{NetGalley Review} DISENCHANTED & CO., PART 1: HER LADYSHIP'S CURSE by Lynn Viehl

ASIN #: B00AHE23SQ

File Size: 1087 KB

Page Count: 161

Copyright: August 12, 2013

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

The first half of Disenchanted & Co. In a steampunk version of America that lost the Revolutionary War, Charmian (Kit) Kittredge makes her living investigating magic crimes and exposing the frauds behind them. While Kit tries to avoid the nobs of high society, as the proprietor of Disenchanted & Co. she follows mysteries wherever they lead.

Lady Diana Walsh calls on Kit to investigate and dispel the curse she believes responsible for carving hateful words into her own flesh as she sleeps. While Kit doesn’t believe in magic herself, she can’t refuse to help a woman subjected nightly to such vicious assaults. As Kit investigates the Walsh family, she becomes convinced that the attacks on Diana are part of a larger, more ominous plot—one that may involve the lady’s obnoxious husband.

Sleuthing in the city of Rumsen is difficult enough, but soon Kit must also skirt the unwanted attentions of nefarious deathmage Lucien Dredmore and the unwelcome scrutiny of police Chief Inspector Thomas Doyle. Unwilling to surrender to either man’s passion for her, Kit struggles to remain independent as she draws closer to the heart of the mystery. Yet as she learns the truth behind her ladyship’s curse, Kit also uncovers a massive conspiracy that promises to ruin her life—and turn Rumsen into a supernatural battleground from which no one will escape alive.

Mandy's Review:

I really enjoyed the steampunk setting. I wasn't aware, at first, that this was taking place in America because everyone (in my mind) seemed British or European. Once I got to the part of the story where it talks about Washington's surrender during the Revolutionary War, I realized that the book WAS in America but it never became the "United Sates" of America. An interesting twist.

Kit has struggled to get where she's at today and her struggles have made her a fiercely independent, opinionated young lady. Sometimes, though, her mouth can cause her more problems than what she needs. She believes it's her disbelief in magic, and a natural talent in deductive reasoning, that makes her a success at uncovering "magic" as fraudulent. What she doesn't at first realize is that magic is real but has no effect on her because of her genetics.

Every do-gooder has to have a nemesis and Kit's is Lucien Dredmore. The man is insufferable and is continuously trying to cause her problems ... or so she thinks. When Dredmore comes to her aid and rescue one night, her opinion of him becomes muddled.

Is it possible for the two to actually put aside their differences and work together on solving Lady Diana's curse? Well, we don't really know by the end of this book. The author stopped the story right as Kit and Lucien were joined together. The reader is left hanging at a point when you really, really want to know what's going to happen next.

Well played, Ms. Viehl. Well played. Now to get my hands on part deux.


*An ecopy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.