archimedes Fox holds dear, Yasmeen must risk losing her new airship to a scourge of the Iron Seas...or risk losing the man she loves.

First Sentence:
Chat with them a bit?  Grinning, Archimedes folded Zenobia's note.

Purchase At:

Amazon ~ Heart of Steel / Barnes & Nobles

My Thoughts and Summary:
Through letters between a sister and a brother, Zenobia and Archimedes, we learn of events happening and the touch of the past revisiting.  That Zenobia writes adventure stories of the great female captain...who might be the wife of Archimedes.  Yasmeen receives an invitation to Scarsdale's wedding.  Archimedes' old partner, one of a deep past, is trying to find him and setup a meeting saying he thinks Archimedes can help him.  Some are worried he is looking for payment for damages he might try to claim, but really he wants another persons help, and he will use Archimedes to get it.  Yasmeen and Archimedes are about to take a dangerous trip they had not intended, with her new mercenary ship.  To find a floating city, or not?

We follow through with Yasmeen and Archimedes.  This has a few ties to the world of England as we still have the affects of the Horde and the nanoagents.  But here I feel we learn more about the nanoagent that pulses through many bodies, as it is important to understand to know what is going on.  I REALLY liked learning about the nanoagents here.  It seemed to fit so easily into the storyline and gave me a great view of the inside works as to why.

I feel we are starting fresh with Yasmeen as this crew and ship are new to her as well.  Yasmeen is starting to see how the adventure stories of Lady Lynx written by her sister-in-law, based on her and Archimedes tales, are going to affect her.  Yasmeen is the tough captain any and all think she is, but surprisingly there is one man who has stolen her heart.  Her husband Archimedes.  Yasmeen and Archimedes like adventure, and even a dash of danger to feel alive.  We get to hear of tidbits of past excursions and get a view of their cunning wit along with sharp minds in this short tale.  We take to the high seas, in the sky with boilers and steam.

These letters are our start, and leave me curious as to those mentioned and writing, along with the happenings mentioned in them.

Meljean writes powerful couples, full of desire and want that's more than sex but for companionship and full of complete and utter love for each other.  Yes, there is sex here, but it wasn't out of place.  It fit with the characters.

And another novella of the Iron Seas series, which I read out of turn.  And if I can do it and love the story, so can you.  This is 2.5 in the series.  This is a complete story, from start to finish full of adventure and love.

Needless to say, I've found a series that has all the elements I enjoy; mystery, adventure, action, steampunk, quick wit and flirting, all with a touch of romance as well.  I'll be reading these books!


I read this novella for the author to see if it could stand on it's own without reading the books.