Chasing the Star Garden is another of those books that I saw in the past and kept the hunt through the bookstores, turning up the usual "We don't have it in stock but we can order it for you." No! It's not fun when you have to order it! But, finally, I gave in and ordered it on Thriftbooks. And I was not disappointed. 
 While Lily Stargazer is used to placing second in the races and just skirting the limelight, she's used to the spotlight her men shine on her. She's used to trawling the junk shops and opium dens. She's used to getting black-out drunk and waking up somewhere new. What she's not used to is someone asking for her help. 
 The book starts fast and hits hard. Lily finishes a race and suddenly there's a harlequin sticking a kaleidoscope in her pants and jumping to his death. How do you put the book down after that? When the owner of a brothel, and an ancient group of English collectors, come calling for Lily's help, things start to get really interesting. There's a cult dedicated to Aphrodite, and they need Lily and that kaleidoscope to find her hidden statues. The members of this cult suggest if the English collectors get them, something bad may happen. 
 While Lily is all about adventure, she knows she has an important race coming up, and hey, why should she help strangers? But there's something compelling her, begging her, to come find it. As Lily travels around Rome, plunging her team further into danger, she starts to suffer from withdrawals. Here we learn Lily is plagued by nightmares from her past: how her mother tried to kill her and how her adoptive fathers mistreated her, and we learn her opium addiction stems from keeping these nightmares away. 
 Lily is the most engaging character in the series, which is a good thing because she's our heroine. She's bouncing between two lovers--the famous Lord Byron and an older, humble tinker named Salvatore. She also has an incredibly bad opium addiction. But she is, without a doubt, a great pilot, sober or not. She's flawed, she's trying to live her life and do right by her own morals, and she really doesn't care what people say about her relationships. She's a breath of fresh air. 
 Chasing the Star Garden has been one of the best books I've read so far this year. After the multitude of duds, it's nice to read something so refreshing. Although it's not the best writing--in fact, it's somewhat lacking in details for being a steampunk read--it's so, so engaging. I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to hear more about Lily's past. It was heartbreaking, almost disturbing at points, so uncomfortably real that I wanted to put it down but I couldn't. I wanted to know if they found the statues. I wanted to know more about Lily's relationships, which is unusual for me because I'm the kind to roll my eyes and say "oh look, another romance" but the relationships are so dynamic. The relationship between Lily and Byron, and between Lily and Salvatore, actually felt fun and interesting and not just shoe-horned in. 
 My biggest complaint about the book is actually just one. On her adventure, Lily has some sort of religious experience that compels her to attempt staying sober. It wasn't her own actions, it wasn't her own thinking, it wasn't her need to win or excel, that pushed her to attempt it. I thought it was kind of a weak way to further her character. I would have enjoyed it more if Lily herself felt it was needed. But if only one scene barely spoils the book of a fast paced adventure, how can I really complain?