ARC review: Moonlight and Mechanicals by Cindy Spencer Pape

The Particulars: Steampunk, Carina Press, available as e-book

The Source: ARC from Netgalley

The Grade: D

The Blurb:

Engineer Winifred "Wink" Hadrian has been in love with Inspector Liam McCullough for years, but is beginning to lose hope when he swears to be a lifelong bachelor. Faced with a proposal from a Knight of the Round Table and one of her closest friends, Wink reluctantly agrees to consider him instead.
Because of his dark werewolf past, Liam tries to keep his distance, but can't say no when Wink asks him to help find her friend's missing son. They soon discover that London's poorest are disappearing at an alarming rate, after encounters with mysterious "mechanical" men. Even more alarming is the connection the missing people may have with a conspiracy against the Queen.
Fighting against time--and their escalating feelings for each other--Wink and Liam must work together to find the missing people and save the monarchy before it's too late...

The Review: 

I loved Steam and Sorcery, so when I saw this on Netgalley I requested it on the spot. Unfortunately, this book was a huge disappointment for me. I honestly if I hadn't been reading it for review, I probably wouldn't have finished it

I enjoyed revisiting the London that Cindy Spencer Pape has created.  A lot of the things that she described felt believable. From the bad air quality, and the clever technical adaptations they used.  There were other things that I could believe were happening. From the tension between merchants and nobles, and how the power were gradually shifting, to the rumbles among the working classes. 

This takes place in background as Liam and Wink struggled to solve the two mysteries.  The plot was well written and intriguing. The stakes gradually rose they delved deeper into the murky waters of grumbling nobles.   

Despite all the things I liked with this book I had one big problem: I didn't care what happened to the characters, particularly Wink and Liam.   Maybe it was because of the way Liam encouraged Wink's other suitor, which felt really, really odd.   Mostly, the romance between Wink and Liam felt forced.