"Miss Holmes. Miss Stoker. There are many young men your age who are called into the service of their country. Who risk life and limb for their queen, their countrymen, and the Empire. Tonight, I ask, on behalf of Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Wales: will you do what no other young women are called to do, and place your lives and honor at the feet of your country?" 
 This book, while by no means perfect, was just a lot of fun. It is mostly plot-driven, without much character development nor depth. It is also bogged down by some truly stupid insta-loves and love triangles. 
 Overall, I would still recommend this for a is a light, easy, fun read. 
 "Yes, I am willing," 
 Miss Adler was offering me a way to prove that, despite my gender, I was a Holmes in more than mere name and the size of my nose. 
 The setting is London, 1889. This is a steampunk novel, but it is steampunk light. It can barely be called steampunk, because this is just a more mechanized, steam-powered version of Victorian London. The elements of steampunk are there, but they are so very minor as to be almost nonexistent in the book. Victorian ideals and beliefs still prevail. We have steam-powered engines, trolleys, electricity is outlawed, we have robot-like machines used around the house to help ladies put on corsets and practice dancing without a partner. London is just a little bit different. 
 I disliked the new carriages, propelled by a steam engine and with no visible driver or engineer. They ran on some sort of magnetic tracking system. Ever since the Moseley-Haft Steam-Promotion Act had been passed by Lord Cosgrove-Pitt and his Parliament, everyone in London had been keen on them and anything else that could be mechanized and automated. 
 Our heroines are Alvemina (who understandably prefers to be called "Mina" instead of her full name) Holmes, daughter of Sir Mycroft Holmes and niece of the famed Sherlock Holmes. Neglected by her father and abandoned by her mother, she is highly deductive (and thinks quite highly of herself), impulsive, completely lacking in social graces, and not altogether familiar with common sense, however book-smart and practical she is. Mina claims to be a scholar, and an admirer of her uncle's work. To be honest...I didn't find her too terribly smart, despite her self-professed assertion of being brilliant. 
 Her partner-in-crime, reluctantly thrown together, is Evaline Stoker, of Colleen Gleason's Gardetta Vampires family series. She is a vampire hunter, who is feeling a little bored and more than a little helpless at her current situation (London is sadly lacking in vampires to hunt, since her famed ancestor Victoria has pretty much killed them all, half a decade or so ago). Evaline is the opposite of Mina. She is beautiful, socially graceful and active, and as much as Mina is a scholar, Evaline is a warrior, despite her quiet front. She is a vampire hunter, and she does know how to kick some asses. 
 The two young ladies (and they are very young, 18 or so) are enlisted by Irene Adler of Sherlock Holmes fame, to investigate the deaths of some young society ladies. Along the way, they encounter mysterious Egyptian clues, secret societies, and mysterious young men---one of whom might even be a time traveler. He wears strange pants! His shirt has no buttons and a word that looks like AEROPOSTA on it. And he carries a strange device... 
 I pulled the device from my pocket. It looked like a small, dark mirror, but its window or face was black and shiny and reflected a bit of light and no clear image. About as big as my hand, it was slender and elegant, made of glass and encased in silver metal. I turned it over and noticed the faint image of an apple with a bite out of it. 
 I don't know if it's an unintended joke on the Apple theme...but Evaline's mentor is named Siri. 
 Both Mina and Evaline are very different, and they are initially distrustful and judgmental of each other. Mina is dismissive of Evaline's skills and personality, based on her beautiful exterior. 
 According to The Venators, the vampire hunters of her family were endowed with superior physical strength and unnatural speed. I wondered if it was true. She certainly didn't appear dangerous. 
 And Evaline is similarly disparaging of Mina's braininess, calling her a "gawky brain-beak", which is also a dig on Mina's appearance, since Mina has unfortunately inherited the famous Holmes beak-like nose. 
 Despite their initial dislike of one another, they slowly warm to each other, and become appreciative of one anothers' strengths. They are not perfect, and both act really, really idiotically at numerous times in the course of their investigation. Mina walks into dangerous situations alone, without any defense, as well as invites a perfect stranger (a MAN, no less) to stay over at her home, knowing of the danger and the ridiculous impropriety of it. Similarly, Evaline acts like an impetuous fool, and completely blow their covers on more than one occasion. However, they are excellent foils to each other, since they are both there to bail the other out when one is endangered. Their partnership grow to be one of trust, and maybe even friendship. 
 That was when I realized that, somewhere along the way, she'd ceased being Miss Stoker and had become Evaline. 
 Not quite a friend, but no longer a stranger. 
 There is not much character development in this book...both characters start off being unsure of themselves and their situation in the world, and are eager to prove their worthiness. They do accomplish that, to an extent, but that's the magnitude of their maturity. There is not much beyond that. 
 My major complaint with this book is the forced romances. Thankfully, Mina and Evaline never did fight over a guy, but I found their respective love interests to be such a stupid stretch. One of the two character not only falls into insta-love, but also gets involved in a stupid love triangle. The other gets involved with some mysterious young man who speaks in an exaggerated Cockney accent, who makes an appearance at pretty much every place she turns up (in this day, we'd call that a stalker), and kisses her silly at every chance. And naturally, our lovestruck heroine is intriged. BY A COCKNEY-ACCENTED STRANGER NAMED PIX. LIKE PIXIE. 
 /facepalm 
 Regardless of the stupidity of the numerous romances in this book, it was an fun read. Recommended for people who want something light that doesn't require them to think too much.