BOOK REVIEW: Curio by Evangeline Denmark

When perusing the books to review popped up, I chose this one, Curio by Evangeline Denmark.  I chose it for several reasons. I wanted something fanciful, as I have been doing too much serious reading lately. The title caught me, as it brought back memories of something that my wife and I once thought of doing. Finally, the description of this book as "steam-punk" was curious to me.

My first impression of the book after reading its entirety, is intriguing. Even with the things stated above, I wasn't quite prepared for this type of novel. I was not used to things described in early 1900's industry terms, mixed with Chemists and a bizarre heroine theme to boot. This was a good read for someone looking for fanciful and outside the norms. I got involved in the book, and found myself wanting to go back to it to read and finish it. This is unusual, as with most I'm ready to put it down after the first several chapters. Ms.Denmark has a unique imagination and a talent for getting her thoughts down on paper. I hope that she writes more. 

I admit that the "steam-punk" was a little different, and there were places that I found things choppy and hard to piece together. But, that may be because I am not used to reading this style of book.  This should not detract you (the reader) from getting the book and reading it yourself.  It is an excellent themed book for younger audiences (and some of us older ones too), it has a good flow, a good plot and is able to engage the reader without all of the extraneous "stuff" that many of its counter-parts in the world have.  As regards personal tastes, for my part I would have wished a little bit more background as to why the characters are in the positions that they are in, and why the worlds mentioned exist. I believe Ms.Denmark will only get better with time.

My overall rating of the book is good and I recommend that you get it if you are looking for a fanciful read, or if you are into "steam-punkish" style reading.  Even if you aren't, read it anyway, it will help get your mind off of daily stuff. Ms.Denmark - write more...I would be interested to see what else is out there.