Caught in the furor of newly discovered sources of telumium in the Arabian Penisula, Daphne's archaeologist parents have been kidnapped by a ruthless warlord. Teluminum is a primary component in the creation of the mechanical human hybrids of supermen called Man O' Wars, essential for building a fleet of airships enabling a country to keep supremacy in war-torn Europe.
The British embassy, putting their own political and financial needs above two minor citizens have refused outright to become involved which leaves Daphne little option but to enter the underworld of criminals and outcasts and seek a man rumored to take on any task, for the right price.
Captain Mikhail Mikhailovich Denisov, rogue Man O' War has lost everything he once valued, replacing it with greed and one purpose, to keep his motley crew alive long enough to collect their next plunder, and perhaps, if fate is kind, a chance to wreak vengeance on the man who betrayed him. He will gladly take this pretty, freckled professorsha's money even if her fool's errand has little chance of success.
With his leather and steel, his mohawk and virile Russian character Denisov is a marvelous hero, sexy, daring yet with a vulnerable streak of regret and chivalry. Daphne is a woman of layers and secrets. A passionate observer of human nature, her scholastic fascination with a man who chooses to become part machine is tempered by her body's reaction to the man himself.
ZoΓ« Archer packs SKIES OF STEEL with everything a steampunk fan could wish and a romance reader craves. She and partner Nico Rosso have built the Ether Chronicles series, unconnected stories set in the same steampunk universe together, each writing two books. SKIES OF STEEL is the third in the series, the second written by Archer.
My favorite quote from the book? "But, damn, she didn't kiss him like a high-minded woman."
From New York Times and USA Today
Bestseller Kerrelyn Sparks THE FORBIDDEN LADY
n the world of The Ether Chronicles, the Mechanical War
rages on, and appearances are almost always deceiving . . .
The prim professor
Daphne Carlisle may be a scholar, but she's far more
comfortable out in the field than lost in a stack of books.
Still, when her parents are kidnapped by a notorious
warlord, she knows she'll need more than quick thinking if
she is to reach them in time. Daphne's only hope for getting
across enemy territory is an airship powered and navigated
by Mikhail Denisov, a rogue Man O' War who is as seductive
as he is untrustworthy.
The jaded mercenary
Mikhail will do anything for the right price, and he's
certain he has this mission—and Daphne—figured
out: a simple job and a beautiful but sheltered
Englishwoman. But as they traverse the skies above the
Mediterranean and Arabia, Mikhail learns the fight ahead is
anything but simple, and his lovely passenger is not
entirely what she seems. The only thing Mikhail is certain
of is their shared desire—both unexpected and dangerous.
No excerpt available.
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