Sharing the TBR: ALL MEN OF GENIUS by Lev AC Rosen

We start a new occasional feature at Preternatura today!

I’m on a heavy writing schedule between now and early spring, finishing up the third book in my upcoming Sentinels of New Orleans series (yeah, I know, crazy, right? I’m finishing book three and book one isn’t out until April!). So what I want to do is continue to share the love with some books from my TBR pile that I just don’t think I’m going to get to in a timely manner. So I’m giving them to you! Comment at the end to win the day’s featured book. And if you want to see how the new book is progressing I have a jarring blue progress bar over to the right and down a bit.

Today, I’m looking at All Men of Genius, a steampunk from debut author Lev AC Rosen that got great reviews, and looks like a fun read. I do love stories where the girls pretend to be guys so they can get somewhere in life…and then get in all kinds of “situations” because of it. The book was inspired by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, which is...sort of mind-boggling, actually.

THE OFFICIAL BLURB: Inspired by two of the most beloved works by literary masters, All Men of Genius takes place in an alternate Steampunk Victorian London, where science makes the impossible possible. Violet Adams wants to attend Illyria College, a widely renowned school for the most brilliant up-and-coming scientific minds, founded by the late Duke Illyria, the greatest scientist of the Victorian Age. The school is run by his son, Ernest, who has held to his father’s policy that the small, exclusive college remain male-only. Violet sees her opportunity when her father departs for America. She disguises herself as her twin brother, Ashton, and gains entry. But keeping the secret of her sex won’t be easy, not with her friend Jack’s constant habit of pulling pranks, and especially not when the duke’s young ward, Cecily, starts to develop feelings for Violet’s alter ego, “Ashton.” Not to mention blackmail, mysterious killer automata, and the way Violet’s pulse quickens whenever the young duke, Ernest (who has a secret past of his own), speaks to her. She soon realizes that it’s not just keeping her secret until the end of the year faire she has to worry about: it’s surviving that long.

MY THOUGHTS: I like the steampunk genre as long as the character development keeps pace with the whirligigs and machinery—and from what I can tell, this one does a good job of it.

            The author has some links to reviews on his website, which you can find HERE.

THE GIVEAWAY: Want to win a hardcover copy of All Men of Genius? Have you tried reading steampunk, and what do you think about it? Four entries possible:  +1 for comment, +1 for blog follow, +1 for Twitter follow @Suzanne_Johnson, and +1 for Tweet or Retweet. Go!