The Eterna Files

I would like to find a steampunk adventure that really knocks my socks off. Or knocks my... stockings off. This book wasn't it. OKAY - but. The writing is good (a few clunky sentences), and I liked the feisty women and the premise of a search for the ever-illusive Eterna (immortality) Compound, with British and American teams racing to outwit each other. The two lead female characters are resourceful and predominant (though I had trouble remembering who was who), the supporting characters appropriately steampunky (maybe the better term is gaslamp-y but that just sounds weird). And yet... What exactly is supposed to be going on? I felt as if no matter how diligently I read, I was always just skimming the surface. Everything interesting - passionate illicit affairs, circus spy tricks, paranormal talents - failed to resonate as powerfully as I hoped. I read a lot of web promos about this book, promising quirky - even "madcap" characters and adventure. I liked the characters, sure. They had some snappy dialogue and adventures... check. But I think this book was probably more exciting to write than read. By the time I'd gone through several "kidnapping" chapters, they all seemed to blend together. Only in the last quarter of the book did I find a plot and suspense worth getting riled up about. The Eterna Compound itself mostly felt like a MacGuffin, its potential ingredients dull. The introduction of vampires at the eleventh hour had me sitting upright with a big HUH? Sigh. I did finish this book, though - that speaks mostly to my affinity for Victoriana and occult adventure stories.

I received my copy of this book as a free ARC from Netgalley.