The Engineer (Magic & Steam, #1)

I read this in its original iteration and thought it was an enjoyable story, but too short and a little rushed at the end. This. Is. Better. Story, characters and universe have all been fleshed out to create an intriguing mix of magic and steampunk in one world where magic is heavily regulated and developing steam tech is not. An exciting and dangerous mix indeed.

While it’s an AU, this is also a historical setting and the material culture of the time, both historical and adapted to this universe, is well done.

Gillian really spoke to me—damaged, lonely, determined—and Gunner is just lovely. You know there’s more spinning in his head than he allows anyone to see, and as a reader, I do want more.

Hooray! There will be more! I’m looking forward to meeting up with Gillian and Gunner in New York.

For a short novella it packs enough heat and feelings between two men to show what a great love story they are going to have. In the world of spell casters and gun slinging outlaws there are two men on different sides of the law. One is a special agent who wields magic and the other is the modern Robin Hood doling out justice. Despite their differences their attraction is impossible to deny. During the hunt for a mad engineer they find that maybe there is a chance for them to be happy after all. It had it all: awkward moments, attraction, a little bit of steam, plenty of magic and a whole lot of dangerous fighting for their lives. Welcome to the new world of Magic and Steam. Let the adventures of the outlaw Gunner the Deadly and special agent Gillian Hamilton begin. P.S. The last page melted my heart. *le sigh* I loved the characters, the mystery of Gunner and the promise the book ended with. Copy received for my honest and unbiased review

I had fun reading this story. The Engineer has an awesome mix of genres it’s a steampunk novel with magic set in the past with a MM romance. And it was awesome. The main character Special Agent Gillian Hamilton is a magic caster and works for the Federal Bureau of Magic and Steam. He is sent to track down a dangerous man called the tinkerer, but this turns out to be more effort than one man can handle. He eventually teams up with Gunner the Deadly, a wanted outlaw who is after the tinkerer for his own reasons. And there is a mutual attraction between Gunner and Gillian.

While The Engineer is clearly only the start of this story I like how it reads as a complete story. It starts the romance of Gillian and Gunner and ends that on a hopeful note. The danger of the tinkerer gets wrapped up within the story as well. It’s fast paced, but not rushed. I really enjoyed reading this one. The western style setting was great and combined with the steampunk and magic elements made for a great background for the story.

I liked Gillian as a main character, he seemed capable and I liked his talent with magic. I also appreciated that he adjusts his opinion of Gunner when it becomes clear he isn’t as bad as he thought. I also like how human he feels with how he freely admits to himself to being lonely and hoping his connection with Gunner might lead to more. Gunner himself stays a bit more of a mystery, but I think that worked well here. I like how we get some insight into his character mostly thanks to what other characters say about him and also how he acts himself.

These two made for a great team. It’s a bit of an enemies to lovers vibe, but they quite quickly change from enemies to reluctant allies and then lovers as this is a shorter read. Nevertheless it felt believable enough. Their mutual attraction was clear and I like how while they share a bed in this book it’s also clear this only the start of their feelings and romance. It’s clear there are some feelings on both sides and I look forward to seeing how that develops into more in the next book.

I liked how we learn a bit about how magic works as the story progresses and I really liked the descriptions of Gillian’s magic use. It’s easy to visualize what his elemental powers might look like and it makes for some epic battle moves. The western setting worked well for this setting and I liked the steampunk vibe. There are some exciting steampunk creations from their enemy. As well as guns that can shoot magic bullets.

To summarize: I had a lot of fun reading this book. It’s a fun past paced read with a great mix of genres, it has a western historical setting, steampunk and magic as well as a mm romance. There is plenty of action as Gillian and Gunner team up to try and stop a madman tinkerer. And there is some steam as well as Gillian and Gunner give in to their mutual attraction. I liked Gillian and Gunner and thought the author did a good job giving us a feel for their personalities. Their mutual contraction slowly turns to more and sets the stage for their romance, which be hopefully see develop more in the next book. I liked the western setting and the combination of steampunk and magic. All aspects are well done and I liked how we get to see some awesome elemental magic as well as some cool steampunk creations. All in a great read and I already bought book 2.

Steampunk has found a brand new fan! I had no real understanding of the word but I believe so sincerely in this writer’s work so I clamored to read this story and oh my goodness. C. S. Poe is simply brilliant anyway. But she brings a certain intensity to this story by sweeping the reader right into the action. There’s no setting up the scene, this author’s no tease… Wham! You’re right there in the midst of a gunfight with a combination of extraordinary machines, incredible magic, and two awesome men so gloriously different from each other, one’s left speechless! And we haven’t yet finished the first chapter! I was listening to the audiobook, beautifully narrated by Declan Winters, and went to my sound system to see how much of the story I had remaining because I wanted it to go on for days and knew I would have just a few short hours to enjoy a world I’ve only just visited. From chapter to chapter, Poe kept the energy high-right until the very last word. Wow, just wow. I am SO looking forward to this series.

I’m a huge steampunk fan, but I haven’t read a good one in a little while. I literally stumbled across a posting for this one. Thank goodness I did too. Gillian Hamilton may be on the smaller side for a man, but he’s definitely very powerful and I fell in love with him instantly. Gunner all dark, silent, and brooding. He’s perfect as well. I love the way he reads Gillian so well. I got a great opposites attract feeling from these two characters. The chemistry between then is fantastic. It was easy to finish this in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. This world is amazing and I loved every minute of it. If you’ve never tried steampunk before, I highly recommend giving this one a try. C.S. Poe is a new author to me and I will definitely keep an eye out for book two in this series because I definitely want more.

The Engineer by C.S. Poe was given to me in exchange for an honest review. Agent Gillian Hamilton, a high level caster, was sent to Arizona to find the Engineer who was casting illegal magic. Gunner the Deadly, showed up in Arizona to help the small town from destruction of the Engineer. When Gillian and Gunner meet, Gillian agrees to work with Gunner to help take down the madman and his deadly toys. What he didn’t expect was for him to fall for a wanted and deadly man like Gunner. I enjoyed this book especially when it was my first foray into steampunk. It took me a few minutes to wrap my head around all the different aspects but C.S. Poe weaves a magic of her own with her storytelling that I was completely immersed. I am looking forward to the next installment.

I loved this story! What a great introduction to a new series. Gillian and Gunner together make quite the pair. They have that special spark of chemistry that jumps right off the pages and into the readers heart. I was fully invested in their story and can’t wait for more!

Stories of vigilante justice and the Old West go hand in hand. Stories of vigilante justice, the Old West, steampunk and a heaping helping of magic do too, now, thanks to C.S. Poe’s thoroughly delightful and fantastically inspired The Engineer, book one in the Magic & Steam series.

A fully realized fantasy world is impressive enough in a full-length novel. To find an engaging and credibly sourced alternative reality in an eighty-four page novella is a feat of proficient storytelling, and Poe accomplishes it all with two main characters who charmed and engaged. Gillian Hamilton is the lawman with some powerful and impressive elemental magical abilities, to Gunner the Deadly’s Robin Hood-esque vigilante—no magic but plenty of skill, not to mention a roguish charisma—and from the moment they meet face to face, the spark is lit. They aren’t necessarily enemies as much as they’re working towards a similar goal but coming at it from different angles. They’re more like counterparts in an ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ sort of way, and it’s their undeniable attraction to each other that offers up a hefty dose of physical tension to add to the action and suspense of that common goal—to bring down The Engineer, who’s conscripting illegal magic and is using it in mad and dangerous ways.

The Engineer is such a fun tease that leaves readers with the promise of much more to come for Gillian and Gunner. The dilemma of how to stop The Engineer, the dangerous madman from Gunner’s past, is resolved here, but the overarching challenge of discovering who is sourcing all of this illegal magic will provide for much more action and adventure to come; of that I’m certain, if this introduction is anything to go by. It all culminates with a sweet and sentimental gift to Gillian from Gunner, offering up the potential for much more to come on the romantic front too. This is a series that I’m on pins and needles—or, maybe I should say cogs and gears—awaiting its continuation.