The Shadow Revolution by Clay and Susan Griffith

Title: The Shadow Revolution
Author: Clay and Susan Griffith
Series: Crown & Keys #1
Genre: Steampunk/Urban Fantasy/Magic
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: June 2nd 2015
Source: NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon US | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Synopsis:

     They are the realm’s last, best defense against supernatural evil. But they’re going to need a lot more silver. 

      As fog descends, obscuring the gas lamps of Victorian London, werewolves prowl the shadows of back alleys. But they have infiltrated the inner circles of upper-crust society as well. Only a handful of specially gifted practitioners are equipped to battle the beasts. Among them are the roguish Simon Archer, who conceals his powers as a spell-casting scribe behind the smooth veneer of a dashing playboy; his layabout mentor, Nick Barker, who prefers a good pub to thrilling heroics; and the self-possessed alchemist Kate Anstruther, who is equally at home in a ballroom as she is on a battlefield. 

      After a lycanthrope targets Kate’s vulnerable younger sister, the three join forces with fierce Scottish monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane—but quickly discover they’re dealing with a threat far greater than anything they ever imagined.

     When the world of books has started to constantly feel like copies of other series out there, because let's face it, it's steadily getting harder to write a 100% original story these days. I am pleased to say that this one, feels like a new idea, but it also reminds me of The Dresden Files, but steampunk.

I really enjoyed this book. Every page was engaging and I was excited while reading this book, wondering what was going to happen next. Kate and Simon made a great team. In the height of the Victorian Era when women were starting to step out of the shadows of their fathers and husbands to be their own people, she was a great representation of that. Malcolm was also a great addition, with his gruff personality and six-barreled pistols.

Simon, is pretty obviously the main character of this series, or at least this book. The mystery surrounding his father's death/murder. The fact that he's possibly the last Scribe, and the mysterious key left to him by his late mother, that happens to match a door hidden in Kate's fathers manor. 

The werewolf plot, was a new way to approach the creatures. As of late, Werewolves have become something of a hero. And less like Werewolves and more like people who can turn into a wolf. These were's are man-beasts. They way they are described make me think they look like this:

I think this is a great start to a series and I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the books. It's a great urban fantasy, set in a wonderful world of magic and mystery.