Sunday, 3 August 2014

NOBLE METALS

NOBLE METALS by L.A. Witt
 
Pages: 196
Date: 03/08/2014
Grade: 4
Details: Received from Riptide Publishers
            Through Love Romances and More
Kindle

The blurb:

“Ever since Robert Belton gambled away the money to stake his claim in the Klondike gold fields, he’s been stranded in Seattle working as a prostitute. When an attractive customer needs help hauling provisions to the frozen north, Robert eagerly volunteers. 

Dr. John Fauth is only searching for one thing, and it isn’t gold. He needs platinum for the prototypes of his revolutionary inventions, and if he doesn’t find it in the Klondike, his university career—and his research—is over. 

Getting to the Klondike is a grueling, dangerous journey, and just hours after leaving Seattle, John and Robert find themselves in over their heads. John is carrying an invaluable device that his competitors will do anything to get their hands on. And as the cold nights and mutual desire pull John and Robert closer together, they discover that they have much more to lose than gold or platinum.”

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My thoughts:

This was a fun, exciting and fascinating romance for a host of reasons.

The two main characters in this book were fascinating, both together and separately. Robert Belton finds himself working as a prostitute after he and his brother have lost the money that was supposed to take them to the gold fields. When Robert spends the night with Dr. John Fauth it is the first time he’s experienced anything resembling pleasure with a man and it is a revelation. Still, he will be travelling with the doctor for a while before he dares to believe that the man is more than just another ‘john’ and sees him as anything other than a prostitute.

Dr. John Fauth is a man on a mission. Determined to make it to the gold fields in order to find the precious metal he needs to make his invention work and his dreams come true he doesn’t realise how much danger he’s putting himself and his travel companion in.  

The mixture of constant danger and slowly developing relationship is perfectly balanced and kept me turning the pages as quickly as I could without missing a word. The suspense is constantly lurking in the background and the growing relationship between the two, at first glance incompatible, men takes the edge off while at the same time introducing a whole new level of tension.

Then there is the time and place in which this story is set; the most northern parts of America during the late 19th century. Hordes are flogging to the Klondike gold fields to strike it rich before the precious metal runs out. But this is not quite the 19th century as we know it. Thrown into the mix are automatons unlike any ever invented. The steampunk twist gives the story that extra level of originality without taking anything away from the underlying romance.

The story is mainly told from Robert’s point of few, but interspersed are diary entries written by John.  I liked this set up. It made a nice change from the more common switch between narrators while still giving us both perspectives.

As always Mrs. Witt’s story was a delight to read. Her writing is smooth, her dialogue sparkles and her plots are clever and never fail to capture me from the start. Noble Metals was a wonderful read and yet another confirmation (if I needed one) of this author’s talent for telling a captivating story.



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