Why I picked up this book:

I’ve seen this cover around the internet block a few times and always loved the design. As I read the blurb for the story, I was still uncertain if I wanted to delve into anything with pirates again. I read several last year—some were fantastic, others left me wanting more—but I have grown my love of anything steampunk. As soon as I read the trigger warning, I was all in. I love reading books that delve deep into the darker sides of characters and take a little risk.

This review may contain spoilers.

The Machine (Blood and Destiny #1)

Larissa Markus is a humble clerk in a clothing shop with a hidden past when she is swept off her feet by the charismatic Professor. Their whirlwind romance explodes in her face and leads her down a tumultuous path of adventure, intrigue, love and violence. Airships, pirates, corsets, torture, murder, and more await in the first novel of the Blood and Destiny Series from E.C. Jarvis. The Machine is an adult steampunk fantasy book. Possible triggers are present within the book including but not limited to sex, murder, torture, and violence.

What I loved:

Holt is everything. If you already follow my blog, you know I’m a sucker for hot-headed, alpha badass males that grunt more than they speak. At the beginning of the story I was sort of rooting for the Professor, since Larissa had attached herself to him, but the moment Holt walked into the book, my mind shoved the Professor over the airship railing and said nope… I want this guy. He’s such a fantastic character, and the mystery that surrounds Holt is something I look forward to diving into as the series continues.

Larissa is also a wonderful character. I love how antsy she is for life inside the psyche and body of a prim & proper lady. She keeps societal standards, and yet she has this itch to touch and explore all areas of passion. As her character encountered both trauma and tragedy, it was beautiful to see her embrace the rebellious part of herself and take command of her own story.

One of my favorite things about this story is the world is gorgeous, the adventure is fun, and the author took risks and dove into the darker side of characters. She didn’t hold back with either pirates or doctors, and this gave the events around Larissa a more authentic feel.

Areas needing a touch of refinement:

There were some interesting moments in the story that I’m still mulling over, but one in particular is the pirate battle vs the battle at the doctor’s lair. The latter was at the end of the book where I usually see larger, more dramatic events, and yet this climactic end to the first tale was much shorter and not as tragic. So it was interesting to see the larger scale fighting in the middle of the book. Both had the potential to be huge, but it feels like the ending had a lot more room to get really gritty and awful, but many elements weren’t yet taken advantage of. This is just my take though, so another reader may feel differently.

Overall:

I love this story… adore the author’s work. She’s got me as a reader for life now. For readers considering this tale, definitely heed the trigger warnings. This book is dark, steamy, tragic, and doesn’t hold back when it comes to torture and other elements. But if you like the grimdark, sexy stuff, you’ll definitely want to pick this story up.

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