Goldilox and the Three Weres: Review: The Mech Who Loved Me by Bec McMaster

The Mech Who Loved Me
(London Steampunk: The Blueblood Conspiracy #2)
Bec McMaster
Release: June 27, 2017
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ARC provided by the author

Ava McLaren is tired of being both a virgin, and a mere laboratory assistant for the Company of Rogues. When a baffling mystery rears its head, it presents her with the opportunity to work a real case... and perhaps get a taste of the passion that eludes her.

Blue bloods are dying from a mysterious disease, which should be impossible. Ava suspects there's more to the case than meets the eye and wants a chance to prove herself. There’s just one catch—she’s ordered to partner with the sexy mech, Kincaid, who's a constant thorn in her side. Kincaid thinks the only good blue blood is a dead one. He's also the very last man she would ever give her heart to… which makes him the perfect candidate for an affair.

The only rule? It ends when the case does.

But when an attempt on her life proves that Ava might be onto something, the only one who can protect her is Kincaid. Suddenly the greatest risk is not to their hearts, but whether they can survive a diabolical plot that threatens to destroy every blue blood in London—including Ava.

Review:

I've come to expect incredible action scenes from the London Steampunk series. The Mech Who Loved Me does deliver them, tough not to the same extent as the two most recent books. It focuses more on detective work, interviewing suspects and examining forensic evidence, since Ava is a CSI. But most of all, it spends time building the relationship between Ava and Kincaid.

Their story feels very modern in some ways. Ava suffers from PTSD after the events of Forged by Desire, the book that introduced her character. Five years later she still has flashbacks at the worst possible times. And Kincaid suffers from muscular dystrophy. While I felt like his illness humanized his somewhat larger than life character, I got bit tired of him repeatedly thinking about how it doomed his relationship. (I often have that problem with a romance though whenever a character, usually the hero, thinks they're not good enough for their love interest.) I didn't love the way Kincaid's condition was ultimately dealt with either, in part because it was predictable. It also touches on a particular PNR pet peeve of mine, which is probably too spoilery to go in to. But when Ava and Kincaid are not being all angsty, their chemistry is great to watch

The book also brings back characters from the previous series, primarily Perry and Garrett who play a big role in Ava's life. And it spends some time setting up future romances, though there aren't really any surprises there. What I didn't expect, and I'm not sure I'm happy about, is for the Big Bad to be revealed. I'm starting to have a different view of how the series will play out since there are four more members of the Company of Rogues who still need to get their HEAs.

I feel like The Mech Who Loved Me is a solid edition to the London Steampunk world, but it's not my favorite in the series. I'll admit it had some high expectations to live up to though. I'm still so happy that the series is continuing and I'm excited to see what's next.