Gail Carriager has written another fun tale set in her Parasolverse, which is an alternate-history Victorian London where supernatural creatures live openly alongside humans and steampunk-based technology makes life a bit more interesting. It is the setting for The majority of her work, including The Parasol Protectorate, Finishing School and Custard Protocol series, along with 3 ongoing series of stand-alone romance novellas - Delightfully Deadly Novellas, Claws and Courtship (which will focus on werewolves) and the Supernatural Society (LGBT romances.) It is to this last group that "-Romancing the Inventor" belongs.

Genevieve Lefoux a brilliant inventor, has reluctantly become indentured to a hive of vampires. Terribly lonely after her son left to go to school in France, she finds friendship with the newly-hired parlormaid, Imogene Hale. Imogene quickly find her interest in Genevieve turning to a deeper desire, but issues typical of the Victorian times provide a stumbling block, as do the reverberations of a badly broken heart.

There are a number of appearances from several Parasolverse favorites, and Imogene fits right in with the crowd. The romance is sweet, and the dramatic scenes are suitably tense. There's also solid sense of humor that runs through the story. There are a couple of explicit sex scenes, but none feel gratuitous or exploitive.

Ms. Carriger's fans will almost certainly love this latest addition to her world, but it's not necessary to be familiar with her previous works to enjoy this one.