Review: A Conspiracy of Alchemists

A Conspiracy of Alchemists (The Chronicles of Light and Shadow #1)
by Liesel Schwarz
Published March 5th 2013
by Del Rey

Summary from Goodreads:

LEAVE IT TO CHANCE. Eleanor “Elle” Chance, that is—the intrepid heroine of this edgy new series that transforms elements of urban fantasy, historical adventure, and paranormal romance into pure storytelling gold. 

In a Golden Age where spark reactors power the airways, and creatures of Light and Shadow walk openly among us, a deadly game of Alchemists and Warlocks has begun.

When an unusual cargo drags airship-pilot Elle Chance into the affairs of the mysterious Mr. Marsh, she must confront her destiny and do everything in her power to stop the Alchemists from unleashing a magical apocalypse.

Thoughts:
With the exception of The Friday Society, I found that most of the steampunk books I've read last year was a bit disappointing. Steampunk is such an exciting genre with a lot of possibilities for awesome world building but unfortunately a lot of books got bogged down by uninspiring characters and confusing plotlines. This book happens to be suffering the same fate.

While I find most of the gadgetry wonderfully crafted and imaginative, the characters are kind of flat and one dimensional. Elle is a female pilot and the daughter of a renowned inventor who found herself in a most unusual predicament. Within the first few pages of the book a fairy decided to lodged itself in her bracelet and the next thing we knew she was being abducted by an evil secret society hell bent on stealing a mysterious box given for safekeeping by her client.

I would dearly love for a bit more background on her and the secretive Dark World that the author keep mentioning in the book before embarking on a bumpy ride all over the world to escape the bad guys and later on rescuing Elle's father. And the predictable romance with the so-called Mr. Mash just didn't really add in the story. So while the idea sounds pretty cool in the beginning, I found myself slogging through most of the book.

Verdict: 3 stars.
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Available on: Amazon