Hello Readers!

Guess what? It’s time for another book review!

Today I’m reviewing Steamborn (Steamborn #1) by Eric R. Asher. 

I had a hard time picking another Steampunk novel, but after previewing the first couple of pages I thought this one would be a lot of fun. Let’s get this review started!

Blurb

Jacob, a tinker’s apprentice and sometime thief, has lived his entire life in the mountain city of Ancora, protected by the city walls. These towering barriers keep the Deadlands creatures at bay, but the monsters move higher into the peaks every year. More and more, they breach the defenses of the Lowlands while the Highlands rest easy.

A swarm overruns the walls and wreaks utter devastation on the Lowlands. Charles, the old tinker, suspects the attack may not be natural. With help from Jacob’s closest friend, Alice, and Samuel, one of the city’s elite spider knights, Jacob and Charles will uncover a terrible darkness at the heart of their city.

GoodReads

Amazon

***Brief disclosure***

I am an Amazon affiliate and earn a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post at no cost to you. It’s a great way to help me keep things running on my blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase. 

The Review

This was a fun YA steampunk adventure.

In this story we follow a young teen named Jacob. He lives in Ancora, which is divided between the poorer Lowlands and the wealthier Highlands. He lives in the Lowlands with his family and is excited about the yearly festival about to take place, but chaos erupts when the Lowland walls are breached by giant bugs. Desperate to survive, he and his family and friends evacuate to the Highlands where he finds that his refuge may not be as safe as he thinks.

The thing I liked most about this book was the worldbuilding. This novel had a strong steampunk element to it, and I liked all the descriptions of the contraptions Jacob and his mentor Charles built to make a difference and help their fellow man. The underground and all its secrets of the past was really interesting too. The enormous bugs were great and frightening and lent a dose of horror to the fantastical story.

Where things fell a bit short to me were the characters. They all felt slightly two-dimensional to me. Sure, they had backstories that explained who they grew to be, but I just didn’t feel fully immersed in them as human beings. The dialogue could also get a bit stilted or confusing here and there, and that took me out of the story.

Still, each chapter kept me interested as I plodded along. The book has a medium pace with plenty of little pauses in between bigger developments. I also really enjoyed the harsher themes of war, death, and innocence lost. While this book isn’t perfect, I think younger readers would really enjoy this story if they need an introduction to the steampunk genre.

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this book review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

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