Determined, resourceful and ever faithful, Lizbeth returns to Eli's side in an unexpected manner. She rides into the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) like a white knight to save his damsel in distress. Well, not quite. She borrows a bit of money from her stepfather to take a train into the HRE to figure out why her sister is telling her that Eli is in prison and needs to be rescued.
This story is a pleasure to read. I love the character Lizbeth. She stays strong to her ethics and does what she can to solve one problem at a time. Her intuition helps save her several times as well as her fast reflects. She really is an ideal gunnie. I admire her clear distinction of her job. When others pull back in horror that she "kills people" for a living, her answer is perfect. She protects her cargo, be it a crate or a human. In the process of protection, if someone attacks, she obviously needs to defend. Sometimes... defending means a death.
This has been her moral code and with Eli unjustly imprisoned, this severely tests her code. The society and how it works in HRE seems to test not only her code but her patience. The differences between Eli's home and hers are vast. It will be interesting to see if Eli and Lizbeth can figure out what will be the future for the two of them. We still have another region of the States which has not been explored in this book yet. I cannot wait to see what the original 13 colonies ends up like as they reverted back the the Brits.
The conflict in this story is well written. Eli's loyalty to his Tsar is at the crux of the issues. Whilst he seems to fumble with the political intrigue, Lizbeth's foreign status and straightforward ways cuts straight through it all. There are several subplots going on which require Lizbeth's attention and distracts her from her main goal. Yet it all comes together at the end.
This speculative fiction in a dystopian world is fascinating and I cannot wait to read what Ms. Harris comes up with next. I can only hope there is more in this exciting new series. This book is highly recommended to readers who enjoy strong female leads who ride in to save the day.
*provided by NetGalley
