Photographs & Phantoms

This was a refreshingly well rounded short story with underpinnings of steampunk woven throughout. Despite being a companion novella to Steam and Sorcery, which I haven't read yet, Pape does a wonderful job keeping the story rooted in the here and now. Other then a few throw away comments to the adventures of Merrick and Caro (from the aforementioned book), there was no sense of confusion or as if I had missed something crucial.

Kendall and Amy were straight forward and far more sensible than most romantic couples I've encountered. Kendall acknowledged that Amy was the grand-niece of a highly influential man, but he didn't harp on about it. Amy, to her benefit, recognized that marriage was not in the cards for her, so why not just do show more what feels right? Before anything went on they calmly talked about consequences and such. Not terribly romantic, but I appreciated the fact that Pape didn't have them completely lose their heads. They were both practical people who thought things through. They didn't allow their attraction to rule their every breath.




While I guessed the nature of the curse, or at least what was causing it if not whom at first, I was taken back by the sudden change. In hindsight I could see that Pape gave plenty of clues leading up to the revelation, but I was so caught up in the romantic progression I paid the clues little mind.

Caro and the brood of children were funny and charming. They were all introduced in Steam and Sorcery, but the quick backstory didn't take much time. A few lines at most. I thought they were fun and am looking forward to a longer sojourn with them in their own novel.

The world intrigued me. Some of it is vague--historical events are referenced (though I couldn't tell you how accurately, British history isn't my forte), but there is very little said about the current time so there's no definitive way to contrast the alternate history vs. our own. There are plenty of mechanical wonders--from the steam powered tram to the dirigibles and the Sergent's own mechanical arm--but very little is said of the world itself. This could possibly be because its only meant as a companion to the larger novel (a sampling of what to expect) however and not a defect in the story itself. Mildly irritating, but not anything to worry over. show less

Photographs & Phantoms is a blend of genres featuring historical romance, paranormal, mystery, fantasy and alternate history. Photographer, Amy Deland is haunted by a shadow appearing in some recent portraits... The presence of that shadow ruining the portraits is bad enough, yet each time the shadow appears, the subject of that portrait has died shortly afterward. Amy is determined to get to the bottom of the situation and find an explanation for the phenomenon. Will she succeed?

The book has an intriguing and mysterious premise that enticed me to download the promotional freebie. First off, it's (marginally) historical fiction. Second, the story promises some magic. Reading further, one discovers that this isn't true history, but an show more alternate version, which I usually find interesting. I'm glad I didn't know when I downloaded this book that Carina Press is a Harlequin imprint, or I might have skipped it. I normally find straight romance tales to be too fluffy, plotless, and sticky sweet to suit me, which wasn't the case here, except for the big sex scene near the middle of the book, which I skipped. Sorry, but I don't find that unadulterated sex moves the story along... this novella would have been better without that scene. Minus half a star for the uninteresting and unnecessary sex scene.

Over all, I found the mystery to be entertaining and the entire tale to be a page-turner. Still, some scenes later in the book could have been better developed. I was disappointed to find that, although the male lead in this tale is described as being a Sorcerer, very little magic was involved. Most of the magic could be explained by the technology used... so minus one fourth of a star for that lack of development, and minus another quarter-star for the lack of magic... I'd have loved this book to be a little longer - say about 30,000 words.

Incidentally, for those who haven't read this book, the Kindle edition is still free from Amazon.com. Sure, it's an advertisement/teaser for the publisher's other books, but one that is very much worth reading I'm not obligated to review this book, however, writing reviews IS what I do... so why not? Recommended to adult readers age 18 and up who like something more than straight, sticky-sweet romance.

This review, for which no compensation - financial or otherwise - has been received by the reviewer, appears on Dragon Views, LibraryThing, Amazon.com and other sites deemed appropriate by the reviewer. show less

In book 2 in The Gaslight Chronicles, photographer Amy Deland is in dire straits. In some of the photos she’s taken, a mysterious shadowy snake has appeared around some of her clients, and those clients later died. So she contacted her great-uncle, a powerful sorcerer and a man she’s never met, for help.
Lord Kendall Lake, a Knight of the Order of the Round Table, accepts the mission. Though he expected the lady photographer to be matronly, Amy is anything but. Attraction sizzles, but he’s determined to never marry, and she’s equally determined to maintain her independence and continue her art.
I love Victorian Steampunk stories. Both Kendall and Amy are great characters. While they didn’t technically fall into insta-love, they show more did fall fairly quickly, after twenty-four hours.
This story is the first I’ve read from Ms. Pape and I’d like to read more.
4 Stars show less

This was okay but not nearly as good as the first book in this series. I enjoyed the creepy mystery surrounding the strange shadows showing up in Amy's photography. However, the relationship between her and Kendall was very insta-love.

I did enjoy the cameo made by Caro and crew. This story is a fun diversion and I enjoyed it, even if it wasn't anything all that special.

This is also a very short read (I listened to it on audiobook and it was only a couple hours long).

Overall this was an okay addition to the series but could probably be skipped since it stands alone. I plan on reading the next story in the series to see if that one continues like the first book or is like this shorter novel.

If you like a smorgasbord of fantasy and steampunk in your historical romances, don't give a fig for any semblance of historical sensibilities or historical accuracy, and have no objection to the supreme predictability of "girl meets lord, girl and lord fall in love, she thinks he's too good for her, he thinks she's too pure for him, they explain themselves and have hot steamy sex" then you'll enjoy this.

The scaffolding plot was also more or less predictable (cartoon villain, and threat from the exotic orient), but that's of course primarily there to get the romance plotpoints happening at the right moments.

Hoping For More of this Series

My only complaint about this follow up to Steam and Sorcery is that it's too short. The author has done a wonderful job creating an exciting plot with intriguing characters. Enjoyed the Steampunk elements which included the historical era, fashions and attitudes of that time, quirky mechanisms and a heroine with modern sensibilities. The sexual encounter was fine with me as I was already aware this author writes erotica, but might be a miss for some readers taken unawares. Was happy to reunite with previous characters too.

All in all, enjoyed this novella and hope the author continues to create more of this Gaslight world she's created. I'm a fan wanting more!

The plot was well thought out though the mystery was pretty easy to deduce. For a novella, it was interesting a story though I found the romance part was rushed way too much.