Clockwork Tangerine

Ever the loving grandson, Marcus, the Viscount of Westwood, is returning from an errand in the more brutal part of this San Francisco world to get his grandmother some jasmine tea when he comes across a man being brutally beaten by three aristocrats. Because Marcus is a decent person and was taught by his father that “A man with power protects and serves those lesser than he. It is only the weak who use their power to do harm.”, well, he has to help. The fact that the beaten man is beautiful to Marcus and makes him lust even as he lies beaten makes Marcus berate himself (and good, because I was wondering about Marcus at that point!) but it’s what he finds out soon after that makes it more difficult. He has saved none other than Robin, Harris, the Toymaker, the man who’s work (the skitters) killed the Duke, Marcus’ father. Ouch.
It is a sign of how good a man Marcus really is that he continues to help Robin, especially after the bitchy housekeeper up and quits. He manages to get Robin home and in the care of the awesome doctor, Elle Horan. She’s a pistol, a staunch friend and a great character.
Robin has been used, set up and abused by the Society who turned his inventions into things of destruction and then allowed him to take the fall. Not many people would defend Robin. And Robin himself, he is a joy to read. He has been treated so badly and shamed so much and he still works on helping people. He has a long way to go in terms of accepting his worth, no surprise after what has been done to him for so long.
I need to look up whether being branded as a sodomite was literal because how sad. Robin just has been through so much but now he has, for the first time in his life, a real friend. Marcus. I loved that Marcus is able to see beyond what Robin’s inventions did and get to know the man. The two together grow a friendship that turns romantic but doesn’t jump there. Marcus nurses Robin, respects him and allows him room.
We also must mention Marcus’ grandmother, who is an awesome lady. When Marcus informs her that he prefers men, her response made me want to clap. Duchess in a pique of anger, indeed. You can see from her, and the mentions of his father, what makes Marcus such a good person.
The indignities Robin has suffered are revealed all through the book and make you want to throttle someone – Oxford for one, and the pigs at the ball for another. Duke of Briarsham, you rock. I wish there had been more time to delve into Robin’s inventions but this is a wonderful tale just as it is. Highly recommended, especially for steampunk fans.
Reviewed for Heartsonfirereviews.com

There was a lot, and I mean, a lot, of jumping up and down, squealing, Kermit-like flailing, and overwhelming giddiness when I discovered that Rhys Ford was releasing a steampunk short story. Having only recently found the steampunk genre within the past few years, the concept that one of my top five favorite authors wrote one, was almost more than my heart could handle. Trust me when I say that in my exuberance I scared a number of my four legged kids and they hid from me for a whole day. *grins* Even more than normal, I was very impressed with this author's willingness to stretch her wings and I found the writing, story, and characters of 'Clockwork Tangerine' to be sublime.
Marcus is the third son of a duke, not a particularly relished or enviable position as it holds little real power, and only a title of viscount. Marcus teaches \"fisticuffs\", boxing, to those men who need it and one evening he rescues a man from a beating by four intoxicated young men, only to discover he rescued the Toymaker himself, Robin Harris. The very man who created the device which killed Marcus's father. The scourge of the Society, a group which created the Golems, horrific caricatures of humans, grown in labs to be the footsoldiers of the Society. Even though the Society was defeated by the British Empire almost twenty years before, its horrors still linger.
Now Marcus is face-to-face with the alleged terror of the Society, the man whose genius created all the mechanical monstrosities combining the arcane and science, and all Marcus can see is a gentle man who uses his abilities to help those in need. For Robin's friend who lost her leg, he built her a completely functioning new one, he rescued a cat with two missing back limbs and Robin created new ones. This is the horror? No. Robin is simply a brilliant engineer whom the Society used and abused and left him to carry the blame and shame of their perversions of his inventions. What ensues is a friendship the likes which Robin has never known and a slow descent into love. Marcus and his family's acceptance of Robin helps to introduce him to some older gentlemen within the Ton with whom Robin can discuss the safe merging of science and the arcane to help the Empire.
I absolutely adored this book but I wanted more. Literally that is my only complaint. The story was too short and I would have loved more of their romance, of Robin's work, and definitely of Marcus's grandmother, the Dowager Duchess. Ahhhhhh, Rhys, you've done it again, my friend. Excellent job!
NOTE: This book was provided by the author for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews