My name is Cornelius Latimer, and I have fallen in love. The object of my affection isn’t tall and blonde with all the right curves. It isn’t even human. My love belches smoke and breathes fire. My world runs on steam and hard metal, and I am a master of both. My Uncle, Rufus Harrison, has funded my expeditions. He’s gifted me with a lab containing all the parts and space I could possibly need. For weeks I have been toiling over my journals, crafting my biggest and best creation yet. It’s heady, this feeling of power. But I made a fatal error. I told a friend about my machine. And now someone who should not know, does. I should tear everything apart, but I can’t.

Love does strange things to people.




Genre: Young adult, romance, steampunk, fantasy

Cover art by Dara England




~Excerpt~

Clockwork earrings highlighted the graceful curve of her neck. Red satin swirled around a tiny figure wrapped in a black suede corset. Dark eyes swept the room with only a hint of apprehension. Thick jet hair winked with stones as the angel turned toward me.

I nearly swallowed my tongue.

“Cornelius Latimer! What the devil is wrong with you?” My best friend, Anthony DeSalvo, frowned and followed my gaze. “Bloody hell.”

“That didn’t come from Hell,” I whispered. Around the crowded, gas-lit ballroom, other men stopped mid-sentence and faced the angel gracing the entryway. I was not the only man enthralled. The world paused and the throbbing pulse of distant steam engines mimicked my heartbeat.

Anthony snorted and tossed back his punch. “A pretty face that will be forgotten in a week.” He studied me, one eyebrow cocked at my lack of attention. He hooted with laughter. “Finally, one of the sacrificial virgins has caught your eye!”

I elbowed him. “I don’t mock you about your conquests.”

He chortled, straightening his silk waistcoat. “That’s because I have so many. This, this, is a special occasion.”

He remained silent a few more moments. I assumed he watched as she moved through the crowd like Moses. I spared him a glance, noting the intense stare he sent in her direction. Unreasonable jealousy clouded my senses. Just when I opened my mouth to comment, he pulled a large coin from his waistcoat pocket.

“I’ll flip you for her.” His tone turned serious.

That got my full attention. A strange gleam lit Anthony’s eye, one I had never seen before. “What?”

“You heard me. Even if she is your first crush, every man out there will be after her. At least if we’re both pursuing her, we’ll double our collective chances. But when we catch her, who will keep her?”

~Review from Lulu at BookAddict~

Normally, this is not a book that I would pick up and read. This book was unique - not weird - but unique. I have never read something quite like it ever before, it is not one of my usual books. But I loved it and I'm so glad I had the chance to read it! In my opinion the Goodreads description doesn't do it justice, it barely tells anything about the story!

Cornelius (how awesome is that name?!) is a Tinker- an inventor. He is nineteen years of age and is obessed with machines. Until he meets Temperance. The woman of his dreams, or so he thought. All goes wrong after a rigged set up, and Cornelius is dragged into a bad situation. He is threatened into making his invention, but soon realizes that his captor may have other plans for him. Bad plans. So, with the help of a young lady, he and her escape. But what will they do when Cornelius's former captor frames them for treason and murder? Well, they hide out in a secret underworld and make a plan. A plan to clear their names, and to give the credit back to Cornelius for his invention. Well, there you have it, that's my best attempt to give a description for an awesome book.

The characters were so real. I loved Cornelius, he was so smart and had a lot of drive in him. I also liked the other characters because some of them it was like 'hey wait a minute.... are they telling the truth?' and I loved that because it kept me on the edge of my seat! The setting was good too. I just am not sure exactly what period of time this book was centered at. This takes place in London by the way.

Miss Barger's writing style was so clear and easy to follow that I didn't go back tracking trying to figure out what just happened. I really appreciated that. Overall, I enjoyed this book from front to back. By the middle I was hooked and just so excited to see what was going to happen.

In conclusion, this book has it all. It has: action, romance, mystery, thrills, witty converstations and even mythology (I enjoyed that part very very much :p) I highly recommend this book to everyone. So, don't hesitate to grab this one up if you see it!! My hat is tipped to the author!



~Review from The Pen and Muse~

“Steaming” is a light hearted, genuinely entertaining story, written in an easy and well-paced style. Set in an alternative Victorian London, it presents a world of etiquette, courtly manners and daring technology, in which the hero, Cornelius Latimer, must be true to his genius, defeat the Lord of the criminal world and win his true love.

Cornelius is only interested in his inventions but he is tempted away from his work by a beautiful young lady who appears to share his passions. While he struggles to pay court to her, she is luring him into a dangerous criminal world where his talents are valuable to the sinister and the unprincipled. As he becomes lost to respectable life, another girl, as unconventional as he, will rescue him and initiate him into a different kind of underworld that will prove his salvation.

A crazy airship race and the personal intervention of Her Majesty the Queen are highlights in the plot but Vanessa Barger knows how to hook in the reader and keep them turning pages all the way through the book. Barger’s straightforward style is very suitable for her intended Young Adult market but it is also appealing and refreshing for readers of all ages. She is convincing and humorous in her story telling – if you enjoy an old-fashioned yarn of “daring do” then this is the book for you.

Author Bio:

"I am a Young Adult author who teaches high schoolers all about technology education (and yearbook!) in rural Virginia along the Chesapeake Bay. I am the owner slave to one cat, Molly, who looks a little like a cow when she gets a haircut, and write in my free time. I am actively involved in the YA Fiction Fanatics critique group, which is dedicated to helping its members produce the best MG and YA novels they can write. This past summer I finally bit the bullet and also joined the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators).

I’ve currently finished five manuscripts, and I’m working on several more. I love writing, and my goal is to be able to do this full time someday – or at least as a published author enjoy it as a second job. I also love long walks on the beach discussing Shakespeare while sipping large fruity drinks with little umbrellas."