You Only Love Twice (London Steampunk: The Blue Blood Conspiracy #3)

Yesterday I watched the movie Deadpool 2, and at the beginning Wade Wilson tells the audience that this is a “family film.” Well, he was right because the directors and writers hammered it over our heads that the ragtag band of misfits becomes more than a squad out to save a teenage boy, they become family. Now, maybe Bec McMaster was inspired by Deadpool’s clutch of superheroes, but I actually think she pulled it off better than the Hollywood writers and producers. At the end of You Only Love Twice I was getting all the feels and was totally in love with the way the Company of Rogues not only became a team but became a family. And Gemma and Obsidian were the catalyst for it all.

For a second-chance romance, the circumstances and emotions and plotting were complex. The history of Gemma and Obsidian is murky, and his mental conditioning has wiped away sentiment, yet Obsidian has a feeling in his gut that he needs to protect Gemma. Their journey is scorching hot and Siberian winter cold, but it is so full of emotion for two spies who should never have crossed that line – twice. I loved every minute of this novel. The history of Gemma and Obsidian and the suspenseful plot are doled out in pieces that just kept me turning page after page long into the night. This was also one of the more complex of McMaster’s storylines. Usually I have a good feel for where the story is headed, and this book really kept me on my toes. There is surprise after surprise in the plot, and one should expect no less of these masterful spies – and the villains that challenge them every step of the way. Part of what keeps this book so engrossing is the vile manipulation that leaks out of Ghost and Master, the two main villains.

McMaster is one of my favorite authors, and this just might be my favorite of her books. I highly recommend this novel, but do yourself a favor and read the London Steampunk books, and then the earlier books in this series, first.

This is the third installment in a spin-off series from one of my all time favourite authors… there is no possible way for me to discuss any parts of this particular story without mentioning some definitely spoilerific details from the previous books, so here’s what we’re gonna do 🙂 the next paragraph will be safe to read for everyone… you may be completely new to this author and I won’t spoil you anything 🙂 it will be a good start to get more informations about the world in general and all the main players 🙂 then the other two paragraphs will concentrate about the spin-off series and this third story… so expect me to talk about spoilers from the previous installments… I might mention people and / or events without any additional explanations, because I am assuming that only people who are caught up with the series will read it… 🙂 I can’t stop you from reading it of course, even if you haven’t read the previous books, it’s just a fair warning 🙂 you might be feeling lost and you will definitely be spoiled about certain very surprising turns of events, so tread carefully 🙂 ok, now that we have this little explanation out of the way, let me jump into safe for all part of my review 🙂

The original series, as well as the spin-off, both take place in this alternate victorian-ish London, a paranormal / steampunk world… it’s ruled by the blue bloods, a vampire-ish creatures who will keep the power in their hands by all means necessary… but they are not the only supernatural beings among humans… there are also verwulfen… the closest I can compare them to are shapeshifters, but they don’t turn into animals… nope, they are much more complex… yes, they are definitely much closer to the more primal part of their nature, but… it’s much better explained in the books, so I will stop before I make a fool of myself 😉 the last group I want to talk about are mechs… they are humans who lost a part of their body and got a mechanical part instead… for that, they agree to serve a certain amount of time to repay for said parts… again, it’s a much more complex issue… all those groups clash in the first series… the original five books (plus a few novellas) concentrate on one big story arch… each book revolve around a different main couple, but there is a bigger conflict happening over the course of all five of them… let’s just say that humans, mechs and verwulfen have had enough of the way blue bloods are treating them… the original London steampunk series is a truly phenomenal masterpiece 🙂 it’s one of my all time favourite stories… with fantastic writing style, complex characters and a story full of surprising twists and turns, it will keep you glued to the pages… 🙂 it also has an amazing ending… that I was very satisfied with… although there were certain characters that I was left curious about… I wanted to know more… so imagine my joy when I learned that Bec decided to go back to this world with yet another series 🙂 the spin-off series, London steampunk the blue blood conspiracy, picks up three years after the big finale… and because I don’t want to ruin anything in case you haven’t read it yet, let me jump into another paragraph… I will be talking there about the spin-off series in general, so I will include some spoilers about the first series… read as you wish 😉

Ok, let’s talk about the spin-off 🙂 as I mentioned, it takes place three years after the big finale… three years of fragile peace between blue bloods, verwulfen, humans and mechs… three years where the last three groups could enjoy more freedom and rights than they ever had before… but it would be too good to last too long… some groups are growing restless… some of them definitely not happy with how things are now… wanting to go back to the “good old days”… and other ones are desperate to fight for the freedom that cost them so dearly… especially when some bigger threats are coming to light… someone has big plans… to counterattack all of that, Duke of Malloryn, with the agreement of the Queen, forms Company of Rogues… a group of individuals, each of them with specific skills, to act behind the shadows… and sometimes in the center of all the attention… a lot of things changes between them, but I won’t spoil you any of the very surprising details that made me almost fall off my chair while reading 😉 there will be five books as well with this spin-off series and like with the original one, we have a different couple at the center of each novel, but a bigger story arch will span all five of them 🙂 each installment have one, or two members of the COR, as main characters… starting with the first book, with Ingrid, a verwulfen, and Byrnes, a blue blood… they have a very interesting past between them… including a bet that did not end in the best way 😉 the second book has Ava as the heroine, a blue blood with a clockwork heart, a survivor of some horrible experiment… and Kincaid, a mech full of hate towards blue bloods… how can they possibly become an item? I was asking myself that very same question 🙂 read the book to find out 🙂 this third installment revolves around Gemma, a blue blood and highly trained assassin and a very mysterious person… fourth book, coming out at the end of october, will be all about Charlie and someone we also know and love 🙂 and the fifth and final installment, coming out sometime next year, will be all about Malloryn… there are of course a few more members of the group, but the situation changes within the stories, so I don’t want to spoil you who is a part of COR or if there is a secondary romance happening somewhere within the pages… 😉 all you need to know for now is that the spin-off series is just as phenomenal as the original one 🙂 full of characters who are both familiar, because we met them before… but here we finally get to know more about them… plus a few new ones, who are just as interesting… not to mention that we have appearances from a few familiar faces from the original books… 🙂 it’s a good balance to keep you constantly interested in the story 🙂 with each new book we discover more and more about the bigger picture and not only that, we get to know more about our group of heroes and heroines… I adore their interactions when they are all together 🙂 to see how closer they grew within the time they were working together… how they tease one another… how supportive they are… how much they care… *sighs happily* I can’t wait to read the next two books to see how everything will end 🙂 ok, now I will get to the totally spoilerific part of my review, so read the last paragraph only if you are caught up on the series or you truly don’t mind being spoiled about some big and surprising things… ok, you’ve been warned…

How to start writing down all my thoughts and feelings that I have about this story… it’s not gonna be easy… but I have to start somewhere 🙂 so let’s begin with a surprising word that you probably didn’t expect to find in this review… Marvel 🙂 as in Marvel from all the superhero movies… why Marvel? oh I’ll tell ya 🙂 because both Gemma and Obsidian, reminded me of Marvel characters… Obsidian, being on the other side of the conflict, a deadly assassin with very few memories… he reminded me so much of Winter Soldier, one of my favourite secondary characters in that universe… and Gemma? how can you think about a chameleon of a woman, who can be charming and flirtatious one second, and then putting a knife to your throat the next one without thinking about Black Widow? 🙂 both of them deadly… both dangerous and complex… when I first stumbled on a scene within the previous books that suggested who Gemma’s hero might be I was… a bit apprehensive… especially when going into this installment I knew that they have a history together… because second chance romances and this hate / love kind of situations are definitely not tropes I like in books… so I was hesitant… but my oh my… I ended up loving this installment 😉 Bec truly did a wonderful job with these two… the intensity of their connection… how they can truly understand each other… there were scenes… little ones… that hit me straight into my heart… Obsidian definitely surprised me… I did not expect him to melt my heart like he did… 🙂 obviously I am not gonna spoil you about the events in this book, because there were quite a few surprising ones I definitely did not see coming… let’s just say I gasped in shock more than once… plus, even though our couple gets their happy ending, the book itself ends on a cliffhanger that will make the wait for the next installment very hard… fortunately the end of october is not that far… or so I keep telling myself 😉 this book is a perfect example of balancing the romance between our main couple, and moving forward the bigger plot of the story… we have parts that concentrate on Gemma and Obsidian, and all the changes between them… including some flashbacks to their history in Russia… we also have parts that show us group dynamics… how those friendships and connections grew stronger from the beginning of the series… how certain characters became more confident… how some unlikely bonds have been made… the depth of all those connections… even if some of them are only blossoming right now, is truly beautiful to watch 🙂 and of course let’s not forget about all the truly shocking turns of events… I may have had my suspicions while I was reading some scenes but I would never guessed where the whole story will take us… now I am dying to read the next installment… as well as the fifth one… 🙂 I’m very curious to see where Bec will take this whole story 🙂 I highly recommend you guys to read this book and this series in general… I have no words to describe all the love I have for Bec and the characters and stories she creates… *sighs happily* I can only try and convince as many of you as I can to give her work a try 🙂 it’s gonna be soooo worth it 🙂

Gemma has a niche with the Company of Rogues as a well trained spy. She has gracefully deadly moves and a sharp wit. Her huge heart and capacity for loyalty are her greatest strengths, yet also her greatest weakness. When she gets up close and personal with her past, she has to decide if everything was real…or fake.

Obsidian has a mission to take down the enemy, but theres something about Gemma that has him hesitating. He feels hatred and love when he thinks of her, torn by two sides of the same coin as the feelings burn into whats left of his memories. The longer hes around her, the more he questions everything he thought he believed in.

Obsidian and Gemmas second chance romance kept me on my toes with the topsy, turvy emotions! I was cracking up at their biting banter while sighing at their sizzling attraction. They were totally suited for each other, fulfilling a need neither one was willing to admit to, and I caught myself hoping things would finally align in their favor.

Book 3 in the Blue Blood series, I would recommend reading the books in order to not miss out. The romances do stand alone, but the story arc moves across the books. I thought You Only Love Twice made a big jump in plot progression as details are starting to really come together and the bigger picture has me bouncing in excitement of whats to come! Obsidian and Gemmas story was full of mischievous banter, fantastic sizzle, loads of action-a necessary requirement for the action junkie in me-and a twisty plot that caught me by surprise! Oy, this was a fabulous read and well worth the wait!

This book simmers from the very beginning, bubbling steadily all the way through, while the pace of this story picks up. Once you start, you can’t stop!
Obsidian and Gemma are two very strong and vibrant characters and with Bec McMaster’s magic, they are brought to life in such a wonderful way, as with all the characters she writes about. Behind this passionate love story, is a dark and deadly plot and as Obsidian and Gemma come together again, many questions arise: What happened in Russia? What happened to Dimitri? Why was Gemma shot? Did they really love each other and can they ever re-capture what they had and learn to trust each other again? The background plot twists and turns. You never know what is going to happen next, London is threatened and the Queen too. Time is slipping away for Malloryn and his team, which encourages you to keep turning the pages. There is also a lot of camaraderie and humour between the COR. I absolutely loved it!!

Book 3 in the Blue blood conspiracy series. Lot of action, suspense, and romantic moments for Gemma and Obsidian. They finally meet after their first, disastrous encounter in St Petersburg when they both worked as spies for two opposing factions. Then Obsidians memories were modified by Balfour, and now Obsidian is convinced that Gemma tried to kill him in Russian. But when he receives the order to kill her, he finds out he cant do it.
Some scenes are written in Malloryns POV and Charlies POV, introducing their stories. Im looking forward to reading the next book!

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