Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop!

Today’s topic is: Write a review for someone else’s books. Now write a review for one of yours.

And remember to visit my fellow writers to see what they have come up with. You can find their works here!

Part one of today’s Open Book Blog Hop is easy. I’ve been reviewing books since 2015. So for this, I’m plucking out a recent review of a great book by good friend and fellow author Richard Dee. It’s called The Safety of the Realm.

The Safety of the Realm is the second steampunk novel from Richard Dee that I’ve read, following its prequel The Sensaurum and the Lexis. Having thoroughly enjoyed the events of that first book, I couldn’t be happier when Richard reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in beta reading this second book in the series.

Jackson and Jessamine are enjoying a well-deserved break for their honeymoon aboard a luxury cruise to the Spice Islands. While aboard, they enjoy all the luxuries the ship has to offer, and met an eclectic group of passengers with them. As the cruise unfolds, what seemed like quirks in some of their fellow guests start to arouse suspicions in the newlyweds.

More and more unusual events unfold, before receiving word that there is a plot against their country, one they must put their honeymoon on hold to unravel. The more they uncover about their fellow guests, the more troubling the situation becomes. Their kidnap, imprisonment and forced labour at the hands of a nefarious foe finally reveals the scope of a troubling plot that would have dire consequences should it not be thwarted soon.

Once again, Richard Dee has demonstrated his mastery of the art of story telling. The story is filled with the perfect amount of jeopardy to raise the tension and deliver the pace. The world is rich, suitably filled with Victoriana to suit the steampunk setting. There are wonderful, futuristic creations that are almost magical and yet still entirely believable within the world.

I love Jackson and Jessamine in their first outing, and that has only strengthened in this book. I look forward to seeing what comes next for the daring duo and their employers!

As for reviewing my own work, well, that’s a lot more difficult. Bordering on impossible. I’m extensively critical of my own work. I’m not sure I could review it really. I write the sort of things I’d enjoy reading. In a way it’s kind of selfish – I don’t write my books for any of my readers. I write them for me. I’d rather leave the reviewing to somebody else.