I’ve read several H.L. Burke’s novels before, including the excellent Heart of Curiosity, so I looked forward to her steampunk adventure of Nyssa Glass in the House of Mirrors. I had never read any of the other Nyssa Glass offerings and was intrigued by the title. This steampunk novella met my high expectations.
Nyssa Glass is a former thief, attempting to make amends for her past by working in a repair shop of steampunk inventions. The book starts quickly when a menacing customer comes for a visit and demands Nyssa help him break into a house. After a series of tragic events, Nyssa agrees to the job. She’s left at an abandoned mansion with only a thief’s tools. However, the house she must break into isn’t a regular house but the mirrored mansion of a genius inventor. Nyssa must find a way to escape the house’s traps and unlock its secrets.
Clever, imaginative, and thrilling all describe Nyssa Glass in the House of Mirrors. Through the course of events, Nyssa meets a computer companion. They grow closer, giving the story some much-needed gravitas. Just when the reader thinks this is a light-hearted romp, the narrative turns darker and the stakes are raised. Nyssa begins to worry about the outcome of a companion character as she progresses deeper into the mansion. The invested reader will be equally nervous.
The writing brings alive the exciting narrative. The descriptions of the mansion in disrepair paint a vivid picture in the reader’s mind. Nyssa Glass and the House of Mirrors is everything a steampunk fan could want in a 150-page novella.
So, spend a few hours in a world both familiar and foreign. Follow the adventures of a reformed thief in this initial book of an exciting series.