Evelina Cooper, niece of Sherlock Holmes, spent her early years with her father's family as part of a circus. Upon the death of her parents she was taken in by her society grandmother. Now after finishing school is a house guest of the Bancrofts for her presentation. This steampunk mystery pits the steam barons against those having any form of magic. Evelina has magic and has her uncle's training. All this puts her at the scene of a theft, a murder and a secret plot and with the tools to investigate. There is a love triangle with the Bancroft heir and a circus performer from her past. I found the whole thing way drawn out and talky. The action all seemed rather off screen or bland. I think I will not look for more in the series. ( )

What a perfect book for me. Steampunk and mystery with a touch of Sherlock Holmes are just what the doctor ordered!

This is a gritty world, one where the class divide is broad and enforced harshly. Evelina Cooper is a wonderful heroine, niece to Sherlock Holmes, and doing her best to be part of the best of Society despite her ... eclectic ... background. I loved the mystery, loved the heroine, and admired the world-building. The writer knows her craft, and it shows.

Highly recommended for fans of steampunk who enjoy a dose of mystery with a spunky main character. ( )

A Study In Silks is so much more than a Holmes spinoff. The story blends the careful detail exposition that makes Arthur Conan Doyle fun to read, and references to Holmes canon that add depth for fans and don’t detract if readers miss them. (Halfway in, Uncle Sherlock returns from Bohemia, where there’s been something of a scandal.) The mystery involves artifacts from Heinrich Schliemann’s Troy dig, a crew of Chinese craftsmen working in secret, code-breaking, a gypsy knife-thrower, and all the mysterious notes and listening at doors that make Victorian novels so lovely.

I hesitate to call this steampunk, because that conjures images of watch parts glued to waistcoats, when what I mean is a Victorian London full of Jules Verne and Space 1888 science. Powerful steam barons run their districts by controlling access to essential energy, that lights and heats homes. Dozens of servants and clockwork appliances keep grand society homes running smoothly. Despite the scientific advances, Victorian mores reign. Evelina, and her heiress friend Imogen, are presented to the queen in preparation for their first London Season, and even while solving the murder, Evelina takes care not to be unchaperoned with any young gentlemen.

Read the long (Long!) review on my blog ( )

An interesting blend of fantasy and steampunk. This is the first book I've read where magic and technology have been blended together into a unique whole.

I found the characters to be annoying twits at times, which goes to show how well Mrs. Holloway wrote the characters. They are victims of their time and station in life, and the author was able to capture that beautifully in her books. I was impressed with how she was able to make the protagonist both a flighty airhead sighing over boys and pretty dresses, while at the same time making her intelligent and witty. It's not often you find someone able to do so.

Every time you think you've got the case solved, another cog is thrown into the works, and things take an interesting turn. The book doesn't end in any way you expect, and leaves you eagerly wanting more. I can't wait to start the second book. ( )

Setting aside circa a hundred pages in. It's just too woffly - way too many words of rambling description and small details! - and it's taking too long to get back the characters we were first introduced to. (I think I'd actually like Evelina if I had slightly more opportunity.) Moreover, I tend to think that going to the villain's point of view is a poor storytelling choice, and this was a fine example of why you should avoid chapters of mustache-twirling. If your villain needs that much demonstration of what a threat he is, you're not doing very well telling your story.

Also, Sherlock Holmes. I had been hoping he wouldn't show up. He did. To be honest, I'm not interested.

A rather interesting book. The world Emma Holloway built is impressive- a Victorian world where ruthless steam barons control the technology of England, and therefore everyone in it. The threat of being "disconnected" from power keeps everyone under their thumbs, technological advances from others are squashed, and magic is punishable by death.

Enter Evelina, niece to Sherlock Holmes, houseguest of a lord- hiding a past in a circus troupe & a dangerous magical power to animate machinery. He tries to solve a puzzling mystery that implicates those closest to her, whilst surviving the romantic advances of Nick, old friend & circus performer, and Tobias rakish heir to a lordship.

The writing is decent (though sometimes repetitive), but the real draw is the romance & the world building, which are amazing. The three star ratingnis because it has its faults. The mystery is sorely lacking- we know the whole thing from the start, because the narration shifts to the villains who explain their plans towards the beginning of the book, and Evelina's detective work is a bit messy and incoherent. Also the major part played by Sherlock Holmes left me a bit uncomfortable- it sort of turned a story that was great on its own merits, and gave it a dash of commercial fanfiction, which I'm a little iffy about.

Anyhow, definitely worth reading, and I look forward to reading its sequel sometime soon. ( )

3.5/5 stars

Evelina Cooper is the niece of Sherlock Holmes. But not in the world we know, in an excellently crafted and fleshed-out world where steam power dominates and those who control it, the Steam Barons, rule nearly all. The Steam Barons decide who has power and who does not, and they harshly suppress any other forms of power, technological and magical. This gives them unprecedented control, and the ability to make even the nobility bow to their will. But not everyone is happy with this. There's a thriving black market for mechanical items and a shadow organization trying to undermine the Steam Barons. And, in hiding, there are magicians.

This leads us to Evelina, living with the Roths (best friend Imogen, rakish Tobias, and their parents, the quiet Lady Bancroft and the mercurial Lord Bancroft). A servant girl is killed and mysterious intruders abound. There are plots upon plots, all of them leading back to that one, dead, servant. Evelina wants to solve the mystery herself, Lord Bancroft wants her distracted so she can't, and a Steam Baron has hired Sherlock Holmes to investigate something that will lead him straight to the Roth's doorstep. The mystery is oh-so-tangled, and at the end, even when it is solved, some things remain unclear and many things are painful for those left standing.

I like this book because of the world building, because the characters make hard decisions, and because even though I figured out parts of the mystery I had no idea about the ultimate solution. I like Evelina, with her circus and magic background, and her determination to get an education, and for her willingness to pay the cost. I liked her magical and technological friends, Mouse and Bird. The villain was truly evil, the Steam Barons frightening, and the love both uplifting and sad.

I'm very interested to see what happens with Imogen. I'm suspicious of her dreams of being confined in a box. With the mysterious automatons Lord Bancroft tried to hide, the one Tobias destroyed, and that so much magic and mystery took place when Imogen was so ill and her twin sister died. I wonder what she is. Is she Imogen or is she a creation of technology and magic?

(Provided by publisher) ( )

I loved this to pieces. I really did. I made the mistake of looking at others' reviews, and I really shouldn't do that, and I'm not going to let it affect my opinion or my rating (and will do my best not to make this an out–and–out rebuttal of some of those reviews, despite some things said in them which baffled me): I enjoyed reading A Study in Silks, I enjoyed the characters and the plot and the writing, and I even, to my surprise, enjoyed the involvement of his serene consultingness Sherlock Holmes.

It is the tale of a young woman, Evelina, whose rather–upper–crust mother (Sherlock Holmes's sister) ran off with a young man from a circus background, who then died; disowned by the "better" folk, she turned to the show folk for support, and thus Evelina grew up performing. (I saw a review which called this niece of Sherlock Holmes who grew up performing in the circus boring. If Evelina's boring, I'm not sure what that makes me. Coma–inspiring, I suppose?) Now, though, Evelina's Holmes grandmother has – for various reasons – seen to it that she has attended finishing school and is having her Season.

One of my favorite things is a really well–turned phrase, a clever metaphor or simile. And Emma Jane Holloway excels in this area.

- - "The expectation that Evelina would also fall from grace—an event no doubt attended with all the aplomb and inevitability of cold gravy plopping from a spoon—was sufficiently acute that there were days when Evelina wanted to oblige and get it over with."

- - "One couldn’t throw a dinner bun in London without hitting a liar."

- - "The tall, lanky Edgerton moved like a giraffe on ice skates."

I loved the Society for the Proliferation of Impertinent Events.

I appreciated the characters. There was depth to them, and believability. "Tobias was intrigued. People had wanted him for his name, or his looks, or what he might do for them, but never for what he loved about himself." Poor little rich boy … no, seriously, poor Tobias, thwarted in what he most wanted to do and afraid of being forced into the wrong mold. After all, "A man has needs beyond a stuffed sheep".

Imogen's father was an interesting character. "Her hair had smelled of Cook’s baking bread, and for a week afterward his dinner rolls had carried an erotic thrill."

Imogen and her incipient love affair was adorable. "Tea is never as simple as it appears, Mr. Penner."

"Well, I understand the school closed the year you left."
Evelina cringed at the memory. "The headmistress retired after an unfortunate incident with the walking dead, but that’s a tiresome story."
– I love that that's all of it. Unless there's a prequel out there somewhere, there's just the mention, as tantalizing as her uncle's "giant rat of Sumatra".

Evelina was not a Mary Sue: always a plus. She could easily have been one – for a minute I was very much afraid that she would exhibit signs – but no: she was an intelligent teenaged girl with abilities, but not able to beat all comers and swan through unscathed.

Speaking of his deer–stalkeredness – I did not think this would work. But it did. Often the best way to keep me from being a fan is to graft one's own cutting onto a family tree where it ought not to belong – but this actually did work for me. This Holmes, dispensing very Holmesian advice to and expecting high levels of competence from his sister's daughter, is in a very similar vein to Laurie R. King's incarnation, in that – in his cool and detached way – he takes under his almost indifferent wing an orphaned girl, and expects her to rise. I found this Holmes's reactions completely believable. (Keep in mind, of course, that when I read the canon through last year I discovered that I despise the original Holmes, so close enough is … close enough.)

I did find the statement "He holds his clients’ confidentiality in high regard" as funny here as the protestations and situations in the canon; how sacrosanct is confidentiality with Watson in a corner making notes toward future publication?

All too often I have happily dived into a steampunk novel, expecting to love every minute of the ride … only to give up on it in annoyance (or finish it in annoyance). This, though, fit the bill perfectly for me: this did just about everything I'd want steampunk to do. I loved the big bad evil of the steam lobby, and the logic of how it all came about and proliferated and kept everything else down. I loved the shifting boundaries of the different–colored factions. (One thing, though: "One pays once for light and again for heat and thrice if you are so lucky as to receive electricity for your business" – how is that different from now?) I loved the crab/squid.

I saw an outraged note out there about the line "Tobias remembered some Serb had recently published a paper on wireless transmission", highly indignant that Tesla would be referred to thus… but it's from Tobias's point of view. From Tobias I would expect the prime minister to be "that chap with the monocle", if of course he had a monocle. I was pleased to catch the reference and tickled that it was there, not upset by the fact that it wasn't more pointed. (Seriously, that's the only time I'll reference another review.)

Something that did bug me, a lot, was the quote of a theatre poster (I think): "THE KNIGHTS OF TATIANA VICTORIOUS OVER THE FORCES OF KING OBERON". Tatiana??? Since when was the fairy queen Russian?

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review. ( )

So I finished A Study In Silks last night, and right off the bat, I am quite disappointed.

I loved the cover of this book, loved the idea of the book, but ultimately I found it confusing. Which I am sad about because I'm not a steampunk fan, but I picked this one up hoping it would help me transition into the genre.

Alas, it was not meant to be. I found the characters hard to grasp. I don't know if it was because it was told from multiple view points, but I didn't get a sense of WHO they were. Not a single one. And they all seemed really weak, like they couldn't stand behind their decisions - especially Tobias near the end.

I also felt like I had come in through the middle of the book and had missed all relationship building between the characters. And some "relationship building" throughout the book was needed. Two people falling in love within a week without barely speaking to each other? Come on.

Two big questions that still plague my mind:
How did Nick know where to find Evelina?
Is there really a point to having Sherlock Holmes in the story?

I really wanted to like this series, but I don't know if I will be continuing on with it or not. ( )

This book was waaaaay more complicated than it needed to be. There were too many mysteries, too many characters, too many people with too many personal agendas. I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the magic science aspects, and some of the "action" scenes (like defeating the warehouse's magical guardian) were very good. But I had to read to the end in a dogged fashion. There was just... too much. ( )

This was really pleasurable steampunk fiction, ladies and gents. Not steampunk-ish which is pretty popular these days, but something that was full of delightful cogs and gadgets, and with a whole empire running on steam. Loved it!

Steven Harper, Meljean Brook and Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris come to mind. So if you enjoyed their books, you shouldn't have a problem liking A Study in Silks.

There are three elements which made this book for me.



First of all, British Empire is ruled by a council of greedy corporations providing steam, electricity and gas to all the households. They stop any other inventions from being patented and ruthlessly suppress all progress in the name of their profits. Reminds you of something else?

Secondly, Evelina and other characters are proper inventors. They create something awesome and bizarre because they are obsessed with science, but at the same time they have to keep it all quiet so not to get on the radar of steam barons.

Thirdly, the magic exists and is reviled or prohibited to use because again steam council doesn't want magic competing with their services. You can burn or made into a laboratory rat if you are accused of being a witch.

Add to these awesome elements Evelina's circus past, her famous uncle Sherlock and her magical abilities, and this girl really knows how to get into trouble!

Secondary characters are not one dimensional and quite intriguing as well. Tobias and Imogen Roth, Bucky Penner (who absolutely charmed me), Dr. Marcus, Keating and of course, Nick. Great bunch, and I'm pretty sure they all will have their own stories developed along with Evelina's in following books.

My only complaint is that there are a lot of slow passages and inner monologues in the book interspersed with action, and while they might be good on their own, I was way more invested in finding out what happens next and skimmed through quite a few of them.

Otherwise, knock yourself out and read this. I'm on book two now.

( )

Liked the conceptual blending of Steampunk with a Sherlockian spin. Characters are thoughtfully wrought and evolving nicely with occasion lapses toward a Victorian chicklit skew. By the conclusion, Evelina seems to be well on her way to being another Russell or Anna Kronberg, which is a good place to be in Holmes lore. ( )

Review coming soon on my blog ( )

Review coming soon on my blog ( )

I was thoroughly delighted by Study in Silks by Emma Jane Holloway. It's a well written, unique Steampunk/Alternate History novel with an intricate plot line that really captures the Victorian era well. Kudos to the author for some great world building. The story has magical elements as well that took me a while to warm up to. Eventually, I found the magical mechanical creatures darling.

We have an engaging heroine in Evelina Cooper, who has an intriguing relationship with her Uncle Sherlock Holmes. Her pedigree is interesting on both sides of her family.

Evie isn't one of those irritating macha types, but she's strong and smart all the same. Her friend, Imogen, is also a lot smarter than you would think for all her privileged background.

The action scenes are extremely well written and hold your attention and the romantic bits are nicely done, not overblown. A fair amount of plot forwarding is managed by way of eavesdropped conversations. The book got slightly messy at the end and I had some trouble following the clues, Despite that, I found A Study in Silks to be refreshing and charming. I plan to read the next two books in the series and highly recommend A Study in Silks if you're looking for a fresh take on history and mystery. ( )

I like the idea of this book, Sherlock Holmes niece, steam barons and society rules. I thought adding magic was an element to far which made the story lose focus at times. Overall this book was ok, but not enjoyable enough for me to read the rest of the series. ( )

A little too ambitious in scope--the main character is the niece of Sherlock Holmes, a former circus performer, and a practitioner of magic in a steampunk verision of Victorian London where magic is outlawed. Nevertheless, the plot is interesting, the main characters are fairly well developed, and the author manages to keep control of all of the various pieces of her story. Withholding judgement until the next volume.

Our heroine is the niece of Sherlock Holmes. Her mother eloped with an army officer that died before she was born and her mother died soon after leaving her to be raised by her paternal grandmother in a circus. Her maternal grandmother comes for her and sends her to finishing school where she befriends the sickly daughter of a British ambassador. The setting still has Sherlock and he does feature in the story later on. There are Steam Barons that are quickly carving up the country and they are eyeing the rest of the world. They do all they can to stifle mechanical innovation unless they control it and work hard at stamping out magic. Magic users are burned at the stake. Turns out that Evelina is a magic user and because of her friend's father's scheming is also trying to find out who killed a serving girl in the house when the rest of the family wants to ignore it and concentrate on her friend's debut Season. To manipulate her uncle she is allowed to be presented to the Queen and have a Season of her own. All while trying to solve the mystery. All the players seem to have a long history with one another and the main threads of the mystery don't wrap up until the very end of the book. It was enjoyable and I plan on reading the next one.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edleweiss ( )

A good beginning to the series. Evelina is a likable character, young, inexperienced, but she has spunk and intelligence. Nice twist on the magic. Good side characters, also. ( )

This book is well worth reading, assuming you can handle all 549 pages. It has everything a great book needs, suspense, romance, a bit of sci-fi, and extreme intrigue. The setting takes place in the 19th century in Victorian England, around the time period of Sherlock Holmes.

Evelina has magical powers, which her Uncle Sherlock does not condone. This matches how I think Sherlock would respond to a niece thinking she has powers. In addition, magic is forbidden, and punishable by death or experimental testing.

Evelina is a commoner, but wishes to be part of the wealthy society as a magician, an investigator and a debutante. See, her mother was upper class, and her father was from circus folk. Everything Evelina dabbles in, is viewed as not lady like.

To make things even more complicated, she has two boyfriends that she's juggling. There's Nick, another magician who she has known since her childhood in the circus, who shares something common with her, magic, and the circus. Then there's Imogen brother, Tobias, who is handsome and intelligent and makes her feel things no other can. They both hold different and unique spots in her heart.

She's set out to solve the murder of a parlor maid named Grace, which takes place in the mansion she herself is a guest in. There are clues left behind that could possibly ruin reputations and cause an uproar. She's no ordinary sleuth of her time, she has the genes of Sherlock Holmes in her which are possibly going to aid or hinder her investigation.

Jane Holloway knows how to bring the magical world to life, and enthrall the reader. She especially captures the attention of the reader, by ending the book in a cliff hanger to die for. Many of the sub plots are unresolved, and if you're anything like me, you'll be dying to find out what happens. At the same time, I'm glad it didn't go any longer, with the amount of pages that I had already read, I was excited to finally finish the book. I give this book 5/5 with great enthusiasm. I'm excited for the sequel. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: Evelina Cooper is a girl on a mission in this entertaining, hilarious tale. A mystery tale with betrayals, tension, and new questions at every turn!

Opening Sentence: Evelina froze, a breath half taken catching in her throat, nerves tingling down every limb.

The Review:

Evelina Cooper, the niece of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, uses magic. She can talk to devas, spirits of certain elements, and she also has a few other special talents up her sleeve. One of those is deeply coveted by certain people, certain dangerous people. But magic is forbidden, and punished with an absolute iron fist: death or being tested on by scientists in lab coats. Evelina resides at her friend Imogen’s manor, quite a change from her roots of a traveling circus, where she has been training to become a lady.

The story begins on a night here where a servant girl, Grace, is murdered. By who, and why? Evelina Cooper sets out on a quest to find out.

As all this is going on, a love triangle is beginning to form. Nick, another magic user from her childhood at Ploughman’s circus, is up against Imogen’s brother, Tobias. Both have assets, and both are dear to her in different ways. Tobias is handsome, intelligent, and makes her heart beat faster at a look — but then, Nick represents everything she left behind, and shares something no one else can understand, magic.

Firstly, I’d like to congratulate the author on a mystery book well done — writing all of those little pieces and then fitting them back one at a time is difficult and confusing work. I felt that this story was executed with fabulous writing flow plus just the right amount of betrayal, surprises, and tension. Mystery can easily stray across the line to confusing, but the details were processed well, and let’s not forget the endless laughs reading this entails! Also, me being a sucker for romance, I loved the raw electricity that gathered between Evelina and her two love interests.

The love triangle was one of my favorite parts of this story. Tobias and Nick duel for Evelina’s heart, at first not even realizing they have competition, both giving Evelina reasons to be the lucky man. The author didn’t give either character much more ground than the other, making the reader constantly question which they’re rooting for. In the end, I’m a Tobias fan, but Nick definitely put up a good fight!

Dr. Magnus was an interesting antagonist. He created spine-tingling moments, but I was irritated because he was confusing me with all his guest appearances into every characters life, each a different dialogue and each character sharing different feelings about him. It was hard to keep it all straight. He mingled with Tobias, Evelina, the Gold King, Nick, and even more. (Chapters are from many characters points of views). Other than that, my only other complaint was how I got bored in certain sections.

Altogether, I thought this story was quite enjoyable. Other than slight confusion, and the author dragging on for a little bit and making me bored, I loved the characters and the plotline. This is an engaging novel that I had lots of fun with, and considering everything going on, it’s easy to follow. Every once and awhile, everyone feels the urge to plop into a chair with a good old mystery book, so you might as well read it, right?

Notable Scene:

Nick gave a mocking little bow. “Very good, sir.”

“Now get out of my house.”

Nick glanced around, memorizing everything he could, before sauntering for the door. Magnus might not have realized it, but he just declared war.

FTC Advisory: Del Rey/Random House provided me with a copy of A Study in Silks. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

Steampunk blends with Sherlock Holmes and a little magic in the form of nature devas or highly opinionated elemental spirits to make this lush with detail 500+ page book a rich world to get lost in. The story has multiple points of view but the main focus is Evelina Cooper, niece to Sherlock and a young lady with a decidedly mixed background and skill set. Her mother was a Holmes giving her some status in society, but her father’s family were circus people and though she has a proper veneer of discretion and decorum the circus is where Evelina grew up.

From her various family members Evelina has inherited a touch of magic which allows her to interact with some of the nature devas, a way with machinery which allows her to create delicate clockwork devices, and a knack for logical reasoning which allows her to follow, albeit imperfectly, in her famous uncle’s footsteps when a servant is murdered at Hillard House, home of her best friend Imogen. Evelina has been a guest of Imogen’s family since the girls graduated from school and both are preparing to come out in society, but the implications of the crime may have disastrous far reaching consequences for everyone in the household. Further complicating things, Imogen’s father is challenging the steam barons, colorful industrial tyrants who supply the city’s energy and are battling for power at the expense of the citizens.

A Study in Silks is the first of a three part series, each volume of which is being released little more than a month apart--a happy circumstance for those like me who have trouble remembering salient plot points when there are years between books. ( )

First off, let me declare that I strongly disapprove of fanfiction.

That being said, if we uprooted the fanfiction from this book, I could like it. It would still have its flaws, but it would be likeable.
As it is, it's been a dreadful experience.

When I picked up this from Netgalley, I was blinded by the cover and the words “steampunk”, “murder”, “sorcery” and “mystery”. So what if the heroine is supposed to be Sherlock Holmes’ niece? It will be just a little mention here and there…



That wretched kinship was all over the place. That was disturbing enough, until we came to the absolute horror that was Sherlock's parody.
In this book, I've seen Sherlock giving advice for a young lady's Season, Sherlock listening to a girl prattling, Sherlock submitting to blackmail, Sherlock asserting that he believes in magic…



Maybe I'm a bit touchy. Sherlock was one of my very first literary crushes.
Every Sherlock lover out there will know that he was a genius as well as a drug addict, an utter misogynist, a probable sociopath and an overall bastard. I loved him with all the passion my adolescent self could have.

My personal touchiness aside, this rendition of Sherlock was so wrong, I can't find a single positive thing to say about it. To forgive yet another bad reenactment, it would take at least a Robert Downey Jr. (and maybe some scenes starring him half-naked).



If you think I'm being disrespectful here, think about how Nikola Tesla would feel being referred to as "some Serb".

Here's a bit of me being pedantic about some misspelled italian bits; nothing that will actually spoil you, but maybe you'd like to skip some of my worst rantings:

There's an apparent difficulty with the name "Nicola" here.
Aside from Tesla being diminished like that, let's spend two words about the "Indomitable and Misspelled Niccolo".

In italian, you can have Nicolò or Niccolò, either with one c or two, but both with an accent on the last o; the non-accented version is Nicola (despite ending with an a, it's still a male name).
In italian, accents change everything about a word: pero/però (pear/but), casco/cascò (helmet/fell), faro/farò (lighthouse/I'll do). Niccolo doesn't exist as an italian male name, it just sounds silly.

Last but not least, let it be known to all who dared to read this bitchy monologue, that I suffered throughout 488 pages (on my ADE reader) of terrible, and overabundant, similes.

She […] felt the displacement of air–a light exhalation like the sound of a gloating smile.

shadows settled in the corners like sleepy cats

the row of doors stood like oak-paneled sentries

Anything, anything has to be compared with something else, better if this something else is utter nonsense like the sound of a smile.

Oh, there's also a love triangle; but in comparison, it didn't bother me so much as it usually does.

Cut the fanfiction, cut the similes and you get half the lenght of the original book. And it could be good. ( )

First off, let me declare that I strongly disapprove of fanfiction.

That being said, if we uprooted the fanfiction from this book, I could like it. It would still have its flaws, but it would be likeable.
As it is, it's been a dreadful experience.

When I picked up this from Netgalley, I was blinded by the cover and the words “steampunk”, “murder”, “sorcery” and “mystery”. So what if the heroine is supposed to be Sherlock Holmes’ niece? It will be just a little mention here and there…



That wretched kinship was all over the place. That was disturbing enough, until we came to the absolute horror that was Sherlock's parody.
In this book, I've seen Sherlock giving advice for a young lady's Season, Sherlock listening to a girl prattling, Sherlock submitting to blackmail, Sherlock asserting that he believes in magic…



Maybe I'm a bit touchy. Sherlock was one of my very first literary crushes.
Every Sherlock lover out there will know that he was a genius as well as a drug addict, an utter misogynist, a probable sociopath and an overall bastard. I loved him with all the passion my adolescent self could have.

My personal touchiness aside, this rendition of Sherlock was so wrong, I can't find a single positive thing to say about it. To forgive yet another bad reenactment, it would take at least a Robert Downey Jr. (and maybe some scenes starring him half-naked).



If you think I'm being disrespectful here, think about how Nikola Tesla would feel being referred to as "some Serb".

Here's a bit of me being pedantic about some misspelled italian bits; nothing that will actually spoil you, but maybe you'd like to skip some of my worst rantings:

There's an apparent difficulty with the name "Nicola" here.
Aside from Tesla being diminished like that, let's spend two words about the "Indomitable and Misspelled Niccolo".

In italian, you can have Nicolò or Niccolò, either with one c or two, but both with an accent on the last o; the non-accented version is Nicola (despite ending with an a, it's still a male name).
In italian, accents change everything about a word: pero/però (pear/but), casco/cascò (helmet/fell), faro/farò (lighthouse/I'll do). Niccolo doesn't exist as an italian male name, it just sounds silly.

Last but not least, let it be known to all who dared to read this bitchy monologue, that I suffered throughout 488 pages (on my ADE reader) of terrible, and overabundant, similes.

She […] felt the displacement of air–a light exhalation like the sound of a gloating smile.

shadows settled in the corners like sleepy cats

the row of doors stood like oak-paneled sentries

Anything, anything has to be compared with something else, better if this something else is utter nonsense like the sound of a smile.

Oh, there's also a love triangle; but in comparison, it didn't bother me so much as it usually does.

Cut the fanfiction, cut the similes and you get half the lenght of the original book. And it could be good. ( )

After reading the summary for this book, I knew it was for me. After all, who can resist a Sherlockian-type book set in a steampunk society?
Evelina Cooper is the niece of Sherlock Holmes. There's a bit of scandal in her family history, other than being the niece of the famous sleuth, Holmes. Evelina is staying with her bff, Imogen. Imogen's family is very wealthy and her father is one of the Baron's who run the city. Of course as with all good mysteries, this one starts off with a murder. A murder that has happened in Imogen's house. Evelina immediately starts to investigate, but is thrown off when Mr. Roth wants her no where near this case. Being the niece of Homes, Evelina is naturally drawn to the case. But Evelina just wants to prove Roth innocent, but instead she uncovers so much more!
A Study in Silks was an unputdownable read. From the very beginning I was intrigued by the story line. I love the fact that it's set in a magical steampunk society. If you can call it magical when magic is outlawed and people are hung if found guilty. There's also the most odious antagonist, Dr. Magnus. If you looked up sinister in the dictionary, you'd find his picture next to it. Holloway has created some very interesting characters in this book. She makes you curious to find out more about them, as well as what will happen next in the story. And of course, there's the appearance of Sherlock and Watson. Who can resist this duo? Overall it's a great beginning to this new series. I can't wait to read the next book, A Study in Darkness. It promises to be just as delicious as this book.
Read more at http://www.2readornot2read.com/2013/10/review-study-in-silks-baskerville.html#GV... ( )