How can you not like a book that opens with "The first time Leo Barrons saw her, she'd just run a man through with her sword"? With book #5 in her London Steampunk series, Bec McMaster finally tells the story of Leo, half-brother to the heroines of book 1 & 2, books in which Leo does not come off as all that nice. But in this book, he's Mr. Charm itself, a nice foil to this book's heroine, ice queen Aramina (Mina) Duvall, the only female blue-blood (i.e. vampire) in the London aristocracy. Mina, who is playing a double game, appearing to support the Prince Regent while secretly plotting against him with the Queen, has reason to hate Leo: his father killed hers (the reason for which is never really explained very clearly here). But Leo can't help being drawn to the always-in-control Mina, and their lives become entangled when a secret Leo divulged to win Mina's trust ends up coming to the attention of the Regent, who demands Leo's life as a result. Kidnapping, derring-do on roofs of London, smoldering attraction, and, when the two finally realize they are woking on the same side, blossoming love ensue.

Not too big a fan of kick-ass women who secretly yearn for men with whom they can be weak (even if only for a moment), because their kick-ass work is just soo hard. And the idea of surrendering to a guy = freedom (3235), even when psychologically the author has made a strong case for why our heroine has hid her vulnerable side from everyone for so long, also not so much.

McMaster combines such language here, though, with an equality discourse, one that both asserts that Leo admires Mina's strengths, and that her vulnerability is matched by his:

"What could any man ever give me? I'm the head of my House, a woman on the Council. What man wouldn't try to take that from me?"
"Not all men are created equally. Maybe you should find one who isn't threatened by your achievements. Someone who finds such accomplishments to be part of the fascination" (1151)

"And suddenly, she wanted to drive him beyond control, to prove that he was just as much hers as she was his" (3262)

"Surrender goes both ways, my love" (3280)

"He owned her. The most terrifying thing in the world one. But he could only own her if she allowed it, and she held that power in her hands" (4090)

Will we ever get a book where a hero wants to be weak, and have a heroine support him, if only just for a moment? Or must our heroes always be above weakness?

There's nothing quite like starting a series... with the last book! That's precisely what I did when I decided to find out what all the fuss was about over Bec McMaster and then requested Of Silk and Steamfrom Netgalley. Oops! Imagine my surprise when I finished the book and realized everything was neatly wrapped up. Hah! I had to go and check to find out this was the last book in the London Steampunk series. Good news though, this may be the last book, but I never felt lost or like I absolutely had to have read the other books. That's a huge plus.

But it was clear that I was missing some key chunks since I had no idea how we'd gotten to this point. Plus, I am relatively certain that both Mina and Barrons had acted as antagonists in previous books. The teases that hinted at it really piqued my interest, especially since there is nothing quite like turning an antagonist into a protagonist and giving them a truly rounded character. McMaster is brilliant.

As for Mina and Barrons, wow! Just wow! I loved how he slowly, slowly slipped beneath her defenses and I loved how she fought back. They are an excellent match, not just in the romance department, but in the mind department as well. It was a seduction of mind, not just heart or body. And that right there is seriously sexy.

As for the plotline, it was coming to an end with this book and it's pretty explosive. Obviously, having not read any of the previous books, I was not as emotionally invested in the (now) secondary characters, but I loved how McMaster didn't shy away from certain deaths. It wouldn't have been realistic at all otherwise.

The world-building is minimal here, but it's been accomplished in the rest of the series, I presume. There was plenty in Of Silk and Steam to ensure I understood the basics of this world and the types of characters that inhabit it, even if I didn't get a full recital on all of them. Again, never feeling lost.

In short, I loved this book and now I have to go get the other books in this series so I can read them before starting her follow-on series The Blue-blood Conspiracy.