I got this book for free through an offer from the author I saw on facebook. I admit, I was a bit leery - hadn't heard of the author or his books, not really into books of history or steampunk.

Was I surperised! Aside from an interesting story description, I dove into the story and really enjoyed it. Thwre is a great mix of characters involved in a type of parallel/alternate history, working on a scifi-fantasy "mystery" with many common places that I would think most Americans (and others) would recognize. Thoroughly enjoyed this first in this series, and am looking forward to getting/reading the others, as well as other books by Thomas K. Carpenter. ( )

3.5/5 stars. Russian nobility and maybe spy Ekaterina Dashkova and immortal Benjamin Franklin belong to a secret society that fights occult menaces. The book also does one of my favorite things and plays with missing memories. The kindle ebook is free right now and I honestly don't know what you're waiting for. ( )

the structure feels a bit formulaic - adventure for adventures sake but no feeling of any deeper purpose. This leaves plot development dependent on the questions left unanswered being interesting enough to capture the reader - which I wasn't. Some of the literary presentation felt weak as well - some was grammatical, but some was sensical (trying too hard to apply a term outside its usual scope).
overall won't read more by author ( )