Review: The Clockwork Wolf

Title: Disenchanted & Co. #2: The Clockwork Wolf

Author: Lynn Viehl

Date of Publication: February 25, 2014

Formats Available: Paperback, E-book

Buy This Book: Amazon

Synopsis: As the proprietor of Disenchanted & Co. in a steampunk version of America, Charmian “Kit” Kittredge makes her living solving magical crimes. But when a snobbish lady begs for help, saving her reputation might very well cost Kit her life.

Doing a favor for deathmage Lucien Dredmore, Kit agrees to interview a newly widowed lady as a potential client. Upon meeting, however, she learns that the woman in question is none other than Lady Eugenia Bestly, president of the Rumsen Ladies Decency Society—someone who once led a vicious campaign to ruin Kit’s life. Ironically Lady Bestly now lives in fear herself, for the press is about to unmask her husband as the savage “Wolfman” who died while terrorizing the city.

As monstrous rampages continue to occur, Kit soon determines there is more than one Wolfman, and that they may themselves be victims of evil players. While avoiding both mechanized assassins and attempts by Dredmore and Chief Inspector Tom Doyle to take her under their protection, Kit follows a tangled path that leads from a prestigious gentlemen’s club fronting a hellish secret to a vengeful native tribe and dangerous, ancient magics.

My Review:

Though I enjoyed the first book I wasn't expecting to like The Clockwork Wolf as much as I did! Even better than the first novel in the series this book included all the action I loved about the first book, minus all the world building that made for a slow start the first time around. I was instantly drawn into the action and I really started to feel a connection with Kit, the love triangle was a little annoying, but overall this novel was even better than the first!

The first book in the series had been hugely focused on world building, especially in the beginning, and the action took a long time to build up. However, this time around the action was much more immediate and I was instantly drawn into the steampunk world Viehl had created. I also enjoyed Kit a lot more this time around, I felt like her personality was a little more fleshed out and she was easier to relate to. In the first book I didn't mind her but I didn't completely relate to her, this time around I felt much more invested in what happened to her.

What really made the novel stand out to me was the fantastic plot. I loved the blending of steampunk and paranormal and the originality of the world Viehl has created. The mechanical werewolves, the magical shamans, and the scattering of characters with special powers, all came together to create a highly original and exciting story. Not only that but this book revealed more about Kit's past, she has a fascinating back story and I always love learning a little bit more about it. I'm just waiting for the book in the series that finally reveals it all!

The only thing bringing this novel down is the frustrating love triangle. It's obvious who Kit is going to end up with; it's just taking forever for her to finally get there. The sexual tension between Kit and Dredmore was escalating more with every chapter and by the end of the novel I thought they were finally going to end up together, then Viehl threw in an interesting twist that may drag this out even longer. I definitely wasn't expecting the ending and though I'm excited to see how it plays out it frustrated me nonetheless.

Overall I enjoyed The Clockwork Wolf even more than the first book in the series and I'm excited to see where the next book in the series goes, especially after how this one ended! I highly recommend this series to fans of The Parasol Protectorate series and other fans of steampunk and the paranormal!

4/5