Arturo Piatti is leading a team to make the waters of Venice safe, as it is currently infested by Kraken. Lady Judith Ravensburg is currently studying the kraken as their ink has untapped medicinal properties that she hopes to tap into to save her aunt. But Judith works for Lord Garrick, whose intentions towards the kraken only stretch as far as his ability to make money from them. Garrick’s schemes mean that Judith decides to hide her true intentions from him and she decides to work with Arturo to take an ink sample from a large Kraken in the depths. In the past, they had been close enough that Arturo had proposed marriage, and with the stakes getting higher, they decide that they will do so, if this venture is successful. But while they manage to extract the ink from the Kraken, they have not reckoned with the wiles of Lord Garrick, who had foreseen what Judith might attempt and has taken steps including destroying the Kraken and trapping Arturo in the depths of the canals.

This is a romantic steampunk action story set in an alternate Venice. The setup works well, sticking to what is the everyday with the extra conceit of the kraken’s making the setup understandable and setting the scene for the actions of the characters. This leads into an interesting plot for the characters, not just the krakens, but the deceit and secrets that litters each of the character histories, which all start to come out during the tale. The plot starts quickly introducing our main characters and giving us time to get to know them, before diving, quite literally, back into the story where their actions, past and present, lead to a gripping conclusion. This also makes for interesting characters as they become more than just their introduction, coloured just as much by their actions as by their whims and desires. The writing style of the author also paints a vivid picture of Venice, matching it’s current decor with the effects the world would have on it. The descriptions seem accurate and match to the current state of the city, but the detail of the kraken make them seem as commonplace as any animal in today’s society, not to mention how they act and what they could be used for.

The formatting of the book is neatly done, with little flourishes throughout and the style of the text fitting the genre. The cover is also very fitting for the story as well. I do like the way the chapters switch between Arturo and Judith apart from one exception that occurs at the end of the story. It also has the first few chapters from one of the main novels set in the same world. So if you enjoy this short tale and the excerpt, there are many books to choose from the author.

Overall, this is a highly enjoyable tale, that kept me turning from page to page to find out what will happen next amongst the kraken, the romance, and the business dealings behind the scenes.