Supernatural Devices - Review

Supernatural Devices: A Steampunk Scarlett Novel #1
By Kailin Gow

Supernatural Devices is really more of a historical paranormal novel, rather than a steampunk novel, which makes the title very misleading. The Devices are the only steampunk elements in the book and they don’t come into the story until almost the end. Most of the book is instead about a seventeen year old girl named Scarlett Seely who has second sight, which is the ability to see things such as ghosts and other paranormal beings. She is asked to help out on a case of theft by none other than the famous Sherlock Holmes. Because of her gift, Scarlett is very good at finding things, which is why Mr. Holmes calls for her assistance. As the story goes on, you find out that the item she is searching for is, in fact, a magic ring. There is a love triangle, a kidnapping, and a few attempted surprises which were very easy to predict. While this book will appeal to any paranormal fan, it was not very original and certainly will not appeal to those looking for a steampunk book. As the series continues, it has potential to turn into a steampunk series, but Supernatural Devices was nothing more than a pretty girl deciding “do I want the vampire or the bad boy fae?” The heroine was your stereotypical beauty who had long golden hair and a beautiful body and knew how to fight anything and everything. Scarlett was a strong character but she wasn’t very unique, and she also wasn’t very smart. This would be an additional purchase to a public library system.