Bridget Tagwynn is my new (YA) hero. From the prologue, I honestly thought the book was going to be a coming of age story about Gwendolyn Lancaster -- a better entitled spoiled brat has never been written. In my eyes, she quickly became a secondary character to Bridget, Folly, and Grimm -- all of whom show more maturity and character development throughout the book.

Bridget steals the show, with a little help from Rowl. Though, if you know anything about cats, the entire story is all about Rowl. According to the book blurb, the story is supposed to be about "the grim captain" and his ship Predator, and I suppose that may become the case as the series unfolds, but this first book is definitely an introduction to the characters and war between the Spires.

To be honest, I'm picky about my steampunk and I wasn't sure what to expect from Butcher's foray into the genre. Much like Bujold, it doesn't matter which genre his books are classified into because the character development and storytelling keep you reading. There aren't too many characters nor locations to keep track of, and if you think of this as a YA book instead of one written for adults, you'll enjoy it much more.

I'm looking forward to the next book.