Category Archives: Lieseil Schwarz

A Clockwork Heart by Liesel Schwarz
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The Chronicles of Light and Shadow, Book 2

Synopsis: FOR BETTER OR CURSE. That might as well have been the wedding vow of Elle Chance and her new husband, the ex-Warlock Hugh Marsh in the second book of this edgy new series that transforms elements of urban fantasy, historical adventure, and paranormal romance into storytelling magic.

As Elle devotes herself to her duties as the Oracle—who alone has the power to keep the dark designs of Shadow at bay—Marsh finds himself missing the excitement of his former life as a Warlock. So when Commissioner Willoughby of the London Metropolitan police seeks his help in solving a magical mystery, Marsh is only too happy to oblige. But in doing so, Marsh loses his heart . . . literally.

In place of the flesh-and-blood organ is a clockwork device—a device that makes Marsh a kind of zombie. Nor is he the only one. A plague of clockwork zombies is afflicting London, sowing panic and whispers of revolution. Now Elle must join forces with her husband’s old friend, the Nightwalker Loisa Beladodia, to track down Marsh’s heart and restore it to his chest before time runs out.

Review: I liked the first volume of this steampunk series and I was curious to see what would happen with the second one. It must be said that Elle has now accepted her destiny, but it is so far from what she wanted … However, she continues her life alongside her husband Marsh. But this life is not what she dreamed of and the obligations make her want to fly and control her vessels to get away from it all. Yet she is not the only one who made sacrifices and our young heroine does not seem to realize that her husband has done a lot more than she seems to see. He gave up everything for her and he now finds himself married to a woman who never stays with him, and with a life routine eventually settled. But everything will change when to assist the police he finds himself trapped by a strange creature and turned into a kind of zombie. Although Elle is determined to fix things, to find and save him, but can she really do that?

I had a little hard to get into the story at the beginning of the novel, but I confess that after the first part I was really curious to see what would happen. I must say that I was very intrigued by this new evil called La Dame Blanche and I really wanted to see how far she was willing to go. It was also very sad to see our two main characters with such feelings, trying to understand each other in vain and yet loving the other unconditionally. We can understand the behavior of our heroine but it is true that our heart aches for her husband. She did not realize what she is doing and only thinks of her own person. Of course, she will evolve in the novel, understanding the mistakes she made in the hope that it is not too late for her to try to fix it.

There are also all the characters that we had the pleasure to discover in the previous volume, as her father, the Professor; Loisa, our beloved vampire; Adele our little fairy and Patrice … but many others as well. I confess that I am very curious to find out more about Old Jack because it is a new character more than intriguing. But I am convinced that after such a novel we’ll have the opportunity to meet him soon. The end of the book totally surprised me, I did not expect such a direction and I admit that I was really sad to see how it all would end. I am especially curious to see how everything is going to be resolved now. It was an enjoyable read and I will wait to read the next Elle’s adventures to see how she will solve her many problems and threats looming in the dark.

3-5

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A Conspiracy of Alchemists de Liesel Schwarz (VO)
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The Chronicles of Light and Shadow, Tome1

Résumé (traduction personnelle) : LAISSER LA CHANCE AU HASARD. Eleanor “Elle” Chance, l’héroïne intrépide de cette nouvelle série qui transforme les éléments de fantasy urbaine, d’aventure historique, et de romance paranormale en narration d’or pur.

Nous sommes en 1903, et le monde est divisé entre ombre et lumière. Le côté de la lumière est une science merveilleuse qui a transformé la vie quotidienne par l’exploitation des énergies magiques et des ingénieuses nouvelles technologies. Mais chaque progrès de la science est obtenu au détriment des ombres – le domaine du surnaturel.

Maintenant, deux anciennes puissances se préparent à contre-attaquer. Suceurs de sang, les immortels Nightwalkers et leurs alliés les Alchemist lanceurs de sorts ont un plan pour couvrir le monde entier dans l’ombre. La seule chose dont ils ont besoin est le sacrifice d’une certaine jeune femme dont le passé recèle un secret dangereux.
Mais quand ils viennent après Elle, ils obtiennent plus que ce qu’ils attendaient. Cette jeune femme entreprenante, la fille d’un génie scientifique, possède des réserves de courage et de détermination que même elle soupçonne à peine. Maintenant, elle est sur ​​le point de rencontrer sa moitié à plus d’un titre: un démoniste beau bien qu’exaspérant nommé Hugh Marsh, dont l’agenda est aussi suspect que ses charmes sont fâcheusement irrésistibles.

Avis : J’étais assez curieuse par ce roman, des alchimistes, de la magie, une héroïne coriace et Paris ! Bon d’accord ça, je ne l’ai vu que par la couverture. Et même si on ne passe que très peu de temps dans la belle ville c’est toujours un plaisir d’en lire plus à ce sujet. J’aime  beaucoup aussi les romans se passant dans les années 1900, tout cela mélangé aux steampunk et aux créatures magiques est toujours fascinant.
J’ai cependant eu quelques problèmes dès le début du roman… En effet, il m’a fallu quelques chapitres avant d’arriver à rentrer dans l’histoire. Je trouvais tout cela un peu trop mou ou sans assez actions pour m’intéresser vraiment. Mais une fois la France quittée, et qu’on découvre la vie d’Elle en Angleterre, j’ai tout de suite été beaucoup plus intriguée par ce qu’il se passait. Tout arrive, en effet, très vite à partir de ce moment-là et on reste avide de chaque nouvel événement. Elle est une jeune femme en avance sur son temps, elle est belle, courageuse, indépendante et n’a aucune intention de se laisser faire par un homme. Alors quand Hugh Marsh la prend sous sa protection après une attaque, tout cela est très loin d’être du goût de notre héroïne et elle le lui fait bien savoir à chaque instant. Mais après avoir bataillé avec lui, elle comprend que pour retrouver son père disparu, il est son dernier espoir. Ils vont alors voyager ensemble dans de nombreux lieux, nous laissant entrevoir la raison derrière l’intérêt de Marsh pour cette jeune femme. Il connait de nombreux secrets à son sujet qui seront révélés en temps et en heure tout au long du roman. Il y a cependant aussi quelque chose de plus que tout cela et Elle est loin d’accepter la destinée que tous lui ont choisi. Une destinée loin de ce qu’elle avait imaginée et qui intéresse de nombreuses personnes. On comprendra alors que pour certains, les apparences sont vraiment trompeuses, et qu’il est difficile de savoir en quoi notre confiance peut rester.

On est très vite intrigué par Elle et ce qu’elle est capable de faire. Il nous faudra cependant avancer dans l’histoire pour comprendre ce qu’il se passe. J’ai été assez étonnée quand j’ai appris la vérité, mais l’auteure nous amène les révélations au moment idéal. Marsh est lui aussi un homme très mystérieux, et il est difficile de le cerner et de comprendre ce qu’il ressent pour notre héroïne. Et malgré son arrogance et son caractère, il prendra place petit à petit dans notre cœur comme dans celui d’Elle. Malgré toutes ses erreurs, il essaie de s’améliorer et de faire ce qui est mieux.

Le monde de Lieseil Shwarz est très intéressant. J’ai adoré découvrir toutes les inventions disséminées dans le roman, de même que toutes les créatures qui s’y croisent. En finissant le roman, j’ai du mal à visualiser comment l’histoire va continuer ou vers quoi elle va se tourner, mais je suis curieuse de découvrir ce que l’auteure nous réserve.

Stacking the Shelves #27
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Mission Nocturne (Jill Kissmet, 1) – Lilith Saintcrow

Not everyone can take on the things that go bump in the night.
Not everyone tries.
But Jill Kismet is not just anyone.
She’s a Hunter, trained by the best – and in over her head. 
Welcome to the night shift…
 
Mon nom est Jill Kismet. Spécialiste en trucs surnaturels. Exterminatrice d’esprits malfaisants. Tueuse de démons. Les villes ont besoin de personnes comme nous, qui font des choses que même les flics refusent de faire quand la nuit est tombée…  
Bienvenue dans mon univers.

A Conspiracy of Alchemists (The Chronicles of Light and Shadow, 1) – Lieseil Schwarz
LEAVE IT TO CHANCE. Eleanor “Elle” Chance, that is—a high-flying dirigible pilot with a taste for adventure and the heroine of this edgy new series that transforms elements of urban fantasy, steampunk, and paranormal romance into pure storytelling gold.

It is 1903, and the world is divided between light and shadow. On the side of light is a wondrous science that has transformed everyday life by harnessing magical energies to ingenious new technologies. But each advance of science has come at the expense of shadow—the traditional realm of the supernatural.

Now two ancient powers are preparing to strike back. Blood-sucking immortal Nightwalkers and their spellcasting Alchemist allies have a plan to cover the whole world in shadow. All they require is the sacrifice of a certain young woman whose past conceals a dangerous secret.

But when they come after Elle, they get more than they bargained for. This enterprising young woman, the daughter of a scientific genius, has reserves of bravery and determination that even she scarcely suspects. Now she is about to meet her match in more ways than one: a handsome yet infuriating Warlock named Hugh Marsh, whose agenda is as suspect as his charms are annoyingly irresistible.

 Crimson Frost (Mythos Academy, 4) – Jennifer Estep

For a moment, a face flashed before my eyes—the most hideous face I’d ever seen. No matter how hard I tried to forget what had happened, I saw him everywhere I went. It was Loki—the evil god that I’d helped set free against my will.

I should have known that my first official date with Logan Quinn was destined to end in disaster. If we’d gotten into a swordfight, or been ambushed by Reapers, I’d have been more prepared. But getting arrested mid-sip at the local coffee hangout? I didn’t see that one coming.

I’ve been accused of purposely helping the Reapers free Loki from his prison—and the person leading the charge against me is Linus Quinn, Logan’s dad. The worst part is that pretty much everyone at Mythos Academy thinks I’m guilty. If I’m going to get out of this mess alive, I’ll have to do it myself…

 Three Parts Dead (Three Part Dead, 1) – Max Gladstone

A god has died, and it’s up to Tara, first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring Him back to life before His city falls apart.

Her client is Kos, recently deceased fire god of the city of Alt Coulumb. Without Him, the metropolis’s steam generators will shut down, its trains will cease running, and its four million citizens will riot.

Tara’s job: resurrect Kos before chaos sets in. Her only help: Abelard, a chain-smoking priest of the dead god, who’s having an understandable crisis of faith.

When Tara and Abelard discover that Kos was murdered, they have to make a case in Alt Coulumb’s courts—and their quest for the truth endangers their partnership, their lives, and Alt Coulumb’s slim hope of survival.