BLOG TOUR/BOOK REVIEW: "Treasure Darkly" by Jordan Elizabeth

Beware a Treasure Darkly…

 (The stunning cover art is thanks to Amalia Chitulescu)

Seventeen-year-old Clark Treasure assumes the drink he stole off the captairead is absinthe…until the chemicals in the liquid give him the ability to awaken the dead. A great invention for creating perfect soldiers, yes, but Clark wants to live as a miner, not a slave to the army—or the deceased. On the run, Clark turns to his estranged tycoon father for help. The Treasures welcome Clark with open arms, so he jumps at the chance to help them protect their ranch against Senator Horan, a man who hates anyone more powerful than he. And he is not alone. His new found sister, Amethyst, thinks that's rather dashing, until Horan kidnaps her, and all she gets is a bullet through her heart. When Clark brings her back to life, she realizes he's more than just street-smart - and he's not really a Treasure. Amethyst’s boring summer at home has turned into an adventure on the run, chock full of intrigue, danger, love, and a mysterious boy named Clark.

 TREASURE DARKLY, book 1 of the Treasure Chronicles The young adult novel is a dark mix of steampunk, the paranormal and romance in a “Wild West” setting. Below is an excerpt from TREASURE DARKLY. You can read more on the Curiosity Quills Press website.

“Looks like he did drink it up.” The general client spoke from the right. “Must’ve interacted with all that bloody hertum. Look at ‘im, he’s bleeding already.” 

“What’s it gonna do to him?” the guard from the morning asked.

“Lots of stuff.” The general laughed. “When he touches the dead, he’ll be able to bring them back, and exchange that life for another. Perfect soldier, huh? We only have one vial ready and I was going to give it to a lucky fellow. Guess it will be this boy.”

“Whatcha gonna do with him?” The guard snickered.

“Have to be a test subject,” the general said. “Sure thought it was that Judy who stole my bottle. Pity I killed her. She sure knew how to make my pecker sing.” 

Judy. Clark’s mother. Clark bolted off the ground and ran. He could hide in the hole under the shed behind the brothel. Mable never found him under there. He might be cursed with raising the dead—he’d already done that to the poor mine worker—but it didn’t mean he’d let them take him for tests.

You can read more about Amethyst Treasure in GEARS OF BRASS, a steampunk anthology from Curiosity Quills Press available now from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Jordan Elizabeth, formally Jordan Elizabeth Mierek, is the author of ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW, available from Curiosity Quills Press. Check out Jordan’s website, JordanElizabethMierek.com, for contests and book signing locales. Jordan is represented by Belcastro Agency and she is president of the Utica Writers Club.

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My Review:

Have you ever wondered what would happen if SM Reine and the creators behind Pushing Daisies decided to make a steampunk western? No? Neither did I! But I found out after reading this book.

It's an odd thing, at first, because the paranormal elements usually don't mix with steampunk styles, but this book does it well. There are twists and turns throughout the entire book,making you pause, look and say, "what the Hell?" It's not a typical story in any way possible, but it's not so unique that you won't be able to follow it.

The characters are great: especially Amethyst, because she's a character you want to slap at first, especially during her first scene. She's a pampered princess, but when things go sour for her she really steps up.

Clark is a troubled boy with regrets, doubts and a lot of grief. His mother's a prostitute who gets murdered, and the people he thinks are family aren't, not at all. He's also in deep trouble with the army, and has to try and work out these unearthly powers at a very young age. He's inspirational to teens reading this.

At the top of this tower of themes and emotions you have socio-political issues, with senators and military men trying to control those beneath them. It's a ery interesting little twist to things.

All in all, while I'm still not a huge steampunk genre, I really liked this book and it's making me want to delve deeper into it!

4/4---a great tale all around! 

BOOK REVIEW: "The Devils That Have Come To Stay" by Pamela DiFrancesco

A tale that turns the American western on its head.
California, late 1848. A nameless saloonkeeper has been alone for months while his wife, Joanna, is in Coloma caring for her ailing mother. Joanna’s letters, which tell of her mother’s nervous health crisis and the destruction of the surrounding land, have become darker and stranger. Meanwhile, the saloonkeeper witnesses several unexplainable events—voices speaking in strange languages in places where he sees only familiar faces, the mysterious death of a creekful of fish, a Stranger with a mouthful of gold teeth, and a dying Native American man who trails white feathers everywhere he goes.
The fields of Sutter’s Fort, near where Joanna is staying, haunt the saloonkeeper’s dreams, and soon he decides he must leave the sanctuary of his saloon and travel to her. Caught up in a journey north, the saloonkeeper witnesses the sometimes horrifying, senselessly violent shifting Gold Rush landscape. Amidst the chaos, he finds his only refuge in thoughts of Joanna. But when his troubled past emerges in glimpses he struggles to repress, the nameless traveler is left with a decision that will change not only his life but the lives of everyone around him.

Devils, when you read the title, immediately makes you think of paranormal novels, right? Wrong. This story, a horror-laced desperate story of a man haunted by nightmares, is a Western...but not your typical John Wayne type of Western.
I don't know a lot about the Gold Rush, so if there are any mistakes in geography or timeline, I can't tell you. What I can tell you is that, below the horror, is a love story of a man who is desperate to see his wife. It might not be prevalent in the middle of all that suspense, but this is a love story, deep down where it counts.
It is suspenseful, and you can tell the author did her research on mining in late 19th century California. It's the amount of care that was put into creating this story that makes it worth reading. Our nameless hero is three-dimensional and relatable, a great lead.
Will everyone like this? No. Should everyone give it a chance anyway? Definitely!

4/5--worth a read!

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