When I read that this was story mixed the Civil War with steampunk elements, I was intrigued.  I have only read one other steampunk novel, so I was ready to tackle this one.  And I will say that the steampunk elements are somewhat intriguing.  They are truly only a small part of the story, but it does make for an interesting read.  Add two great characters:  Jessie and Luke, and you have an amazing story of espionage, history, native American culture, and romance.  It was a clever spin on a well-known part of our country’s history.

My early complaint came as a result of extending the Civil War.  I don’t mind people taking liberties with historical fiction, but this is something that I felt should not have been tampered with.  I didn’t mind the technology aspects, but the War ended in 1865.  Yes, I understand that the country did not immediately recover, but the War was over.  I wish that hte author had placed this story within the actual confines of the Civil War.  I believe the story would have been just as effective.

Although I am not marking it down for this, I cannot give this book my clean romance stamp of approval.  The profanity was distracting and way too much, in my opinion.  I also felt that much of the dialogue was not specific to the time period of the story.  I could have done without the details of the bedroom, but at least most of that was between a married couple.

I am giving this is a 3.5 star rating.  It was a difficult decision, but I truly struggled with the ending of this story.  I’m not going to spoil the ending for you, but I guess I felt it was very much over the top and way too weird.  A lot of Native American culture came out, but I think this goes beyond this to almost a paranormal incident.  I wish it had ended differently than it did, but then I’m not an incredibly incurable romantic–sappy romantic, that is.  Again, I’m not putting anyone down, but I just could not buy into the story.  I would venture to say that a good share of women will thoroughly enjoy this book, but it was not my cup of tea.  However, I have no problem commending the author’s writing style and idea for the story.  There were many times I could not put it down because it was pretty exciting.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.