Politics and power. Demons and spirits.When ex-Pinkerton detective Samuel Hunter married Elizabeth Weldsmore, the heir to one of Boston’s Great Houses, he knew his life would change forever, but he never expected the return of Elizabeth’s psychic abilities.Not only do they have to keep it a secret, but Elizabeth must learn quickly how to master them. For a psychic in a Great House is a political … political liability which her father, Jonathan Weldsmore, knows only too well.As the Great Houses jockey for power, the three of them must contend with treachery, subterfuge, and potentially a new demonic threat, in this political and supernatural thriller set in an alternate-history Boston of 1890.
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This imaginative story reminded me of one of those stellar ensemble pieces you rarely see on the big screen, but go to see again and again once you’ve discovered it. Packed with relatable, well-developed characters, a riveting story arc, and situations that parallel our own reality, like the challenges women often must endure in order to gain success. This is a tale I could easily see translated into film, and would love to, given its Steampunk setting. I was actually disappointed when I turned the last page and realized the book was over!
A Positively Ingenious and Captivating Adventure!
Recommend to fans of Steampunk and Paranormal novels.
For me, the book hit the perfect balance between creating an imaginative alternative world and creating thought-provoking parallels to the real world.
The United States of America is run by powerful, rich Great Houses all connected to industry/finance in some way. While allegiances between the Great Houses vary as they vie for power, their overall control is absolute. The class structure beneath them is rigid and static.
Elizabeth, heir to the Wedmore House has supernatural powers. So, it seems does someone else belonging to one of the Great Houses. As intrigue, betrayal. planned coups and murder attempts take place on the surface, what is happening in the supernatural world may be just as important in the struggle for power.
Enjoyable read.
An amazing twist on the days after the Civil War. In this world things have turned out far different from those times. But for the newlyweds… well. I don’t want to do any spoilers here. The last twist is nearly breathtaking.
Madeleine Holly-Rosing’s deep dive into a steam-punk world is a remarkably well-written and well-edited novel that captures your imagination and draws you in. The rich imagery and detailed descriptions help create a well-organized universe where Boston is part of the Great States of America and the “Great Houses” of the American aristocracy run business and politics. The story is intricate and is filled with wonderful characters and gripping twists and turns. A Storm of Secrets is the entree into this amazing world and is the beginning of a series of stories, but at the same time it is self-contained enough to be a satisfying single story. It is a terrific read for both steam punk enthusiasts and novices alike.
The story starts out a little slowly as the author lays the foundations for the universe she has created and introduces most of the important characters. It takes some focus to follow everything in the first few chapters, but the author rewards persistent readers by slowly leading us down a crooked path into an interesting story that includes business intrigue, international politics, and the spiritual (metaphysical) realm of psychic powers, mediums, and the terrors that await in a dimension between our own world and something that only a gifted few can visit.
Along the way there are some characters who are described in great detail and who have deep back stories, but who don’t seem to be critical to this story. They will no doubt come back in future books to reward readers who remember them, but sometimes those loose ends are a bit of a distraction. And sometimes the author’s rich details slow down the progress of the main story more than I might have preferred, but these are minor blemishes on what is generally a well-crafted narrative. There are plenty of surprises waiting at the end of the story, which set up the next installment. Be ready to dive deeper into this world, because this book will make it hard to step away once you are inside.
I’ll start off by mentioning that I’ve always kept steampunk at arm’s length.
Most of the steampunk books which I’ve read have been too fond of their own pretentious trappings, emphasizing setting over structure, character, and plot, not to mention pacing.
Storm of Secrets is indeed steampunk, set in an alternate past approximating the Gilded Age with airships, steam powered vehicles, and similar technology. As a history buff, it’s an interesting timeline. But neither the tech or the trappings get in the way of Madeleine Holly-Rosing delivering up a solid story which hooked me from the get-go.
I won’t spoil any of the plot beats, but the intrigue and stakes are established early on and the characters felt fleshed out and complex. There’s a good mystery here once a certain strange happening strikes Elizabeth, the main character. I found the whole adventure immersive and it kept me turning the page to find out what happens next.
Thoroughly enjoyed it and I’ll read more from this author. And maybe I’ll dip a second toe back into some steampunk.
A Disturbing Alternative History … With a Tension-Filled Story to Match
Boston Metaphysical Society: A Storm of Secrets offers us a stark look at a disturbing, alternative history. Set in 1890s Boston, the world is run by ‘Great Houses’, families devoted to wealth and power at all costs. The gap between the haves and the have-nots, a concern in our world, has become enormous, with the poorest – the Irish on the south side of Boston – living in appalling poverty. A rigid, class system, right down to the ‘uniforms’ people wear, defines life. Free speech has become “… a quaint notion and rarely applied to anyone except those in power.” And justice? When a number of these poor disappear, the police simply look the other way. After all, it’s only the Irish.
Throughout this bleak look at a possible (but thankfully imaginary) world, author Holly-Rosing skillfully manipulates our emotions. In Elizabeth Weldsmore Hunter, a member of the Weldsmore Great House by birth, we see a glimmer of hope for change. Accompanying her new husband, Samuel Hunter in starting his own detective agency, she is developing a better understanding of the plight of the poor on whose backs the Great Houses have built their empire. But even so, when the clothes she wears “… cost more than what the average Bostonian made in their lifetime,” her philanthropic gestures are revealed for what they are … admirable and promising, but rather feeble. Elizabeth is also learning to control her psychic abilities and soon, she discovers they are the only way to save the missing Irish. But her quest is filled with danger, as she navigates unfamiliar metaphysical worlds, encounters forces she doesn’t understand, and keeps much of her peril secret because … well, that’s what the Great Houses do. I found myself alternating between admiration for her courage and determination to save the poor, concern for her welfare, and simply wanting to wash my hands of her if she was going to be so reckless. Kudos to the author for my emotional exhaustion.
There seemed some small but troubling inconsistencies in the story, things that should follow even in the author’s fantasy world. For example, psychic abilities were frequently found in the Irish. How could a group with this capability be so powerless and downtrodden? Wouldn’t the ability to see the future, read minds, and even take control of another’s body change their plight? Or, as another example, the ‘Great States of America’ had apparently created a robust and stable monetary system, the root of the power of the Great Houses. And yet, the government is incapable of creating anything else to deal with its societal woes. How is that possible? While minor, these types of irregularities weakened the fabric of plausibility, reminding us this is all make-believe.
Overall, Storm of Secrets provides a bleak look at an imaginary future, providing considerable food in a taut, tension-filled story.
Steampunk is an interesting genre for me. Part science fiction and part Victorian era, it provides a great backdrop for Boston Metaphysical Society: A Storm of Secrets by Madeleine Holly-Rosing. Read on for my thoughts!
Synopsis (from the author):
Politics and power. Demons and spirits.
When ex-Pinkerton detective Samuel Hunter married Elizabeth Weldsmore, the heir to one of Boston’s Great Houses, he knew his life would change forever, but he never expected the return of Elizabeth’s psychic abilities.
Not only do they have to keep it a secret, but Elizabeth must learn quickly how to master them. For a psychic in a Great House is a political liability which her father, Jonathan Weldsmore, knows only too well.
As the Great Houses jockey for power, the three of them must contend with treachery, subterfuge, and potentially a new demonic threat, in this political and supernatural thriller set in an alternate-history Boston of 1890.
What I liked:
I really liked the story. Samuel and Elizabeth are a great couple and the secrets they keep are fodder for the story. The paranormal aspects of Elizabeth’s gift move the tale along, and Samuel’s clashes with her over her secrets add intrigue. In addition, Jonathan’s interaction with the Great Houses and all the machinations surrounding them, plus his attempts to control Samuel and Elizabeth gives the story a lot of depth. Overall, a most enjoyable read!
What I didn’t like:
Despite all the good things in Boston Metaphysical Society: A Storm of Secrets, there was a lot of description of the clothing and the steam-powered vehicles. While I understand the clothing and the mechanized aspects of steampunk are important to the theme, there was too much of it in the story for me.
Overall impression:
Boston Metaphysical Society: A Storm of Secrets was a good book! Good characters, lots of action, paranormal gifts, Great House intrigue, and a sacrifice at the end all add up to a steampunk novel that I enjoyed. I recommend it to all steampunk fans and to anyone who might be interested in the genre!
My rating:
5 Stars
An awesome read!
I really enjoyed reading this story. The steampunk aspect, although small, helped keep me grounded in this alternate history of the US. The book has the feel of one of my favorite authors: Taylor Caldwell. Worlds ruled by wealthy families–here called “Houses.” The world-building is fantastic, and the politics well-defined. The mix of the paranormal in this story worked well.
What a story! So well-written, so gripping, so original and unpredictable that I couldn’t stop reading once I picked it up and finished it in one day! “Boston Metaphysical Society” offers a different version of the past, and that’s what makes it so interesting! What could have been if the history of the 19th century changed just a bit and the Great States of America was the land, in which Great Families run the scene, with their intrigues, assassinations, plots against each other, and an upcoming war to deal with.
Elizabeth and Samuel won me over at once. They were such a relatable, down-to-earth couple despite Elizabeth belonging to one of the Great Families that I couldn’t help but root for them in their endeavors, or perils, to be exact. Possessing an extraordinary gift of being a medium, Elizabeth applies it to search for missing people, whom someone kidnaps for their sinister goals. Soon, however, it becomes clear that their foe is much more powerful than they originally expected, and now they’ll have to fight with all they’ve got to get to the truth.
A truly fascinating read, “Boston Metaphysical Society” will keep you in suspense from the very first page. The world-building is superb, and the characters come alive in the pages. I highly recommend this to everyone and
I’m already looking forward to book two in the series!
I was reluctant to read this book at first because it’s described as “steampunk,” and I’d never read anything in that category before. However, this author won me over almost immediately. Her writing is superb, her characters believable, and I simply could not put this book down. It left me wanting more. I have recommended this book to many people, and no one has been disappointed. I am awaiting more from this amazing author.
This steampunk book has one of the greatest covers I’ve ever seen and a story to match! It’s set in a Boston and a country (the Great States of America) that never was but could have been. It begins with the return of Samuel Hunter, a former Pinkerton agent, and Elizabeth Weldsmore Hunter from their European honeymoon. Elizabeth is the sole heir to the Weldsmore Great House. The country is pretty much run by Great Houses, some of which have names we’re familiar with—DuPont, Kennedy, etc. The story takes place not long after the end of the House Wars (which sound suspiciously like the Civil War), but even though the war has ended, intrigue and subterfuge between the houses have not.
Elizabeth has visions that had stopped while she was in Europe, but on her arrival back in the Great States, they start again. Samuel takes her to an Irish medium to be trained on how to handle the visions. She’s a fast learner, and soon everyone realizes she’s more powerful than her mentor.
The author does an amazing job of making the characters come to life and an equally amazing job of describing the setting and the action. I especially liked the descriptions of Elizabeth’s psychic voyages into the “spirit passageway.” It became visual for me, and I could easily imagine it as a movie. The ending was exciting and caused me to have trouble falling asleep. That will teach me not to finish books like this right before bed! Losing a little sleep was worth it, though, because the entire book was a thoroughly enjoyable read. If you enjoy the genre, you’ll likely love this book, and if you’ve never tried the genre, this would be a great one to start with.
Great Houses jockey for power, treachery, subterfuge, and demonic threats. In an alternate-history Boston of 1890. Madeleine’s is a world of steam power, airships, mixed with ghostly goings-on, preta-natural powers and class struggles. Boston is a city divided by wealth and privilege. Great houses rule like feudal lords of old while their vassal’s shelter beneath their banners, while on the south side of the city those without the protection of house live lives of coal soot squaller. (confession time, I am only about a third of the way through A Storm of Secrets as I write this, and need to get this blog out because I have a list of others I need to do before the end of the month… It is, however, a wonderfully engrossing read.) Madeleines world is vivid, and fully realised, the way any tale set in an alternative history should be, merging real history with the possibilities of another path which could have been taken. Drawing on the comic’s, this first novel has a depth to it that, along with the superb writing, makes it easy to slide between the pages, and wonder at a Boston that never was…
This was my first taste of the author’s work, but it won’t be my last. The book is full of interesting, believable characters, and the Boston of the author’s alternate history is quite interesting. The plot and subplots weave nicely together, and the ending (if you have not already read the comics) is unexpected and gripping. All in all, a good addition to the Steampunk genre.