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Clockwork Tangerine (Rhys Ford)

Clockwork Tangerine - Rhys Ford

3.5 stars

Rhys Ford is more well-known with her contemporary romance, I believe this is the first time she does steampunk. I know that Ms. Ford has her fans and most of my friends love her writing. I read two of Ford's but I fell out of that series and have no intention to pick it up back. Since then, I never read anything by hers again, because none of her other books seem to appeal to me.

Since April 2014 is my Steampunk/Romance theme -- my intention is with Non M/M but I hit a bump with those -- I decide that maybe I should give this novella of hers a try. I'm going to try with the "What I like" and "dislike" type of opinion.

What I Like
+ I admitted a struggle to imagine the machines and inventions, but that was due to my lack of imagination alone. "Connecting" the English description (which is not my native tongue) with the image of items being described was not an easy task. Nonetheless, I thought the world she created was imaginative. I don't know how 'steampunk' is a steampunk book should be, but if it was about machinery, I thought Ms. Ford did it really well.

+ I thought both of the characters were likeable and there was a good amount of chemistry. I loved them together. Although Robin grabbed my heart more. He had been hated by the society, a pariah, he endured a very harsh punishment because he had been set up ... but not once I felt that he wanted to give up. He didn't dwell in sadness. He kept inventing for the goodness of others. I just admired him so.

+ Great female characters -- the doctor and the Marcus's grandmother. HURRAH for them.

+ I like the endearment, "Little Crow" :)

What I Dislike
+ Unfortunately, the length just didn't do the story well. The pacing after Robin awake from his injuries-rest just felt choppy. Some time apparently passed, and I missed the relationship build up. It felt that some issues or elements were introduced here and there, but it wasn't smooth introduction, and it felt disorganized. Somehow the second half lost its way and it just ... well, messy for me.

+ I also had a personal issue on how Marcus (and Robin to the extent after he woke up from his bed-rest) kept thinking with his dick. I didn't like how it was described that Marcus kept getting turned on even when Robin was unconscious. Sorry, it just felt wrong for me. I felt as if reading about a pervert. When it comes to handling an injured person, I prefer a more "clean" behavior, without lust coming into equation.

Overall Impression: My loving the characters made up for my dislike which made this more than just okay read -- although the personal issue also played a huge deal of I'm being unable to give it more than 3.5 stars (Really like it but not loving it).