Auckland, 1884While other aristocratic, nineteen-year-old girls spend time dancing and partying, Isabel trains hard to become an agent with Military Intelligence Seventh Division, MI7, a crime fighting squad run by Supernaturals. As a serial killer dubbed the Heart Collector starts slaughtering Supernaturals, Isabel tries to recruit Murk, a dangerous Supernatural man who can turn himself … turn himself invisible.
Being an empath, she senses other people’s feelings as if they were her own. Anger, lust, love, worry—souls have no secrets for her. If Murk wants to attack her, his feelings will broadcast his intention, and she’ll be ready.
What Isabel isn’t ready for is to meet the man who will collect her heart and to fall in love with him.
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Others her age are enjoying life at school but her life is so different as she has to train hard to help protect supernaturals. Someone is killing supernaturals and taking their hearts. She tries to get his help but it may just end up with her losing her heart and falling in love. Can they stop the killer? Where will they strike next? See how she gets on
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I didn’t know I would like steampunk until I read this novel. The pastiche of magic and future and Victorian culture drew in my heart and mind. Add a suspenseful mystery and I was well and truly caught.
Barbara Russell in one of my new favorite authors.
I won a copy of The Heart Collector in a contest. When I finished it I hurried to Amazon to buy the sequel. It wasn’t available at the time of my review, but I did snag the novella prequel.
Our heroine wants to be an agent fighting supernatural crimes, but when she gets her chance, will it be more than she bargained for?
This is the start of a new steampunk story featuring lots of action, adventure and mystery as well as a little bit of romance. I love steampunk stories and can’t get enough of them. I love seeing how the world is built and all the fascinating little touches which bring the story to life. This one fits that need perfectly with a highly detailed world and well developed characters that make you feel like to can smell the smoke and soot in the air. I loved our heroine as she is my kind of lady: smart and resourceful, if not a little headstrong at times. Our characters have excellent chemistry and I like how their relationship grows throughout the story.
Speaking of the story, it does not take a back seat by any means. The plot is detailed and well thought out with enough twists and turns to give you a crick in your neck. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and had a hard time putting it down. Overall, an excellent story and I look forward to reading more in this series.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes.
This genre of books had been out of my comfort zone, I’m not exactly sure where my interest came from, maybe it was from the fact that they are supernatural, with awesome powers I only dream of . I’m really sorry life got in the way of me reading this, but like the last one of hers I read, it was awesome and I will continue to read her books.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a good steampunk book. I found the storyline and characters both well written and enjoyable. The story grabbed my interest and kept it throughout. I would recommend reading.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Heart Collector was a wonderful, lushly-written read. Barbara Russell’s characters are so well-rounded and full of life, they jump off the page. Her heroine, Isabel, is at once strong and vulnerable, innocent and intelligent. The world-building is fantastic!
I especially liked the side-characters, such as Trigger, who immediately stole my heart.
The steampunk setting is well-written, also, and it’s so cool for me as an American to read something set in NZ (even a fantasy NZ), because it’s an exotic twist to the genre.
I’m so glad I received this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review, and I can guarantee when it comes out in print, it’ll be on my bookshelf.
4 Cranky Stars
I love the Steampunk genre and have read quite a few books, but this one is a wonderful departure from the norm. Isabel is a Duchess and also a Supernatural. Her parents were the founders of the MIlitary Intelligence Seventh Division, MI7, a crime fighting squad run by Supernaturals.
A serial killer dubbed the Heart Collector starts slaughtering Supernaturals, cutting out their hearts and stealing their powers. Isabel begs to be allowed to help with the case, but little does she know that her life will be in danger, along with her heart (for love, that is).
Isabel is am empath, so she senses other people’s feelings. When she meets the enigmatic Murk, she isn’t able to read his feelings, but she starts to have very strong feelings for him.
I will admit that in the first part of the book when Isabel met Murk and her thoughts were completely focused on her blooming feelings (read “lust”) for him, I almost tossed in the towel. I was afraid that the book was going to turn into another YA heart throb book ala Twilight, etc. And, of course, you had a love triangle that I find to be a little trite after so many books have been written with this in mind. Maybe I’m just getting too old for that type of thing! However, I’m glad that I stuck with it, because it turned out to be so much more.
There was plenty to like about this book. It had a strong steampunk element with the clothes, gadgets, and Victorian vibes that any Steampunk lover has come to expect. But, it also had a Dickensenian feel to it in the characters of Murk, Frog and Trigger. These three boys who grew up on the streets definitely gave the book a lot of humor and pathos.
Also, the added element of supernatural powers added a bit of Urban Fantasy to the tale. Powers ranging from invisibility, superhuman strength, freezing things with a touch, being able to divide yourself in half and many more were great fun to read about.
Then, you have the mystery element as Isabel and her crew try to figure out who is committing the murders and trying to track him down before he can kill again.
After thinking that this was just another YA love triangle, the author took the flavor of the book in a completely different direction. The concept of a sex club where anything goes in a Victorian-type society was definitely not YA. Also, eventually there are some pretty steamy scenes between a couple of the characters that kind of threw me off the tone of the book.
The characters were fairly well developed and engaging, the descriptions were wonderful, and the story was action packed. The dialogue was often amusing, especially when Trigger was involved.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:
“It’s easier to wear men’s clothes than a tight bodice and bustle.”
“Stop ogling like that. If Aunt Ermintrude sees you, she’ll lock you in the nearest convent.”
“Always better than a horse carriage. They’re the most uncomfortable things after a corset.”
“Bang up the elephant.” “He means perfect.”
“The things the ladies shouldn’t hear are always the most interesting.”
“Nothing I’ll see can change my mind about who you are. I know your heart. That’s enough.”
“Theory and practice are two different things.”
I would have given this book a 5 star rating, but the confusion I felt at direction the author was going made me give it a less than perfect review. I would have been happier if the book had stuck more to the mystery, steampunk and Supernatural aspect and less to the romance and steamy sex. But, that is just my humble opinion and I would definitely recommend this book to fans of the steampunk genre. I will be on the lookout for more books in this series and I am sure that the author will continue to write more great books.
Supernaturals are being killed, and found frozen with their hearts cut out. MI7 has been tasked with finding said killer. This isn’t a simple murder mystery it’s so much more. Action and intrigue lead the way to new alliances and broken hearts. She works with MI7 running against time to catch the killer. Lives are lost in this story the author has filled with great characters and plenty of suspects. Weeding through all of the evidence to catch a killer isn’t the only thing they need to do. This clean, suspense filled read will have you guessing at which of these threats is the killer. Lives will be changed. New friends will be made. And destinies will be changed. A great read that will have you spinning and holding your breath as leads are checked and truth is revealed. I enjoyed reading this new to me author and getting in on the start of a series of standalone reads.
Great Steampunk set in New Zealand. The characters were vibrant and you could feel the tension growing until a wonderful ending…that leaves you wanting another book as soon as possible!