Fabulosa aventura steampunk + sorteo

¿Os gusta la aventura steampunk con una fuerte dosis de romance y magia? A mí me parece una combinación perfecta ;o) Cuando Candace me ofreció la oportunidad de leer la tercera novela de la seria Artifact Hunters, no lo dudé, aunque estaba saturada de lecturas pendientes. Soy débil, una debilucha, en serio, jajaja. 

Os hablé de los dos primeros libros anteriormente (mi opinión de Nefertiti's Heart y Hatshepsut's Collar) y hoy os presento LA LIRA DE NERÓN, otra impresionante trama que la autora ha hilado con inteligencia y creatividad, aparte de un sentido del humor negro e irónico que me hace sonreír y reír a cada rato.

En esta ocasión, Cara y Nate, ya acaramelados pero con desafíos que afrontar, van a enfrentarse a una conspiración muy oscura que toca desde la casa real hasta el pasado de la familia de Cara. Por un lado, Cara descubre más facetas de Nate que son perturbadoras. Aún así, su relación sigue siendo tan tórrida y fiel como al principio. Ese aspecto de la novela, tan romántico pero intenso y provocador, me encanta. En cuanto a la parte de la intriga, existen múltiples elementos que se entrelazan y no te dejan respirar. La ciudad de Londres parece estar bajo una maldición desde que murió el príncipe consorte y la reina Victoria le guarda luto. Personas sin conexión aparente empiezan a arder de forma espontánea  mientras el inspector Fraser pierde la salud intentando encontrar una conexión y, al mismo tiempo, empapelar a su némesis, el empresario de los bajos fondos y aristócrata Nate, nuestro héroe del momento.

Me encanta la forma en que la autora va desenrollando los fragmentos de la trama en torno a la lira de Nerón, un artefacto mágico que parece estar ligado con las horribles muertes. Inserta cada pista en las escenas donde brillan sus diálogos ingeniosos y sus personajes tan nutridos de personalidad y humor. Por ejemplo, el gamberrísimo pirata Loki, la alocada y sifilítica Helene, la dulce Amy. Entre mis favoritos está el inspector, que me da una pena tan grande como la admiración que me despierta. A la cabeza de la lista, por supuesto, está la pareja protagonista, ella tan inteligente pero con un pasado terrible contra el que lucha aún. Su padre era malvado con ella y en esta novela descubre muchos secretos que su familia guardaba. Es un duro golpe emocional, pero ahí está Nate para apoyarla.

Las semillas para la próxima aventura, El cayado de Moisés (Moseh's Staff), están plantadas de una forma magistral, tanto por la maldición climática que parece haber atrapado a Londres bajo una carpa de frío letal, como por la inquietante aparición de un nuevo personaje, ligado a los artefactos y al padre de Cara.

Estoy muy contenta de seguir leyendo esta serie porque sigue sorprendiéndome con una trama bien pensada a la par que desarrolla sus entretenidísimos personajes sin perder un ápice de tensión, aventura, misterio y sensualidad.

Welcome to my tour stop for Nero's Fiddle by A.W.Exley.
This is the third book in the Artifact Hunters series.

This is a New Adult Mystery Steampunk series with a good dose of adventure and romance. The tour runs Dec. 15-19. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.

Artifact Hunters 3: Nero's Fiddle

One death by spontaneous human combustion is a rare act of God.

Two... is surely a freakish coincidence.

Three... well, that's starting to look deliberate.

Cara has a new role as Queen Victoria's artifact hunter, she's adapting to married life and living in a country manor that more closely resembles a mausoleum.

In London, Inspector Fraser investigates a series of strange deaths by divine fire - except he doesn't believe in coincidences. Despite himself, he enlists Cara's help to identify what ar

tifact could cause such a hideous death while his desire to bring her husband to justice burns unabated.

Someone's intent on making sure a decades old secret stays hidden and Cara must figure out who is responsible before this case consumes her family and rocks the entire realm to its foundations.

Goodreads | Amazon

MY OPINION OF NERO'S FIDDLE

I was eagerly awaiting my chance to read the third book in the Artifact Hunters series. Its unique blend of steampunk finesse, witty dialogues, brave and sexy characters, and twisted plots quickly got me hooked and has never let go.

This time, the author has thought very carefully how to take the stakes higher. One of my favourite couples, Cara and Nate, seem to be wavering from marital bliss. Love may not be enough to sustain wounds to trust and honour, so even though they share an emotional bond, they are going to have to fight for their future together. Through darkness and challenges, though, their love shines every so brightly and I relished every second of its sweet, passionate warmth. The heat between Cara and Nate is as sensual as ever. You just have to go to the opera with them for a creative proof of that.

On the more intrigue-packed side of things, a ghastly death is the spark of another artifact hunt in the middle of London, filled with smoky corpses, obscure conspiracies, Latin-inscribed books, sparkling courtesans, a city under a curse, dual-souled villains, and a secret with the most unimaginable implications.

The narrative is rich and playful so I always read with rapt attention when the author describes lush opera settings, grisly murder scenes, or luxurious balls as the perfect place to exchange witty banter. She excels in a kind of dark, clever humour that turns dialogue into a party. In addition, the dialogues work wonders to show off an assortment of truly endearing characters such as unusually fashionable Brick, deceivingly sweet Amy, wondrously crazy Helene, implacable inspector Fraser or bad-boy captain Loki. Oh, I wish both Fraser and Loki got their own dashing adventure with an equally dashing romance. As much tantalizing as I find Loki, I harbour a deep sympathy for the ruthless but tormented inspector. He's a wounded man with good intentions who's going astray with his need for vengeance. Something I'm sure will see up-close in the next book. I'm really craving to find out how that will play out as well as the impact it will have the threatening new character, the Curator. Can't wait!

The investigation around the fiery deaths runs in two parallel directions as both the inspector and Cara put their considerable mental resources to the puzzling task. On the other hand, the past still haunts Cara because her father not only left her an impossible inheritance in the form of magically powerful relics, but also an emotional ache that continues to weigh on her way to freedom.

I really enjoyed  that part even though it was so hard for Cara. We get to see important glimpses of yet another mystery that surrounds her father and his obsession with the artifacts. What's more, some chapters are told from Nan and Nessie's youthful perspective. That in itself was another small treasure in a trove full of them.

It's always a pleasure to read a new story in this series because I can trust that the mystery will be gripping and creative. I can never get bored with the wonderfully entertaining dialogues. And I keep falling in love with this bunch of smart, sexy and heroic characters. They feel alive as their stories progress alongside each and every plot around the ever creepier artifacts.

Next in line will be Moseh's Staff in 2015, and I want to be there to read-devour it too.

Favourite quotes:

My demons sleep lightly. I don't want to disturb them.

There was something in the silence, aroma and presence of the books that soothed an ache deep in her soul.

my opinion of Nefertiti's Heart and Hatshepsut's Collar

Anita Exley’s Biography:  Books and writing have always been an enormous part of A.W. Exley’s life. She survived school by hiding out in the library, with several thousand fictional characters for company. At university, she overcame the boredom of studying accountancy by squeezing in Egyptology papers and learning to read hieroglyphics. Today, Anita writes steampunk novels with a sexy edge and an Egyptian twist. She lives in rural New Zealand surrounded by an assortment of weird and wonderful equines, felines, canine and homicidal chickens.

Author Links:

Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter 

SORTEO / GIVEAWAY TIME

One winner gets a 3 ebook set of The Artifact Hunters series by A.W. Exley:
 Nefertiti's Heart, Hatshepsut's Collar and Nero's Fiddle. 

Open Worldwide

Ends 12/24

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This tour was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Espero que os apuntéis al sorteo quienes leáis en inglés porque realmente vale la pena esta serie. ¡Gracias por vuestros comentarios! :o)

Babel explorando la cámara de los artefactos.