Book Review: Clockwork Mafia (and giveaway)

Inventor Henrietta Mason is retiring from airships and adventuring to return home to Philadelphia. Determined to erase all trails leading to her late father's duplicity, she dismantles his lab and removes all records of the Badlands gold. While in the city, she can't resist the lure of a charity gala but winds up regretting the whole experience. Well, everything except a heart-racing dance with a certain U.S. Marshal.

His career and vengeance on the line, Carson Alexander must prove a connection between Senator Mason and the mafia. He lucked out happening across Mason's strikingly beautiful daughter, only to have her slip through his fingers. On a desperate hunt to track her down, he never expects his search to take him into the brutal Badlands.

With a mechanically enhanced enforcer after them, only Carson knows the extent of the danger they face. He'll have to win over Henrietta's trust, and her heart, before it's too late...

I was so excited to get my hands on Clockwork Mafia by Seleste deLaney... since I loved Badlands so much. In Badlands, we're introduced to Ever and the crew of the Black Hawk, including Spencer (the captain), Zeke, Mahala, and Henrietta (a doctor). In Clockwork Mafia we get to learn more about Henrietta. I was a bit concerned, since I didn't much care for her character in Badlands, but it turns out I enjoyed her and her story even more than Ever's.

Henri is odd and eccentric. So, of course, I should like her. But those qualities are problematic for her. She's grown up in Victorian London, or rather the steampunk version of it, and she's expected to be a proper lady. She needs to find a suitable husband, but that's just not her. Another thing we have in common! She's a doctor and has a knack for inventions.

In Clockwork Mafia the mob is after Henrietta. After her father's death, they need to get his work from her. But she's also got Carson (a marshal) and St. Clair (a lawyer) following her to get their hands on her father's work as well. I loved Carson from the moment he stepped into the first scene. He's a hero and possibly the only way Henrietta can survive the mob. Unfortunately, Henri's heart wants the one person who would not be a good match for her in society's eyes. That would be the lawyer.

This book not only has romance, but also action and adventure and a fun cast of characters. The world that Seleste created is so much fun with the airship and clockwork contraptions. We get to see the characters we love from the Badlands but has someone else stepping up as leading lady. I loved this book so much, that I'm giving one away. Enter to win an ebook copy of Clockwork Mafia by Seleste deLaney below. And if you win, and don't have Badlands, I'll throw that one in, too.

a Rafflecopter giveaway