Treasure, Darkly by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek

Treasure Chronicles #1

Synopsis:

     "Seventeen-year-old Clark Treasure assumes the drink he stole off the captain is absinthe… until the chemicals in the liquid give him the ability to awaken the dead. 

    A great invention for creating perfect soldiers, yes, but Clark wants to live as a miner, not a slave to the army—or the deceased. On the run, Clark turns to his estranged, mining tycoon father for help. The Treasures welcome Clark with open arms, so he jumps at the chance to help them protect their ranch against Senator Horan, a man who hates anyone more powerful than he. 

     Sixteen-year-old Amethyst Treasure loathes the idea of spending the summer away from her bustling city life to rot on her father’s ranch, but when a handsome young man shows up claiming to be her secret half-brother, her curiosity is piqued. He’s clever, street smart, and has no qualms jumping into the brawl between the Treasures and Horans. Caught in the middle, Horan kidnaps Amethyst, and all she gets is this lousy bullet through her heart. 

     When Clark brings her back to life, however, the real action starts, and Amethyst joins him in his fight against the Horan clan—whatever the cost. Defeating the Horans may seem easy at first, but going up against men with the same fighting vengeance as Clark, and a Senator with power he’s obtained by brainwashing the masses? 

     Well, Amethyst’s boring summer at home has turned into an adventure on the run, chock full of intrigue, danger, love, and a mysterious boy named Clark."

I received this book from NetGalley for review.

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This book started on a high note, and only went up from there. A steam-punk story wrapped around an old west setting with a dash of necromancy. Yes, please.

Clark was a really well written and likable character. He came from nothing and expects no more than what a common person has. A safe place to sleep and food on the table. But when the army is on your tail, having a rich and prominent family to protect you doesn't hurt. I liked that even though he never had any formal education he still was very smart, and quick witted. He was also smart enough to know when someone was patronizing him or was sincere.

Amethyst took longer for me to like. For the first 1/3 of the book, she was incredibly shallow and fickle. It was weird for me the way she flaunted herself at her alleged half brother. (It's not much a spoiler since you find out pretty quick, but they aren't actually siblings. I'll save the details for those who read the book.) After Clark saves her, she became more likable and less self-centered. 

The rest of the characters were mostly, background characters, but they still felt important to the story. I liked that all the characters, no matter how small or important, were really complex in their own ways. 

The only downside was, for me at least, the last 3 chapters were really slow and kind of boring. But the last few pages show why, that it was winding down a bit before the big plot driver for the next book was revealed. There was a lot of really good plot and character development in this book. And I look forward to the sequel.