Escapement(The Neumarian Chronicles #1)

STEAMPUNK:  A decade after the great war of 2185, the Queen’s rule is unstable, constantly threatened by rebels and fear. In an effort to maintain her power, the Queen attempts to force her daughter Semara to sacrifice a slave. When Semara’s secret powers surface they betray her as one of those the Queen has been oppressing.  Her only hope lies with Ryder Arteres, whose sister Raeth, was the slave she nearly sacrificed.  While running from the slaves, the Queen, and other rebels, Semara, Ryder, and Raeth discover there might be more to their mismatched team than they thought. The race is on to reach their allies without getting killed in the process.

A fantastic new dystopian story with partial cyborgs, elemental powers, fights, explosions, prophecies, and more than a big dollop of romance thrown in the mix! Readers will be sucked in to Knight’s story and howl in frustration at the end, begging for the next book. Semara is a great character who grows as the story moves along from a frightened despairing princess, to a girl willing to fight tooth and nail for good. Ryder is a handsome, fully fleshed character and determined to protect his sister. Raeth is sweet, strong, and the glue that binds the threesome together. The Queen is terrifyingly cold, and readers will easily enjoy hating the general. While the sequel isn’t out quite yet, readers will undoubtedly want to read the short prequel Weighted if only to tide them over until the hopefully next great segment of this story.  Excellent!

Sarah E Bradley