Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw this book cover I thought it was beautiful and I needed to get my hands on a copy. I imagine the real book with be something else, especially if the colours are metallic.

It was a really enjoyable read, a little bit fantastical filled with magic and a steampunk science twist. The author describes and creates the world brilliantly and had me hooked from the first page. It is quite a slow build but there is so much going on and to take in that I kind of liked this, it gave me time to digest what was happening and to familiarise yourself with the characters and their names.

A really great book and I look forwards to reading more books in the series or written by the author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this!

I was instantly intrigued by the synopsis of this book. This book instantly drew me in, I got to explore through the eyes of our main character and this is always my favorite way to discover these details of the story and, it was done very well in this book. I really enjoyed this book and the plot. This author did amazing. I loved the writing style.

The first thing about this book that caught my eye was the cover, it’s gorgeous. Then, the synopsis sucked me in. I am always looking for a good steam punk good. Prior to this book, I had yet to find one.

This book should be the standards for which to judge steam punk books in the future. It was phenomenal and I’m looking forward to the next book.

Things I loved about the book:
I loved the tone and the first person narrator. Our narrator is is a strong woman? Yet she also has vulnerabilities and a lot of struggles. I really enjoyed her personality and watching her brown and make decisions.

I also loved the magic and science and the way they interacted in this world. You learn about the magic and science from context and dialogue vs large amounts of info dumps which can be very boring.

There is a lot of politics, and it’s important to the story but sometimes I zone out a bit with those details.

Overall, this is the best steam punk book I have read and I highly recommend it.

5 star story, but it has some translation issues. 4 star book overall. I absolutely love this book even though it reads very much like a translated work. I eagerly await a sequel!

THE PROTAGONIST
The best thing about this book was the protagonist: Adrienne Imlay. She’s a scientist in a world where men dominate the sciences. She seeks to understand magic using scientific method, but isn’t blind to the aspects of magic that can’t be explained rationally. She actually thinks and acts like a scientist (unlike many characters in fiction which are labeled as scientists but never think or act like scientists). She’s curious, inquisitive, and methodical. And it shows in her actions. She also has a magical aptitude herself and is very aware that not all of magic can be explained with science.

She’s impressive and likable, but not unrealistically flawless. She’s formidable and a little scary, but not cold or unkind. She’s quick on her feet and sometimes impulsive, but not reckless. She’s believably intelligent, shrewd, and cunning, but she has her blindspots. She’s brave, ambitious, and defiant. She’s also pragmatic and practical enough to know when not to show her cards (like hiding her magical aptitude in a society hostile to magical people), when to adopt her go-to cranky researcher persona, when to play dumb, when to dress in rags to avoid being mugged, when to be cautious, and when it’s safer to take a calculated risk. She’s confident in her abilities, but not arrogant.

She’s independent and no social butterfly, but she’s loyal, cares deeply about the few friends she does have, and will take risks to protect those she cares for. She can be diabolical, ruthless, protective, and not averse to killing or hurting dangerous people when necessary. For example, when someone wronged her friend, Adrienne covered the offender's room with beef blood to make them think a vampire was hunting them.

Finally, she delivers lovable snark and wisdom. Examples:
“the human mind has never been short of paradoxes”
“‘Is there a Party for Common Sense and a Better Life for Everyone?’ ‘Are you joking?’ ‘Of course.’”

WORLD-BUILDING
This book has excellent, extensive, and realistically complicated world building. It covers the political landscape, competing religious philosophies, history, the nature of magic, and theories of creation of this rich new universe. This includes flashbacks to Addrienne’s childhood. This does slow down the pace of the book sometimes, especially early in the story. A lot of this world-building details, particularly the flashbacks and politics of an upcoming election, seem unnecessary at first. If you stick it out, it all turns out to be relevant. All these unrelated world-building details are weaved together as clues and context crucial to the mystery plot in this book. With it, there comes some entertaining and memorable nuggets of wisdom on politics. Examples: When Addreine attempts to apply logic to politics, her wonderful politic-savvy friend tells her: “In terms of common sense, you are right. But this is not about common sense, Adrienne. This is about emotions.”

PLOT
Adrienne has made a name for herself in the scientific study of magic. While preparing to travel to speak at a prestigious academic conference and working with a new foreign magical researcher, Adrienne gets caught up in all sorts of trouble. She gets caught up in the political intrigue of an upcoming election where magic and religion are the key issues (and the results could affect the field of magical research. She investigates a series of thefts of magical artifacts (some of them from her lab). She finds a friend’s soul stuck in a piece of paper and sets out to find a way to return his soul to his currently missing body. To add to all that, a god is showing interest in her, someone’s making werewolves, and everyone seems to want to interrogate her or hire her as a spy. These seemingly scattered plots all prove related and interconnected.

I absolutely loved the ending. A little bit of chaos, a few just desserts, and a lot of answers. No cliffhangers here, but there is a clear setup for a sequel. The major mysteries and conflicts are resolved in a satisfying way that makes sense. The scattered clues were woven together in a subtle, yet coherent, manner. The book arrives at a resolution, but there are still some mysteries left to be solved, adventures to be had, and plot lines to be continued in one or more sequels. There’s even a hint of a possible developing romance to be explored. The election results are yet to come and Adrienne is set to embark on a journey to an academic conference about magic with her new visiting researcher.

TRANSLATION
5 star content, but the book was translated to English by an author whose primary language is French. The translation isn’t the best, but it never kept me from understanding the content of the story. For example, there are occasional instances of mixing up tenses or conflating the singular and plural forms of words. It’s also a more literal translation, which I personally prefer because it gives you a clearer sense of the author’s original story, even though literal translations sometimes seem a bit unpolished. If this keeps you from enjoying this fantastic story, you’re missing out on a unique world, an enthralling story, and a fantastic strong female protagonist. With some more editing and an improved translation, this could be brought up to a 5 star read.

First of all, thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This is such an entertaining and fun read. The premise and the book cover are what attracted me to the book in the first place. The idea and execution are well written with the protagonist being one of the most prominent character in the story. The translation can be done better but overall, an entertaining read.

Thanks to Netgalley and author Alex Evans for an eReader copy of Experimental Magics in exchange for an honest review.

When I finished this book I was totally not ready for it to be over yet. I need more of the story!!

The story follows Adrienne Imlay, a professor of magical scientific studies. In a steampunk inspired world where men typically rule the field of science, Adrienne just wishes to work in peace. With an ability to detect the power of magical objects, one that she keeps secret, Adrienne advances in her work and draws the attention of some powerful people; politicians, magic enforcers, werewolves, ancient gods.

When strange events begin to occur, objects from her lab disappear, and she finds the soul of a colleague trapped inside an inanimate object, Adrienne finds herself deep in the center of a dark scheme where some nefarious men are piecing together a banned machine connected to Adrienne's own unique past. But it is important to remeber the laws of magic, and that everything has a price.

Although I felt this story had a bit of a slow start, once I got into it I could not put it down. I became so engrossed in the sections involving Adrienne's childhood, I wanted there to be so much more of that. Reading about the history and magic connected to her past made her character round out in so many ways. I love feeling like I get to really know who a character is and with this book you definitely get that with Adrienne.

And with most of the setting being in a steampunk inspired new age of technology and science, what's there not to love? Fancy dresses, elaborate parties, steam cars, politics, mysterious deaths, soul transfers, shape-shifting creatures. This book hit on several interesting levels and I'm dying for more. Will definitely be continuing on with the series in the future.

This was a very enjoyable read!
A great mix of magic, steampunk and mystery.
I loved the attention to detail regarding different cultures and habits. Adrienne was a relatable, smart woman with flaws and quirks who made reasonable decisions (my pet peeve is MCs who do stupid stuff just for the sake of the story). I loved the relationship and dialogue between her and Hamilcar.
Some of the sentences were grammatically wrong, but it still made sense.
I'd love to read the second book in the series. What a refreshing new genre mix.

I can recommend this to anyone who enjoys some mystery with their steampunk. The closet this book reminds me of is the "The Brass Queen" by Elizabeth Chatsworth. If you liked that, pick this one up for sure.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was absolutely delighted with this book & look forward to the next installation. Probably one of the best steampunk mysteries I have ever read. The author creates a rich multi religious multi ethnic & country background tapestry to add to the whole story of a female professors misadventures & life.

I was a little iffy going into this book, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a perfect mix of mystery and magic. Throw in a dash of politics and fantasy and you have the makings of a great novel. The only flaw I found was that I felt like there was just a bit too much going on and could have been simplified down a bit so as not to throw so much at the reader all at once.

TL;DR: How to describe this book in a few words.. hmm..

Victorian era, steampunk?, intelligent female lead, magic, mysterious adventure, slow burn, talking inanimate object-oh, yes!, in-depth world and social system, first of a series.

~

This book left a smile on my face 😊
Really quite enjoyable.
Like having a cup of tea with an old friend

(Which, coincidentally there is quite a bit of in here)

Adrienne, our main character, and best friend/tea partner (and sometimes coffee).. well, she’s pretty cool, to say the least.

*Fierce
*Intelligent
*Witty
*Loner
*Both courageous and brave
*Loveable
*A breath of fresh air

Oh yeah, and she’s a Professor and a ★witch★

The other characters?.. Well, there are A LOT.. a bit too many to keep track of actually, but the main characters are so strong that I found myself surprisingly not minding that I sometimes couldn’t remember who the others were lol..

There is a HUGE social and political system with many races and many political parties.. this plays a very big part in the overall plot.

The rest of the world?

Well.. it’s a funny story that. I spent the whole first half thinking this was some sort of Victorian era steampunk mixed with space travel..

Why?

The term “airship”. What the heck is an airship, I thought.. I now know that is it not used for space travel (Thank you, Google).

The world is in fact, the lovely Victorian, olden day era, with corsets, steamcabs.. oh and magic, flying letters and a talking inanimate object.

Had me yearning for the days of old - minus the lack of hygiene and women’s rights.

And yes, you read that right.. the talking inanimate object is a BLAST! Really fun.. and good old Hamilcar (our other supporting companion) is just as dashing! I’m sure you will love them.

Overall, this was a slow burn, mysterious adventure, with pops of action here and there, set in a wonderful era with a delightful female lead and supporting companions, and some magic and politics.

The only things I didn’t LOVE were the flashbacks and the epilogue which completely rushed the ending.. but other than that - I thought it was fantastic.

I’ll end by leaving my reading notes.. as interesting as I’m sure they will be.. haha

“*Very interesting world, history and political and social structure.
*Strong, likable female lead
*easy, flowing writing
*engaging mystery
*I’m confused. So…many…things. Politics…race…
*lengthy flashbacks
*courage to keep hair colour”

🧡