Kiss of Steel

July 2, 2012
In Victorian London, the aristocracy is ruled by a group called the Echelon, “blue bloods” infected with the craving virus that will someday blossom into full-blown vampirism. Honoria Todd, daughter of a murdered inventor, escapes to the Whitechapel district with her sister and secretly infected brother. Reluctantly, Honoria asks Blade, the master of Whitechapel, to protect her family. Blade is a rogue blue blood and intensely attracted to Honoria, but she only views him as a potential monster. When a vampire commits vicious attacks in Whitechapel, Blade forges an uneasy alliance with the Echelon and Lord Vickers, his sworn enemy, to defeat the creature. Working with the Echelon is dangerous, but not as dangerous as the growing desire between Blade and Honoria. Readers will be confused by the numerous overlapping plot lines, and hastily gluing on a few gears does not a steampunk novel make. However, McMaster’s debut does put an interesting twist on the vampire mythos and the brutal side of London high society. Agent: Jessica Faust, BookEnds.

August 1, 2012

Left without resources and protection when her scientist father is murdered, research assistant Honoria Todd flees her respectable life among the highborn Echelon and the diabolical blue-blood villain Vickers and goes to ground with her younger sister and brother at the shadowy edges of Whitechapel. But nothing in the rookery goes unnoticed by Blade, and when the rogue blue-blood "Devil of Whitechapel" learns his old enemy Vickers has put a price on Honoria's head, he wants to know why--and will stop at nothing to earn her trust and learn her dangerous, closely guarded secrets. VERDICT Dark, intense, and sexy, this mesmerizing debut takes readers into a grim, depraved, cleverly crafted Victorian steampunk world that is both familiar and strange and launches a stunning new series with an intriguing twist on the vampire theme. McMaster lives in a small town in Victoria, Australia.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2012
Honoria Todd had a happy, comfortable life until her father was murdered. Now, six months later, she is desperately clinging to the illusion of respectability while at the same time taking care of her younger sister and brother. When Honoria loses her job teaching elocution, she has no choice but to accept the offer of Blade's protection from her old nemesis, the Duke of Vickers. As the unofficial ruler of Whitechapel, Blade might share the same taste for blood as the Echelon, who live in the posh part of London, but his philosophy of life is nothing like that of the blue-blooded aristocrats who rule over the city. Discovering the secrets Honoria closely guards could provide Blade with the leverage he needs to finally bring down Vickers, but only if Blade's unexpected love for Honoria doesn't destroy them both first. Set in an exquisitely imagined, alternative late-nineteenth-century England, McMaster's wildly inventive plot deftly blends elements of steampunk and vampire romance with brilliantly successful results. Darkly atmospheric and delectably sexy, Kiss of Steel is an extraordinary debut.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)