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reviews_and_ramblings1) The setting and world building elements were unique and atmospheric, making this an enjoyable steampunk read.
2) A short read with a lot of story packed into the pages. The way Jess Faraday wove the main character's story with the supporting cast was a skill I find missing in a great deal of writing these days. From the opening sequence, Rosetta Stein, is an adventurer, a searcher, a scientist, grabbed me, and did not let go until the very end. Nothing was superlative in this short; spinning an intriguing story of a lost artifact, accusations of anarchy, and a blooming romance. Though the main character is a lesbian, there are other same sex relationships that play into the telling. Jess Faraday's masterful writing has these relationships enrich the story rather than distract from it.
3) Enjoyable quick easy read. The author kept me engaged in the story. I really liked the "steampunk " feel. Usually not my favorite genre. Quirky but fun.
The Strange Case of the Big Sur Benefactor by Jess FaradayLesbian Historical
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (June 15, 2015)
Amazon Kindle: The Strange Case of the Big Sur Benefactor
Billiwack, California, 1884. When translator Rosetta Stein comes across her rival, Bartholomew Vincent, under attack by weird, raven-headed man-beasts behind the infamous Puckered Rosebud Gentleman’s Club, she senses opportunity. She rescues him in exchange for a crack at the commission he stole from under her nose—a strangely inscribed artifact found by Big Sur bigwig George Taylor Granville in the Santa Lucia mountains. Misfortune has stalked Vincent from the moment he took on the project, and he’s only too happy to share it. In the meantime, a lady marshal has come to Billiwack, investigating rumors of strange, unlicensed weapons, and she can’t seem to decide if she’d rather kiss Rosetta or arrest her. And Vincent is suffering romantic complications of his own, in the forms of Rosetta’s charming layabout brother, and an amorous professor who won’t take God, no! for an answer.
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