Lumiere unfolds in a weird world that feels both Medieval and mechanical while the descriptions support a post-apocalyptic life with the prologue taking place before everything changed. Magic and science exist in an unhappy pairing while the world itself is both corrupt and corrupted. People thrive in an area kept separate from the corruption if they are wealthy while the rest live as close to the outskirts as they can in the struggle to survive.

Inside these pages, despite the grim world and Eyelet’s situation (one of the main characters), you find a grand adventure where both Eyelet and Urlick (the other main character) are confident of what they know. That confidence is both wrong and right in ways they don’t expect.

There is a definite steampunk feel to the mad scientists with wild inventions and mechanically gifted folks able to create things that cross the plausibility barrier into magic. Eyelet and Urlick share this talent though with different approaches, strengths, and weaknesses.

The characters are enjoyable whether main or minor, the villains are repulsive and manipulative, and the prize is both a mystery and somewhat understood. Ignorance in main characters can become annoying, especially if the answer seems clear to the reader. Lumiere avoids this by providing firm answers that are incorrect to some degree while enabling the reader to enjoy the journey instead of getting frustrated about their inability to figure out what’s really going on.

There’s one exception to the above, one connection that seemed obvious to me but they were too close to see. However, it turned out even there, I had most of the pieces to deduce the answer but not the whole so when the reveal happened, it still came as a surprise.

The book employs real-world techniques that are not well known blended with a touch of mythology and whole cloth creation to provide a complex society with real problems the characters are thrust in the middle of. At the same time, there’s a growing love story with its own complications and the pursuit of knowledge that could harm more than it helps.

I think this is the type of story where different readers will experience different levels and recognize deeper meaning on later reads. At the same time, the overt story is strong and worthwhile even if the rest goes over the reader’s head.

It might not be what most expect of steampunk, but it’s worth the time to read. And for those who hate cliffhangers, it does end on a slight one, but that’s more on the level of epilogue because the main story is already complete. However, I suspect I know where the second book will begin, and that’s a fun thought.

P.S. I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.