An apprentice coming from the slums to work with a wealthy inventor as they fall in love. William is lucky to have found Marcus, someone that complements him in his work and his bed as they fall in love and plan a jewelry heist to boot.
From the blurb:
Amid London’s brass and steam, one apprentice and one inventor risk everything for a love society would deny.
If Marcus Tanner can prove himself worthy of inventor William Collier’s workshop, he can claim a future he’s never dared allow himself to imagine when growing up in the slums of London.
For William, Marcus is meant to be only an apprentice: brilliant, steady-handed, and entirely too easy to admire. But long nights among brass and steam turn respect into longing, and longing into something far more dangerous, with class and propriety standing between them at every turn. And for all William thrives within the Inventors’ Guild—among minds like his own, where wit, invention, and a taste for trouble are rewarded—it is not a world that makes room for a man like Marcus at his side.
Then William draws Marcus into the sort of mischief the Guild delights in most: outwitting polite society and stealing a priceless ruby. As Marcus begins to believe he might truly have a place in William’s life, the return of William's former lover stirs old doubts and new wounds. Marcus has fought too hard for this life to risk his heart on a man whose world was never built for him—especially when every fear he has ever carried whispers that he will never be enough to be chosen.
Finishing Touches is a gay steampunk romance novel with a backdrop of the elite London members' club, The Inventors' Guild.
SNik's review:
Standalone. Steampunk. Mentor/mentee. Slow burn. Found family. Dual POV.
Marcus takes a chance and applies to be the apprentice of an inventor and his life changes for the better. Not expecting to be drawn to his new apprentice, William finds he wants Marcus in his life at his side working and planning secret heists on the side. This was a fun introduction to a new world surrounding the Inventor’s Guild.
Even though we don’t get a huge amount of information about the guild itself, we do get a group of enterprising characters with very little angst surrounding how people conduct their intimate lives. Marcus and William are both likable and intelligent, Marcus trying to better his life and falling for his mentor, while William is a patient teacher that doesn’t want to take advantage and waits until Marcus lets his feelings be known. I enjoyed the building of their relationship, and thought the heist would be more front and center but was fine with its quick and relatively tame conclusion. If the author plans more from this universe in a possible series I would look forward to reading them.
Finishing Touches is currently available as an e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription
Comments
Post a Comment