5 stars for Cross Checking: A Buffalo Steampunk Adventure by @LauraSt05038951 #steampunk #bookreview
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  • N. N. Light
    • Mar 18, 2020
    • 2 min read

5 stars for Cross Checking: A Buffalo Steampunk Adventure by @LauraSt05038951 #steampunk #bookreview



Title: Cross Checking: A Buffalo Steampunk Adventure

Author: Laura Strickland

Genre: Steampunk Romance


Book Blurb:


When Maddie MacGillicuddy loses her job, she's desperate to find another. Though good jobs are available at the stables, only men are hired. A big, strapping girl, she becomes Matty in her brother's clothing. Complications arise when a city magnate, assembling a tournament hockey team, admires Matty's skating skills and recruits "him," with real money and the city's reputation on the line.


Huritt Gilbert is used to battling his way through life. At the stables, he routinely endures racial slurs, sometimes striking back. He's never met a woman like Maddie and would do anything for her, including accept the dangerous position of goalie for her team. But when competition heats up, loyalties get twisted. Will Gilbert and Maddie play for glory, or love?


My Review:


This is an incredible book that has an original place in the steampunk genre. There is just a bit of a wry smile that comes when you realize some of the steam engines that are alive are a bit punk like so there is a steam punk aspect to them.


The author cannot be lauded enough for the first-rate job of accurately portraying hockey in the late 19th century. That game was barely the bones of the game currently being played but its character gives a lot of opportunity for artistic and author license. The intense violence of the game, the marauding fans, the backers who will lie/cheat/steal for a win. This type of hockey makes the movie Slapshot look like a tea party.


The character Maddie is a brilliant creation and is given a storyline that is as rich in drama and conflict as it is in romance and family responsibility. Very readable, this book keeps a reader on edge. I actually dreamed about the book over and over just last night before I finished it today. This book will stick with a reader.


Excellent for fans of the steampunk genre, good for fans of robotics, sci fi, hockey and accurate historical fiction.


My Rating: 5 stars


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Author Biography:


Multi-award-winning author Laura Strickland delights in time traveling to the past and searching out settings for her books, be they Historical Romance, Steampunk or something in between. Her first Scottish Historical hero, Devil Black, battled his way onto the publishing scene in 2013, and the author never looked back. Nor has she tapped the limits of her imagination. Venturing beyond Historical and Contemporary Romance, she created a new world with her ground-breaking Buffalo Steampunk Adventure series set in her native city, in Western New York. Married and the parent of one grown daughter, Laura has also been privileged to mother a number of very special rescue dogs, and is intensely interested in animal welfare. These days while she's writing, you can always find her latest rescue, Lacy, nearby. Her love of dogs, and her lifelong interest in Celtic history, magic and music, are all reflected in her writing. Laura's mantra is Lore, Legend, Love, and she wouldn't have it any other way.


Social Media Links:


Author Twitter:

Laura Strickland Author @LauraSt05038951


Reviewed by: Mr. N


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