The Golden Spider (Elemental Steampunk Chronicles #1)

Here’s a Steampunk romance series showcasing a world where steam
is a lot more capable than in ours, and steam butlers and maids can
be programmed with “babbage cards” and medicine is oddly advanced,
with artificial ears and eyes which can broadcast and make ideal
equipment for embedded spies. The setting is Britain and the time
is the 1880s, but the social scene seems more Regency than Victorian
(although the only Regency romances I have read are fantasy based).
Victoria is on the scene though, and apparently actively involved
in running agents against the menaces of Germany, Russia and Iceland
(yes). Our heroine here, Lady Amanda (last name forgotten), is a
daughter of the Queen’s key Duke, from whom she has blackmailed
permission to enroll in medical school so that he may perfect her
mechanical surgical spider and reweave the nerves in her paralyzed
brother’s legs. This permission comes with the caveat that she
must wed within the year. Fortunately her main instructor is
devilishly handsome and is, as it happens, a Queen’s agent.
Unfortunately the rules of the school strictly forbid any student/teacher
liaisons, and there are.. other complications.

Though I ended up reading the next book (which follows another
sister), this series just got too “romancey” for me. There is
always some obstacle to the fated pairs declaring their love, and
there is a constant “does he/doesn’t he”, “does she/doesn’t she”
running through the alternating viewpoints which I have very little
patience with. Curiously, despite that, the pair manages to have
sex several times (including one improbably mistimed episode)
without resolving anything.

THE GOLDEN SPIDER hits on all its cylinders – mystery, suspense, romance, and steampunk. (I only put mystery first because that’s what I notice first. The story is a satisfying romance, too.) When real life intervened and I had to put the book down, I kept thinking about the characters. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

I won’t talk too much about the mystery for fear of blabbing a spoiler. The setting is well-imagined and detailed. I could easily visualize the world Amanda and Thornton move through. At first, I stumbled a bit with kraken in the Thames, then I remembered Asian Carp overwhelming the Mississippi. That said, many of the story’s fantastical steampunk elements are grounded in science and are easy leaps for the imagination to take.

It’s a great read full of sass and derring-do! Give it a whirl.

I absolutely loved! The Golden Spider, #1 in the Chronicles series by Anne Renwick. She is quickly becoming one of my new and favorite authors. The Golden Spider was an original, detailed, fascinating, spy/scientific adventure in the Steampunk genre. I recommend checking the recommended reading order for Annes books, tales, and stories in her Elemental series. It is available on her website. I look forward to reading them all. I did read The Tin Rose, a short story, first – as recommended. It begins setting the stage for The Golden Spider and the series to follow. Both titles (The Tin Rose and The Golden Spider) – indeed the entire 10 book series – can be read as standalone titles, but having now read the first two in the series, and devouring them both, I cannot imagine wishing to miss anything! For those readers who enjoy animals in their novels, Lady Amanda has a golden tomcat that assists her in her experiments. 😉

I highly recommend Anne Renwicks Elemental Steampunk series to readers of action/adventure novels and mysteries, fast moving angst-free historical romances, novels involving science and/or intrigue (spy novels), those who enjoy intelligent, capable characters who willingly pool their resources for a common good in a Proximity/Danger trope, creative novels with a light touch and a HEA. You will Not be disappointed.

The Golden Spider takes place in the late 1880s. Lady Amanda/FMC, eldest daughter of a duke, a gifted and brilliant self-taught woman who at the age of 19 has finally managed to negotiate her way into medical school – unheard of for a female member of the upper class. Her continued attendance is balanced on a fine edge of promises and performance. Sebastian, Lord Thornton/MMC, 30, is a renowned neurobiologist and physicist, head professor and instructor at the university, an inventor refining new medical science devices and procedures, and an undercover agent for the Queen. Amandas injured younger brothers health is failing. He requires surgery not yet medically feasible. While Amanda studies and experiments to develop a device to repair Neds physical damage, Sebastian, directed by the Queen, diligently works to discover the identity of a serial killer and murdering traitor in their midst. Meanwhile, the clock ticks.

Reader Cautions –
Violence – yes, but not dark or graphic. PG-13 level.
Profanity – I do not recall any.
Sexual situations- yes. The 2 main characters are attracted to each other and are working in close proximity. On-scene intimacy occurs several times. It is brief in nature and easily can be skipped over without interrupting the flow of the story. The Golden Spider is predominately an up-beat, action-filled, scientific adventure mystery with an underlying romance & HEA. The sexual aspect (perhaps a 2.5 on a Very Clean to Very Steamy 0-5 scale) does not overtake the story, but is a small part.
I highly recommend except to those readers who would be offended by the aforementioned and young readers.

I really wanted to enjoy this but there were many things that took away from the story, in my opinion. Firstly, England-London-had no atmosphere. This was meant to be a steampunk novel set here and it honestly could have been set anywhere in Europe. The main villain is a woman, a German woman, who somehow disguised her accent to pass as a well bred Englishwoman? I dont think so. Back then the nobility are known to have been ruthless snobs. Also, the hero was selfish, the heroine far too eager to disgrace herself considering her standing in society, and together the both of them were not believable as a couple when their interests, stations and personalities should have made them perfect for each other. Maybe that was what bugged me the most. They were perfect for each other and still managed to faff about getting together.

Lovely romantic suspense/ steampunk novel with a great world building and an amazing cast. I loved the plot and the scientific details. (On a personal note that has nothing to do with the quality of the writing or the story, I didn’t like all the scenes where the protagonists torture mice and lab rats for their experiments. I found them quite cruel and gruesome especially since none of the characters seems to care about those poor creatures. We torture mice and rats on a daily basis in real life. I don’t think we need to torture them in fiction too. But maybe a less squeamish reader wouldn’t care)

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