The Silver Skull

Last Updated on December 27, 2022 by ThoughtsStained

So, after I absolutely and positively devoured The Golden Spider, I knew I had to read more of Renwick’s work. The second book in this series, The Silver Skull, featured the sister of the first book’s heroine. And I won’t lie: Lady Olivia annoyed me a lot in the first book. So, I was a little apprehensive about reading a book with her front and center. But I loved the world that Renwick crafted so much, I couldn’t not read more in it.

Spoiler, dear reader?

I shouldn’t have worried.

Table of Contents

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Book Info

Publication Info

Content Warnings

Lady Olivia is not all she seems.

Trained for marriage to an assigned political target, her skills lie in programming household steambots to serve tea, dress her hair…and sound the alarm while she picks locks and listens at doors. Humiliated by a failed assignment, she decides to redeem herself by tailing a suspected double agent.

Lord Rathsburn must flirt with treason.

Struggles to cure a horrible disease have met with unexpected complications. The cells he engineered can make a man’s bones unbreakable, but the side effects are fatal. He believed the research terminated…until his sister was kidnapped by a German count. Her ransom? A cure.

Piloting a stolen dirigible, he uncovers an unlikely stowaway: Lady Olivia.

Arriving together at a crumbling castle, an impossible task is set before them: cure the count’s guardsmen. Amidst their fake marriage, a very real growing attraction, dying guardsmen and escalating hostilities, Lady Olivia and Lord Rathsburn are thrust deep into the world of international medical espionage from which there may be no return

On the Page

Referenced

Minor

Content warnings are written up by me, unless specified. Subject to being an incomplete list, though guided by referencing this list and trying to highlight as many as I can identify.

Book Depository

IndieBound

Raven Bookstore

Review

Likes

The Silver Skull was another fantastic look into this gorgeously detailed steampunk world. I had been fooled into believing Olivia a portrayal of a character who I wouldn’t enjoy. Apparently, she’d fooled me alongside most of the others in her life (which, honestly, how bloody clever is that?). And I really enjoyed how Lord Rathsburn worked to discover those truths and figure out who she was, truly, just as she was trying to unravel the secrets that he held.
I also thought the main plot–saving his sister from a madman using a device that Rathsburn helped to create–was incredibly well done. I thought what was happening to the soldiers both fascinating and heartbreaking. The book had a lot of science thrown in that I still don’t understand the finer details of. But it’s written in such an approachable way that I don’t feel like an idiot not knowing. In fact, I was just as fascinated with the science and how they were going to solve this seemingly impossible mission as I was waiting for them to finally kiss.
Once again, the romance itself left me breathless and I was tearing through these chapters, finishing this novel in only a few sittings. I love the way Renwick writes romance and it’s definitely gotten me into a romance kick, as of late (and I’m not complaining).

Dislikes

My one compliant, similar to the first book, however, is I felt the ending rushed once more; not incomplete, by any means. I just would have liked to lengthen out what happened after a little more, instead of cramming the resolution of both main plots so quickly.

Rating

But, that didn’t stop me from completely, totally and utterly enjoying this book and then immediately checking out The Iron Fin from the library. Renwick is now one of my favorite romance writers and you can bet I’m already anxiously anticipating her next release and hoping beyond hope she’ll continue to write steampunk romance.

A custom artowrk signature that reads, "Onward to Adventure, Nicole" with a feathered quill and inkpot bordering it.