A halfling, a Protector, and the author of Dracula walk into a mental facility... There has to be a way I can work that into a joke somehow. 
 What a nice... 
 Steampunk Novel 
 Urban Fantasy 
 Gothic Mystery 
 Historical Fiction 
 ...this was? I'm not quite sure what I just read. The mention of a dirigible here and there wasn't enough to leave me feeling a Steampunk vibe. I do know that I liked whatever was going on, even if I couldn't identify what it was. The writing was descriptive, compelling, and often amusing. Fans of cheeky urban fantasy with a historical bent (who won't mind the lack of steam) will probably enjoy Incarnation. 
 I'll go with a 3.5 star rating for the time being. Even though there wasn't a cliffhanger ending, I would have expected more finality to the story if this were to be a standalone book. Since I'm reading Incarnation pre-release and there is a chance we might still learn that this will become a series in the future, I'm sort of leaning toward the possibility of a sequel, which is why I'm hopefully rounding up to a 4 star for now. This would be 'okay to decent' for a standalone, but 'pretty darn good' for book 1 in a series, so here's hoping! 
 I didn't mind the curious pace of the book. The atmospheric writing made for a dark and intriguing world. What was lacking in character development was (somewhat) compensated for with the narration of the story. 
 "After you," Felix said and drew me away, back through the iron-studded door and down through the hall where long-dead lords and ladies gazed at us sorrowfully and unicorns shed tears of blood. 
 If darkly poetic writing isn't your thing, perhaps an edge of dry humor would suit your preferences better. 
 Instead, we were greeted by the aroma of burning sage and the pounding of drums accompanied by chanting. 
 "What on earth is that?" I asked. 
 Marco grimaced. "We have a bit of a demon problem at present." 
 Our main character Lucy is a brand-new halfling in a world not used to the spawn of both vampire and human. Her connection to Bram Stoker is but a small detail compared to her connections with some other real and imagined characters throughout history. If you have any sort of love affair with the story of King Arthur of Camelot and the people connected to him, you might be interested to find how that famous tale ties into the story of our main character. 
 Lucy's sire is a man of mystery : 
 The power and beauty of this being who commanded my attention banished all else. He reached out, opening his arms to me in a gesture that found its echo in my deepest soul. I could think only of him, respond only to him. Obey only him. 
 It must suck to be a halfling when your very human side wants to rebel against your vampiric nature. 
 "I did not ask for this existence...whatever this is. I am neither alive nor dead. I am trapped somewhere in between." 
 Surprisingly enough, the one character who did stand out for me the most was a vampire hunter who was not described with nearly as much finesse as Lucy's sire. Nevertheless (breaking out the big words tonight), I did like this man who played a huge role in Lucy's life, both before and after Incarnation. Go figure! 
 This might have been a different type of read than I was expecting, but sometimes different works out just fine for me. 
 This book was provided from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.