KISS OF STEEL by Bec McMaster is smart, sexy storytelling at its best.

Six months after the brutal murder of her father, Honoria Todd, along with her younger sister and brother, hides in the dreaded Whitechapel district. It is the only place they'll be safe from the Echelon and the Duke of Vickers, but this puts her straight in the sight of Blade, Devil of Whitechapel and master of the rookeries.

Infected by the Duke of Vickers with the blood craving, Blade will do anything to gain revenge on the man who destroyed Blade's life. All he needs is to figure out why the Duke of Vickers has a high bounty of Honoria's head, but gaining her trust proves more difficult than he would have imagined. Blade is by far one of my favorite characters. He's confident, strong, unapologetic, and doesn't need to dominate those around him in order to prove he's powerful. That in itself is a nice change from the typical Alpha male.

Honoria resists Blade's seduction, knowing well the games the blue bloods like to play, but the longer she's with him the more she realizes that he's not like the others. There are no games, no politics, only survival and protecting what's his and he wants her. But Honoria isn't the only one in need of protection, and she will not leave her brother and sister behind. Honoria and Blade both share the need to protect family which binds them together. Honoria is smart, strong, and resourceful, the perfect equal to Blade.

When a vampire attacks Whitechapel, Blade joins forces with the Echelon to stop the creature before it rips his home apart, but he can't trust them and the forced contact puts Honoria and her family in jeopardy.

I'll admit to being a bit hesitant when I first started reading KISS OF STEEL. This is the first steampunk novel I've read and let's just say I never jumped on the vampire bandwagon, but from the first chapter I was sucked it. Bec McMasters paints a vivid world with real characters and motivations that leaves no corner of the heart and mind unexplored. Even the secondary characters are vividly depicted and I hope she has plans to give them their own stories.

With its richly imagined world and characters who stay with you long after you've finished the last chapter, I can't wait to see what Bec McMasters has in store for us with her next novel.