The Key to My Heart

Nefertiti's Heart by A.W. Exley

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.

Summary: Cara Devon has always suffered curiosity and impetuousness, but tangling with a serial killer might cure that. Permanently. London, 1861. Impoverished noble Cara has a simple mission after the strange death of her father - sell off his damned collection of priceless artifacts. Her plan goes awry when aristocratic beauties start dying of broken hearts, an eight inch long brass key hammered through their chests. A killer hunts amongst the nobility, searching for a regal beauty and an ancient Egyptian relic rumored to hold the key to immortality. Her Majesty's Enforcers are in pursuit of the murderer and they see a connection between the gruesome deaths and Cara. So does she, somewhere in London her father hid Nefertiti's Heart, a fist sized diamond with strange mechanical workings. Adding further complication to her life, notorious crime lord, Viscount Nathaniel Lyons is relentless in his desire to lay his hands on Cara and the priceless artifact. If only she could figure out his motive. Self-preservation fuels Cara's search for the gem. In a society where everyone wears a mask to hide their true intent, she needs to figure out who to trust, before she makes a fatal mistake.

Review: A steampunk adventure with some standard romance elements and plenty of mythology.

I requested this book from Netgalley on a whim because of the cover and because it was steampunk. It’s a genre that I enjoy, but that I haven’t read enough of recently. I’ve been very into historical fiction lately, especially about the Tudors, so that’s been taking up a good chunk of my reading time. Tangent aside, I was interested to read Nefertiti’s Heart. The premise of a madman trying to stick keys into women looking for his lost love was a very intriguing one. It’s a wonderful play on the phrase, you hold the key to my heart.

Cara was a bundle of contradictions, and not in a good way. She talks about how touch bothers her, which is understandable considering what happened to her, yet she lets Nathanial touch her so quickly. You can’t escape the trauma just like that. She is constantly reminding us how slim she is and her rounded her chest is. I got it the first time. Cara talks about how she hates feeling girlish and wearing girly clothes yet is constantly wearing corsets and doesn’t want to get blood on her clothing while she is boxing.

Cara’s interaction with Nathanial was a bit too much of your standard romance at first. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and had her followed. I was disinclined to like him at first, but as their relationship developed, Nathanial actually showed that he really did care about Cara although I still feel like he was too protective.

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy steampunk novels with romance.