Nefertiti's Heart (The Artifact Hunters Book 1)

Really enjoyed this adventure even though I anticipated the high tension scene. Still a well crafted tale of pirates, steam punk, and merry old England. Cara is far from plain vanilla although I expect much more flavor to be evoked by Lord Lyons in the next books, can’t wait.

A strong heroine who survived a brutal childhood, a hero with lots of secrets, a treasure hunt and a serial killer. The kissing is endless (endlessly wonderful!).

This is my first box by A. W. Exley and definitely not my last.

Great story a mix of 19th century London with futuristic transportation and robots. A young girl brutally violated by her fathers gambling debt holder. Leaves the ton for seven years only to return to settle her murdered fathers estate and sell his hidden antiquities What is the connection between her fathers murder and of four debutants? The bad boy is romantically perusing her and love a cranes are a bit descriptive.

Somehow I missed the Steampunk aspect in the description of this book, which meant that the book did not appeal to me as much as it might had it been strictly historical. The main character was feasible in the Steampunk context, but too far-fetched for me. The story was not compelling enough for me to care how it ended. Thus I quit reading before I got halfway through with it.

Cara returns to London after her father's death. At fourteen she had be given to a lord in order to pay for her father's debts instead of one of his treasures. Now after being gone for seven years she desires only to sell her fathers treasured antiques, most of which he had gotten by illegal means. The problem he hid them all over London and there is a serial killer killing the young women of London's elite and Cara maybe next.

I really enjoyed this one and intent to read the next one in the series or her next book. Either way I have found a new author I will be following.

This novel is suspensful and is written such that you feel like you arr right there in the thick of things. The author also deals with complex social problems, the most significant is child abandonment and abuse leading to significant scars. It is lovely how the author sets Cara, the protagonist free and on the path to healing.

Better than chocolate! Riveting murder mystery, wrapped in a surprisingly tender love story, wrapped in a wonderful steampunk variety of antique London. I am already picking out actors to play various parts. I hope there are at least 10 in this great series.

This book was riveting and full of action, passion and thrilling. The interaction between the characters in the book is excellent .the book takes a look at Victorian society from a noble woman's point of view. It show how restrictive and judgemental this society was and how the ruins of one young girl, actually turned out to be desalination, because she no longer had to worry about what "polite society"thought of her.

Almost didn't read this book after reading a review about a weak woman being rescued by a man. Obviously that reader has their own issues as the main character in this book is a very strong woman who walks her own road but isn't afraid to admit to emotions. A fun book and I look forward to reading book two.

So much better than Obsidian Eyes. Cara was very well developed. I cannot wait to find out more about Nate, Fraser and Loki. I expected more steampunk but other than a few mentions of mechanical arms used on docks, airships, horseless carriages, and robotic horses, steampunk was negligent. Will definitely read the next in the series. Good read.

...but, there is more detail to the romantic relationship than I prefer. If you enjoy steampunk with a strong female lead, and don't mind the extra steamy descriptions then this is a book for you. I would have rated 4 stars without the extra romantic content.

Cara Devon is a strong heroine who is despised by the people of London in public, but secretly admired for her individuality and fearlessness by the unfortunate, well to do damsels who wish they could be like her, but are shackled by protocol. Cara’s search for the hidden antiquities, collected by her father before his death, and the mysteries of what they really are, draws you in and keeps you trapped in the pages with no way out but to finish the book! Wonderful!

Good suspense from start to finish as Cara returns to her hated childhood home after her father's death. After a seven year absence Cara hardly fits into society that childhood friend Amy moves in. What role will detective Fraiser or the villainous discount Lyons play as Cara searches for her late father's Egyptian artifacts. Hard to put down.

I was a little disappointed at the short length of the book. Also, there were a couple of spots an action, or comment, were put of touch with the eatablished character. However, that's the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars. Even within the short length, the story did not seem hurried or forced. For the most part, the characrer development was natural and compelling. I will be looking for more works by this author.

Good enough that I went ahead and purchased the other books in the set. I'm actually all caught up in the drama and I am loving it. It has a definite steam punk feel to it... which I didn't htink I was going to like, but found out that I am enjoying it immensely! Exley has a way with words that make you want to turn the page and keep reading until you are done!

I rather enjoyed this book and how the main character, Cara straddles two worlds. She's a "fallen" noble but also has learned how to live in a world not restricted by the rules of society. I c ouldn't put this one down.

I was immediately caught up in this book and read the whole thing in one day. Her characters are a delight with interesting quirks. The steam punk setting is nicely done and the mystery element works very well. I loved Cara who is smart, loyal and had some seriously harsh things done to her that she is in the process of overcoming. Her developing relationship with Nathanial is totally hot.

Looking forward to reading the next book about Cara, Hatshepsut's Collar. A. W. Exley is now on my "must read" list of new authors.

I picked up this Kindle read for basically one reason, it was free. Free books are usually pretty hit or miss, and for me this was a major hit. The female lead is portrayed as an independent, self-sufficient, "breaks free of the female mold" sort of character. She's strong but a lot of her character is defined by her abusive childhood, which serves as one of the main topics in this book, although not without reason (thrown back into childhood memories, etc). I do hope that in future books her character develops beyond this. The male lead basically is the rich but respectable bad boy, not too much to complain about here, he adds some spice to the book and the sex scenes don't overtake the actual story of the book.

The plot itself was very intriguing and I enjoyed the Victorian-era steam-punkesque setting with a modern twist. The Egyptian flare really added some mystery that spoke to my childhood fascination with the time period. The mystery itself I felt was well done, I had my suspicions but really only truly committed to a theory moments before the lead figured it out as well.

All in all it was a really nice surprise for a free book and hope that I will enjoy other books from this author. A nice perk this author offers is an email club where you can pick up another free read, if you liked her style.

I picked this up because it sounded interesting and it was free. I enjoyed it and will pick up others in the series. Well written good caricters well developed and likable. This is steam punk set in England. A little mystery some romance and just for fun the author throws in some supernatural. Go ahead try it you may enjoy it if not it was free on kindle.

An entertaining tale with a strong heroine and a mysterious lover, all set in steampunk Victorian England. The heroine has gone through the fires to get where she is, and nothing’s going to stop her from solving the riddle of her father’s artifact collection, not even an evil madman. I loved the descriptions of the horseless carriages and the robotic footmen!

This was my first steampunk book. It was certainly a different mystery book. Reading about motor horses pulling carriages and airships landing on specific locations such as one's own property was certainly not even fantasy. It was positively science fiction. Electricity did not exist until about 1880 but the wealthy in this book lit up their homes using this power. The primary modes of travel were on horseback, by motor carriage or by airships.

The plot centered around a serial killer who captured girls off London streets, brought them to his home, tortured and killed them. He then cut out their hearts hoping he had found the long lost Nefritits Heart artifact. Certainly only an insane man would have believed such could ever be true.

The protagonist was Cara Devon. She was a young 21 year old who returned to London as an heir to claim her father's artifacts and estate. As a 14 year old, she was beaten by her father, Lord Devon, and given to a cruel man as payment to whom her father was in debt. Her captor, Lord Clayton, again beat her and raped her repeatedly. We are lead to believe this vile treatment by both Lord Devon and Lord Clayton was why she became an independent woman. It was why she refused to abide by society's strict rules of behavior. Her rape ordeal made her an outcast by snooty London society. I believe this was probably what happened in London at this time. Cara, the victim, was blamed for the crime committed against her.

Cara meets Nathan Trent, a handsome gangster. He was interested in her father's wealth of artifacts but quickly falls in love with her. Their romantic alliances were cute but again, sort of dumb. He paid her a visit while she was visiting her grandmother. While his landed airship stood parked on her grandmother's property, he and Cara had sex on a high tree branch. Both these situations were laughable.

I wanted to find out who the serial killer was. I figured out his identity early on as clues were dropped along the way. I kept reading since there could have been twists. There were none.

The premise of the book was very intriguing. It touched on issues that happened too often during that era and unfortunately still today. The storyline was interesting if somewhat redundant. Some parts of the storyline could have been a bit shorter instead of being dragged out without sacrifice of the line. Overall, it was an enjoyable story.

Got this book and wants to sure about it. Author has you root for the heroine and what she goes through. The period it occurs in helps to ensure the believable plot and characters. Little bit of a love story too which I normally don't go for

This one was very intriguing and fast paced. I finished it in a marathon reading session so, obviously, it is hard to put down.
The Egypt thread is quite cliched. I understand the attraction of the exotic there.
A compliment for Exley. I was reminded of Scarlet and Rhett Butler while reading this book. Again, maybe a cliched couple, never the less, pretty entertaining.
About the whodunit part, I actually guessed it way earlier in the book. Still, for someone not as read as me, the revelation will be exciting.
Enjoyed the book thoroughly!

I really enjoy books with strong. Women. I was very strong when
I was younger .
I am 77 years old and my health is very poor. Books Are my escape. Thank you. This on took me one a great trip .

Maybe a l!the more sex than I care for . The characters are very real ?

Hey, I like Steampunk and this book was very cool. It has a touch of the paranormal towards the end but is basically a London serial killer mystery book with a bit of romance and a touch of sex. It is well written though like a lot of Steampunk spends toooooo much time describing what the women are wearing which really does not add to the story line but I guess helps a tiny bit in understanding the characters.

Well worth a read for anyone who likes detective novels with a Steampunk flavour.

Clever story that bounces between genres (fantasy, SciFi, romance, mystery, steampunk). A little heavy on sex scenes for my taste in mysteries, which is what I was in the mood for, but engaging overall. Not a story that creeps through your mind while otherwise occupied, but definitely enough to pleasantly draw the reader back if it must be set aside.

I never heard of this author - Ms Exley - and probably would have never read the book, if I hadn't read all the good reviews and decided to try it myself ....and boy, am I glad I did.

This was an exciting murder, steam punk, love story which captivated me from the first to the last page. It was very well written , had characters who were well defined and the plot did not drag for one moment.

I am sure will look for more books of this author.

I can recommend this book.

I liked this one so well that I immediately bought the series. The protagonist is scrappy, resourceful and delightful. This is a steam-punk world that parallels our own -- sort of. I must warn prospective readers about taking advantage of the 'first-book-free' offer: you WILL want to read the rest of the series.

The reading of this book is intriguing, it kept my constant interest, and I enjoyed it to the very last page. I loved the steampunk horse and carriage feel of this story and how "Cara", the main character is portrayed as a fighter and a strong woman by overcoming the wrongs done to her in the past.

Exley masterfully created a new world with a mixture of steampunk and fantasy themes. There are fresh new characters who are not only strong-willed, witty, and fun, but who are also real humans who struggle to fight their demons. This book keeps it real (metaphorically speaking) in that no one in it is perfect. There are several dark themes that are addressed here, for once, instead of being swept under the rug as society likes to do now days, and it adds an amazing message to a story that was already fresh and unique. I only gave it four stars because the character development and relationships seemed a little rushed to me, but other than that, it really is a great book.

Okay, I'm hooked. Got this installment in the series for free and just bought #2. A fun tale with an interesting universe and likable female protagonist. I'd call it a combination of bodice ripper and fantasy - but who doesn't enjoy an escapist piece of candy from time to time! One out of ten free books that I bothered to finish and ordered the next.

Dangerously exciting, flawed, driven and multi-faceted characters, with molten emotions. Charged, sexy, glittering and electrical interactions. Nefarious and deviously skewed villains. Mystery, gothic and Jules Verne inspired soot-tinged, steamy, cold yet intensely vivid environment. This book would make great Blade Runner type cinema. Highly recommended.

I have tried steampunk and wasn't really impressed but this book changed my mind. It was exciting and totally fun! Cara and Nate are two wonderful characters and the story was intriguing. Cara's troubles with her era's high society (ton) and Nate's rescue made for good reading. I will read more by this author.

Our story starts with us finding out more about Cara and wanting to keep her safe, since she's already had a hard life. Cara has other plans, though, and pulls us into trouble. His name is Nate, and we are torn between warning Cara and cheering them on. You'll just have to read the story.

Steampunk, murder mystery romance. Enjoyed it, there was a bit of a twist at the end. Lots of triggers for people who've been abused, so if that's you avoid this, otherwise I recommend it. Was different!

I enjoyed the book. It was surprising how an artifact could connect two people through their heart and yet did not kill them. However, they could never be away from each other very long and their body would get affected. Interesting story.