Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Al Pennington and Cyrus Reese are both damaged men. Apprenticed as a child to a master who created clockwork wonders, Al now prefers to spend his days on his secluded homestead, toiling over his own fantastical inventions. But when he takes the wounded Cyrus into his home and nurses him back to health, Al realizes he wants Cyrus to stay. Al’s tired of being alone, Cyrus is tired of running, and maybe their time together can be a balm to wounds left by their difficult pasts.

When an outlaw bent on dragging Cyrus back into a life of crime comes knocking, Al is seriously injured. Cyrus must quite literally take Al’s broken heart in his hands to save his life.

Book Review

As a young boy, Al of 'Wild Wild Heart' by Shira Anthony, becomes the apprentice to an inventor who makes fantastical clockwork creations. Al had a bad heart and wasn't expected to live very long, but his master gives Al a remarkable gift to change that; he implants one of his inventions in Al's heart to regulate the beat.

Al is more than grateful and loyal to a fault. He works hard and learns his trade well. When his master dies, Al continues to work just as he has always done. One day on the way home from town, he finds a dying man. Al doesn't want to become involved with anyone, but there's something about the man that he's drawn to, perhaps he reminds Al of himself when he was so helpless and dying and was saved. Against his better judgement, he takes the man, Cyrus, home with him to nurse him back to health.

Cyrus ends up staying. When he's better, Cyrus observes Al and becomes fascinated with the skill involved in his creations as well as the man himself and the feeling is mutual. Al's master may have given him life, but Cyrus is able to give Al love. Then Al's implant begins to malfunction and they both know what that means: Al's borrowed time has caught up with him. If the mechanism stops, Al will die.

This a powerful, steam-punk type tale about two men who find each other when they needed love and fulfillment the most, and, against all odds, find a way to be happy together. It is very well written, full of emotion and exceptional characters. Thanks, Shira, for the odd, but touching love story.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. The anthology this short story was published in has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Short Story, 26 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	16-December-2016
Price	$6.99 ebook, $17.99 paperback, $17.99 bundle
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/once-upon-a-time-in-the-weird-west-7894-b