Customer Reviews

Crimson & Steam (Crimson City)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Quick & Dirty: A fabulous and fast-paced read that delivers pitch-perfect danger and suspense.

Opening Sentence: The four leaders of Crimson City's glittering vampire world looked rather out of place, dressed in battle armor and crowded into a ramshackle safe house located on the border between vampire and human strata.

The Review:

Crimson & Steam takes place in Crimson City, which is essentially an alternate Los Angeles. In the beginning of this story, the focus is on Marius Dumont and Jillian Cooper. Marius is the leader of the House of Dumont, and he makes a political move in an attempt to solidify race relations between werewolves and vampires against the humans. Marius is driven by honor and his need to achieve peace for his race, even to the detriment of his love life. Initially, Jillian comes across as pretty pathetic, but ultimately I came to like her character. She ended up being stronger than I expected. When a vampire arrives carrying a deadly virus, Marius and Jillian team up in a race against time to find the cure. Other characters round out the tale like Tatiana Asprey, who is a lot more than meets the eye. She was so emotionally conflicted and confined by the role she is expected to play. I enjoyed reading about her struggles with her identity.

Maverick gives us two tales for the price of one--a parallel story takes place, which is set in Victorian London. This story focuses on Edward Vaughan and Charlotte Paxton. Edward and Charlotte are divided by social class and their relationship is doomed from the start. I absolutely loved their love story. Maverick really captures the time period. Very atmospheric. An event takes place at the Great Exhibition of London that will change the world forever. This basically serves as a back-story and helps the reader get to where we are today in relation to Crimson City. I also really enjoyed this steampunk sub-plot.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Crimson & Steam has a clever plot and is well written. The characters are well-drawn and engaging. Maverick does an excellent job world-building, detailing the political factions between vampires, werewolves, and humans. Both storylines are seamlessly woven together, adding layers and a foundation for the reader to stay engaged in the story. I'm definitely looking forward to delving deeper into the Crimson City world. Crimson & Steam is the 8th book in the series, but can be read as a stand-alone. The series was created by Liz Maverick, but the following authors also write novels set in this universe: Marjorie M. Liu, Patti O'Shea, Carolyn Jewel, and Jade Lee.

Crimson City Series:

1. Crimson City

2. A Taste of Crimson

3. Through a Crimson Veil

4. A Darker Crimson

5. Seduced by Crimson

6. Crimson Rogue

7. Shards of Crimson

Notable Scene:

Jill froze, hitched her camera strap more securely on her shoulder and pulled her switchblade from her purse. Then, taking short, deliberate steps, she followed the trail around the corner to the threshold of a small library. The red vanished inside the room, out of her line of sight.

Gripping her blade tightly in her hand, she leaned forward and craned her neck around the doorway. A man lay on the ground, motionless, his eyes bulging out of a horribly contorted face. His mouth, throat, cravat and tuxedo shirt were completely soaked in gore. She felt the stench of blood wash over her.

FTC Advisory: Ms. Maverick provided me with an ARC of Crimson & Steam. No goody bags, sponsorships, "material connections," or bribes were exchanged for my review. In addition, I don't receive affiliate fees for anything purchased via links from my site.

It's bad enough human journalist Jill Cooper has to witness her vampire lover Marius Dumont marry someone else in the name of political harmony, but worse is the virus that kills one of Crimson City's vampires...and is having a radical affect on Marius, too. To obtain the cure, Jill must willingly infect another vampire, or win the race against time by studying the papers of a young inventor in 1850s London.

At first Jill is so desperate that she's bloody annoying. Admittedly, she's having a rough time but she acts like life without love is not worth living. That's right, all the single ladies - put your hands up! But keep reading, because the rest of the book more than makes up for Jill's melodrama.

Though set in an alternate (or even futuristic) Los Angeles, with all the royalty, corsets and whatnot it seems rather Victorian, so it's not a shock to switch to 1850s England. In fact, the steampunk sub-plot is the most fascinating part of CRIMSON & STEAM. There are clear parallels between Jill's and Charlotte's troubled relationships, but Charlie still has her dignity.

The Crystal Palace hosts the Great Exhibition that rose engineer Charlotte visits weekly. A tempest prognosticator seems innocent enough, but not even its creator could predict its dire consequences. I still have questions about the device and how it works, and Crimson City's geography with its strata is bloody confusing, even though we're told who goes where. More memorable, however, are the crafty mechs.

The government conspiracies, and political divisions between the vampires/humans/werewolves, may seem tired, but the science and steampunk are winners. Totally glom-worthy, CRIMSON & STEAM gives one much to think about, and hope for future instalments. Add to this the mind-bending concepts of her futuristic novels, and Liz Maverick stands above other authors treading the well-worn paranormal path. Can't wait for her next innovative novel!

The Crimson City series is fantastic and Maverick is my favorite writer in the series. I was so happy to see another book come out. This book gives you some background to understanding how the paranormal world of shifter and vampires along with demons came to live among humans. I recommend the whole series it was started by Maverick but other books are written by different authors giving you different perspectives on different characters and creatures. Crimson City, aka LA, is a new harsh and exciting world. The series is a gritty paranormal feast.

In Crimson City, Vampire Assembly leader Marius Dumonthas understands the significance of unity amidst the paranormals against the humans. In that regard he agrees to marry werewolf Princess Tatiana Asprey in a marriage of state to bring the shapeshifters and the bloodsuckers closer together although ironically his heart belongs to a member of the enemy species, human reporter Jillian Cooper.

Irate that her beloved dumped her for a loveless marriage of convenience, Jill turns her attention to recently converted human-turned-vampire Hayden Wilks. Meanwhile at the nuptials, a vampire arrives dying from a human-made virus. Marius and Jill unite seeking a cure that leads them to 1851 diaries by draper Charlotte Paxton who describes her ill-fated relationship with scientist Edward Vaughan. At the Great Exhibition of London, Edward released the "Blood-Taint" that changed Victorian England and subsequently the world.

The latest Crimson City thriller is a super entry with the key to the story line, Liz Maverick's magical transitions back and forth between the middle nineteenth century and today as few if any authors could do this as smoothly and seemingly effortlessly. The past subplot also provides readers with more information on what happened to cause the Blood Taint. Marius and Jill seem like star-crossed (star-species) lovers as he must choose responsibility over love. Fans will relish the latest tale as this great urban romantic fantasy saga continues to be one of the best on the market.

Harriet Klausner

This is the love story of Jill & Marius, and I have been looking forward to this romance! But it was disappointing. Marjorie Liu should have written this story - then it would have been done right. You may want to skip it and invent your own story for Jill & Marius.

You want details? OK....
1) Only 1 small sex scene, leaving out way too much detail, and not very explicit. Booo!
2) Way too many chapters spent back in the mid-1800's telling this author's version of where these families of werewolves and vampires originated. And her version of their origins is far-fetched and unlikely and not very interesting. About as hokey as Lynsay Sands' Atlantis story for vampire origination. And the 1st chapter focusing on the 1850's back story isn't introduced in any way to connect it with the current story. You must read most of the chapter before a familiar name lets you know the publisher didn't accidentally slip in a chapter from some historical romance.
3) The story pokes along slowly, until the last few pages where it races to wrap everything up quick. At the pace it was going, it needed at least another 50 pages to wrap things up properly.
4) Too much time is wasted on the surrounding stories that should have been focusing on Jill & Marius. The stories of Hayden Wilkes and Marius' bride Tatiana could have added color and interest and plot twists, but instead are boring and poorly developed.

Crimson & Steam takes place in an alternate futuristic place called Crimson City where vampires, werewolves, and humans all live together. This main storyline deals with Marius Dumont, the leader of the Vampire Assembly who, along with the three other leaders of the Crimsons City's vampire world must try and keep the peace between the werewolves and humans. This also is a major problem for the vampire community because the werewolves don't get along with them either. In order to keep the peace, Marius will sacrifice himself and marry Tatiana Asprey, the princess to the aristocratic House Royale werewolves of New York City. This alliance will accomplish much even though it kills Marius inside because he has found his soul mate with Jillian Cooper, a human who is dedicated to her race as Marius is with his. She is also a reporter and the tabloids have had a field day with her relationship with Marius even though they haven't been intimate.

Marius and Jill's bond is deep and with one thought, they can call to one another. Jill feels betrayed and tries to turn away from Marius even though the violent death of a vampire during his wedding reception brings them back together. There's a virus killing vampires and Marius and Jill team up to stop the virus from growing out of control, even after Marius becomes afflicted with it, which will cause his own death.

As these two try to find a cure before times runs out for Marius, the reader is bought back in time to 1852 England during the Great Exhibition. There, a young draper shop owner, Charlotte Paxton, who is the cousin of the celebrated gardener and architect Joseph Paxton will attend the exhibition in London. She meets the acquaintance of Edward Vaughn and they both embark on an innocent courtship while Edward's inventor friend, Lord Gilliam, the Duke of Devonshire sets in motion a major catastrophe that causes the vampire and werewolf myth to become a reality. Charlotte and Edward are connected in ways to both Tatiana and Marius that bring to light the past and how Gilliam's one reckless act changed the future for the worse.

Even though I did enjoy the 19th century secondary romance between Charlotte and Edward, I found the primary relationship between Jill and Marius sorely lacking. Everything had a feeling of more emotion, angst and drama but the way it was written, it just didn't come off all too well. I found many scenes rushed, stilted and had a major lack of emotional connection to Jill and Marius's plight. And you would think with Marius's big sacrifice with marrying another woman, it would be all the more heartbreaking. It was more glossed over if anything. And the fact that Tatiana is more a wallpaper type character with no real depth bothered me, as well as Marius never consummating their marriage. (Remember, it's a big no-no because we can't have the hero being intimate with another woman who is not his heroine)

Some have said that Liz's Crimson City series is Steampunk. I would have to disagree because this is more of a supernatural tale if anything with the appearance of many supernatural characters (think everything but the kitchen sink). The only time that steampunk plot device comes into play, which is really very weak, is during the Great Exhibition where Lord Gilliam becomes a mad scientist with his special machine that causes a great uproar and the reason there are so many mythical creatures running around.

Crimson and Steam just didn't have the powerhouse storytelling I was looking for and after I finished, I could barely remember what I read because it didn't even register in my mind.

Katiebabs

After the long wait to see more of Jill and Marius after Shards of Crimson, I was really anticipating Crimson & Steam. But the story here is not the one that I would have wished for the pair.

Human reporter Jill and vampire clan head Marius have had a deep connection that Marius has denied out of duty to his vampire race, and now in order to secure peace between the vamps and the werewolves, Marius, convinced of his noble purpose, deals Jill the ultimate rejection by committing himself to a 'state' marriage with one of the daughters of the Royale werewolf house. As Jill's heart breaks watching her soul mate wed, she is determined to move on with her life. Well the fact that that Marius' plan doesn't works so well is the ultimate understatement. Uniting the two powerful supernatural races stirs up a pro-human movement and soon Jill finds herself pulled back into Marius' life trying to solve a murder and to find a cure for a deadly virus which threatens to remove Marius from Jill's life even more permently than his marriage.

Woven along side of Jill and Marius' ordeal, is a story set in Victorian times. A gentle story where the leads, Charlotte and Edward are separated by the rigid class structure of their times, a story which also holds the truth of the beginnings of the supernatural races. I actually liked this story the better of the two despite that fact that the ending is a bit wierd and sad. Charlotte and Edward's characters, relationship and chemistry are better developed and the more compelling of the two stories. And really it is only Charlotte and Edward who kept me from disliking this book entirely because I found Jill and Marius' story frustrating and unsatisfying, and Marius' treatment of his wife (which looses him all of his nobility points) quite maddening.

It also didn't help that I didn't like the abrupt resolution to the Marius' problem and and the final fate of Marius' wife or the fact that my hopes for Hayden (a turned vamp with a vendetta against Marius' family and Jill's former lover) didn't pan out. But then again maybe that is reason behind the whole of fate of the wife - an impetous for Hayden's redemption in future books.

Bottom line is that this is not the best entry into the Crimson City series. The earlier books of romance between the supernatural races of vampires, werewolves, demons and mechs (mechanical human hybrids) by authors Liz Marverik, Jade Lee, Patti O'Shea, Marjorie Liu and Carolyn Jewell were so much better.

i ordered this book because it is a part of a series. i just loved the book and got in a very timely manner.

I have all the Crimson City Books in mint new condition. I bought Crimson & Steam sure that I selected to purchase a new book but the one I received the cover is cracked looking like it was read several times by several people. I love the book just dissatisfied with the condition.

It was nice to see Marius Dumont and Jillian Cooper finally get their story but it was somewhat disappointing. Too many people got hurt/killed because of Marius trying to do what he thought was the right thing (he was the only one that thought that). Everyone else knew better. The genetic virus was an interesting twist but I found the whole book to be dark and sad. I don't think there really was a happy ending.