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2015 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Medusa by Elizabeth Watasin

Medusa: A Dark Victorian Penny Dread by Elizabeth Watasin
Lesbian Fantasy Romance
Series: The Dark Victorian Penny Dreads
Paperback: 216 pages
Publisher: A-Girl Studio (February 14, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1936622246
ISBN-13: 978-1936622245
Amazon: Medusa: A Dark Victorian Penny Dread
Amazon Kindle: Medusa: A Dark Victorian Penny Dread

Blind Elvie Chaisty discovers a breathing British Museum marble and soon more “living” statues appear in London. Meanwhile, a masked, monocled sculptress invites guests to her provocative marble garden, to be experienced by touch alone. The rich and the specially invited Elvie are enchanted by the sculpted bodies that can be discerned beneath their hands until one visitor dares to make a deadly discovery. Journalist Helia Skycourt and her stick for hire, Ellie Hench, must find out: is the monocled woman the centre of a death cult, one helping young women to an eternal state? Helia and Ellie race to solve the mystery before the sculptress’s fascination for Elvie seduces Elvie into her marble garden, permanently. With a special appearance by Artifice, artificial ghost and heroine of the steampunk Dark Victorian series, MEDUSA is a gothic, romantic horror set in an 1880, mechanical and supernatural London. An F/F lesbian historical dark romance and gaslamp fantasy. "Masterful. A vivid world of myth, mystery and Victorian magic." ~Felicity Kates, author of the Steam Bunny, The Little Miss Kick-Ass series "A delightful girly-Gothic romance, inventive, sensuous and thrilling; Dracula's Daughter by way of Hellboy. An absolute joy." ~Amelia Mangan, writer of the macabre: Drag Noir, Phobophobias, and the upcoming Release.


I adore this book. Elvie is entirely too perfect and meandering sensuality of the story had me devouring pages. I loved every second of it.

Probably my favorite read from the first batch of Rainbow Awards stories. This combines some of my favorite things: romance, adventure, reimagined mythology (yes, that is genuinely one of my favorite things), steampunk and a certain Gothic air, all written together with wit and imagination. Elvie is a fascinating character, and the subtle callbacks to the first book in this series don’t detract, they just make me want to go read more by this author. Fantastic world, great storytelling, and characters that stick with you.

Impressive Victorian era Gothic, Steampunk, and not watching the series Penny Dreadful I can't say how much that comes into play but I was able to read the story even though it is book 4 in a series it stands on it's own.


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