Corsets & Clockwork: Part 2

I'm currently making my way through Corsets & Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances (Running Press, 2011). I'm new to all of the authors featured in this collection as well as the world of steampunk, so this has been an interesting read so far.

Story: Deadwood
Author: Michael Scott
Summary: Martha is traveling by airship west to California and meets the mysterious JW during the flight. When the ship makes an unexpected stop in Deadwood, South Dakota, the pair both believe that it's hardly the pleasant pit stop the crew claims it is.
Thoughts: Yeehaw! Scott has steampunk mashing up with a classic American western in this short story, and it was a really fun one! There's a lot of great action and banter in this story, and the conclusion was neatly done, being both tied up as well as open enough for future adventures between Martha and JW. This story makes me want to check out Scott's other works.

Story: Code of Blood
Author: Dru Pagliassotti
Summary: Chiara sneaks out of the house for the Festival of the Ascension and a night of fun, but her world and all of Venice is turned upside down when Napoleon's troops show up. Only a secret and mysterious organization known as the Guild and the apprentice Pietro can help her save her home and her grandfather, the doge of Venice.
Thoughts: This was an interesting story, and I was especially excited since I've actually been to Venice, but for whatever reason it just didn't grab me. This was definitely more on the fantasy side of things, and the characters just fell a bit flat in my opinion.

Story: The Clockwork Corset
Author: Adrienne Kress
Summary: When her childhood best friend, the boy she loves, is summoned to battlefront in the ongoing war, Imogen disguises herself as a boy and runs away to join the army, determined to keep him safe.
Thoughts: This story was cute, if a bit on the predictable side. Imogen was raised as a tomboy, and it's a good thing too because it gives her just the skills she needs to be able to pass as a boy in the army and participate in a mission to save her beloved Rafe. I liked this story well enough, and was more than fine with the fact that it was a short story because if this had been a novel, I would have been disappointed.

So that's it from me this time around. Comments welcome, and, as always, happy reading!