Kiss of Steel

In Victorian London, the aristocracy is ruled by a group called the Echelon, “blue bloods” infected with the craving virus that will someday blossom into full-blown vampirism. Honoria Todd, daughter of a murdered inventor, escapes to the Whitechapel district with her sister and secretly infected brother. Reluctantly, Honoria asks Blade, the master of Whitechapel, to protect her family. Blade is a rogue blue blood and intensely attracted to Honoria, but she only views him as a potential monster. When a vampire commits vicious attacks in Whitechapel, Blade forges an uneasy alliance with the Echelon and Lord Vickers, his sworn enemy, to defeat the creature. Working with the Echelon is dangerous, but not as dangerous as the growing desire between Blade and Honoria. Readers will be confused by the numerous overlapping plot lines, and hastily gluing on a few gears does not a steampunk novel make. However, McMaster’s debut does put an interesting twist on the vampire mythos and the brutal side of London high society. Agent: Jessica Faust, BookEnds. (Sept.)