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Skin Deep
London, 1871. Dr. Alice Victor is an engineer of automata—advanced biomechanical constructs—a field dazzling in its possibilities but still in its infancy. When she meets the alluring Lady Glyde, her laboratory gains a benefactor and Alice a secret lover.
The lady and her husband have recently returned from Africa, and when Alice discovers they are secretly harboring members of a Malawian snake cult, it becomes clear that their ambitions for her work are far more sinister than it first seemed. Alice soon finds herself caught between pleasing her new lover and her loyalty to her colleague and best friend. As tension mounts, Alice must decide how far she is willing to go in her search for forbidden happiness.
Skin Deep is an intricate story of fantastical technology, desperate passion, mysterious rituals, and dark ambition that explores one woman’s quest for love in a society where her desires are taboo.
The lady and her husband have recently returned from Africa, and when Alice discovers they are secretly harboring members of a Malawian snake cult, it becomes clear that their ambitions for her work are far more sinister than it first seemed. Alice soon finds herself caught between pleasing her new lover and her loyalty to her colleague and best friend. As tension mounts, Alice must decide how far she is willing to go in her search for forbidden happiness.
Skin Deep is an intricate story of fantastical technology, desperate passion, mysterious rituals, and dark ambition that explores one woman’s quest for love in a society where her desires are taboo.
145 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 25, 2018
31 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Violet Penrose
1 book4 followersViolet Penrose writes steampunk, Gothic romance and horror. She loves to use her writing to explore the strange, exotic or terrifying that just might be lurking around the corner.
Currently living in New Zealand, when not writing, she spends her time walking her elderly dogs, cycling around the beautiful local scenery, or indulging her love of food, wine and coffee.
Currently living in New Zealand, when not writing, she spends her time walking her elderly dogs, cycling around the beautiful local scenery, or indulging her love of food, wine and coffee.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 26, 2018
I had to go back to trying Kindle Unlimited books that were already recommended to me (thanks Lov2 and Vacated). This was a well written, good, steampunk story. I’m a fan of steampunk books; I like how the science is so beyond the times. This was a darker story, with a slight romance, which had a good satisfying ending. This is a novella, but it doesn’t feel like it. The story is complete and never feels rushed. This is a perfect example of how a good novella should be written. I also need to mention Penrose is an indie author, but I notice no editing issues and the quality is what you hope for. If you are a steampunk fan, this story is absolutely worth the read. I would not hesitate to read another story by Penrose.
April 14, 2018
I love finding indie author publications such as this. Whether you get this read through Kindle Unlimited or buy it outright, it's worth it. Both story and editing wise it's a quality novella that rivals the bigger publication houses.
Our lead and POV for the story, Alice, is a scientist that falls for an alluring but married woman who not only fuels her heart but funds Alice's prototype. Because of the love triangle and the fact that we're in Alice's head, the story is primarily f/f but there is a little m/f when Alice has to be in the presence of the husband and wife.
I will warn that this read is somewhat on the darker side, could be triggering, and involves our lead having an ongoing tryst with this married woman. There's also some cultural appropriation that *could* rub people the wrong way but the author left a note in the back with some explanations that offered respect and addressed that concern. With all that said, though, the story is pretty great.
So often I've picked up a "steampunk" book for it to have very little steampunk in it. With "Skin Deep" that is not the case. We're truly transported to a Victorian London that is full on steampunk.
I was enraptured from the first page to the very last. The story line is very clever and, though there were hints of things to come here and there, it didn't make the read any less intriguing. I had to follow it through to the end. The writing was just really streamlined and sharp.
Overall, characters are well done with smooth dialogue and interactions. Some of the characters, as they were meant to, definitely made my skin crawl. ::shivers::
In addition to a darker romance the read has some paranormal and mystery-like elements, too. Passion is definitely palpable but this is not erotica. The sex scenes are fade to black yet somehow still have a steamy or intense vibe.
I really enjoyed this and found it to excel far beyond other books in its craft.
Well done and recommend! 4.6 stars
Our lead and POV for the story, Alice, is a scientist that falls for an alluring but married woman who not only fuels her heart but funds Alice's prototype. Because of the love triangle and the fact that we're in Alice's head, the story is primarily f/f but there is a little m/f when Alice has to be in the presence of the husband and wife.
I will warn that this read is somewhat on the darker side, could be triggering, and involves our lead having an ongoing tryst with this married woman. There's also some cultural appropriation that *could* rub people the wrong way but the author left a note in the back with some explanations that offered respect and addressed that concern. With all that said, though, the story is pretty great.
So often I've picked up a "steampunk" book for it to have very little steampunk in it. With "Skin Deep" that is not the case. We're truly transported to a Victorian London that is full on steampunk.
I was enraptured from the first page to the very last. The story line is very clever and, though there were hints of things to come here and there, it didn't make the read any less intriguing. I had to follow it through to the end. The writing was just really streamlined and sharp.
Overall, characters are well done with smooth dialogue and interactions. Some of the characters, as they were meant to, definitely made my skin crawl. ::shivers::
In addition to a darker romance the read has some paranormal and mystery-like elements, too. Passion is definitely palpable but this is not erotica. The sex scenes are fade to black yet somehow still have a steamy or intense vibe.
I really enjoyed this and found it to excel far beyond other books in its craft.
Well done and recommend! 4.6 stars
June 5, 2021
A strange creepy semi-erotic novella, combining steampunk science and a bizarre snake cult from Africa, less than 2 hours - on Kindle Unlimited.
A really interesting premise, set in a Victorian England that is more steampunk in theme, and where advanced bio mechanics and other sciences are bounding ahead with various inventions, including automatons.
Our MC Dr Alice Victor is working on an artificial limb with lifelike skin, and muscles that can essentially 'learn' things to help amputees (like her science partner and mentor Dr Marion Bell) and be as realistic as possible to living flesh. But her and her boss and the rest of their team need funding. During a one such charitable gala she meets the alluring but dangerous Lady Sibyl Glyde who has just come back from a mysterious venture in Africa, with her rich husband.
The two women quickly form a physical relationship, that is uneasy and unequal in it's power dynamics. While the Lady Sibyl and her rich husband finance the team working on the living limb project. You feel for Alice being lead into such a tryst with such a woman with an agenda and her strange Malawi 'servants' in their house.
I don't want to share too much, but there's a bizarre cult with a snake fetish, and lots of strange things going on in the house of their benefactors. The Glydes demand more and more of the science team and their projects - also of Alice, while she herself struggles with having been used and manipulated, and investigations into what the Glydes want with the research and inventions and how it has to do with the snake-cult.
The writing was exquisite and evocative, and the story unique and original. I would highly recommend it to people who enjoy creepy tales where science and mystical meet.
A really interesting premise, set in a Victorian England that is more steampunk in theme, and where advanced bio mechanics and other sciences are bounding ahead with various inventions, including automatons.
Our MC Dr Alice Victor is working on an artificial limb with lifelike skin, and muscles that can essentially 'learn' things to help amputees (like her science partner and mentor Dr Marion Bell) and be as realistic as possible to living flesh. But her and her boss and the rest of their team need funding. During a one such charitable gala she meets the alluring but dangerous Lady Sibyl Glyde who has just come back from a mysterious venture in Africa, with her rich husband.
The two women quickly form a physical relationship, that is uneasy and unequal in it's power dynamics. While the Lady Sibyl and her rich husband finance the team working on the living limb project. You feel for Alice being lead into such a tryst with such a woman with an agenda and her strange Malawi 'servants' in their house.
I don't want to share too much, but there's a bizarre cult with a snake fetish, and lots of strange things going on in the house of their benefactors. The Glydes demand more and more of the science team and their projects - also of Alice, while she herself struggles with having been used and manipulated, and investigations into what the Glydes want with the research and inventions and how it has to do with the snake-cult.
The writing was exquisite and evocative, and the story unique and original. I would highly recommend it to people who enjoy creepy tales where science and mystical meet.
April 23, 2018
A big thank you to lov2laf for recommending this great novella. The alluring creepiness of the story kept me compelled to read it in one sitting. I kept thinking of the A.I. Ava from the movie Ex Machina while I read the book. She reminded me of the automaton Cybele in this novella. Beautiful but flawed, due to human greediness.
Excellent writing by this author and I hope she gets the kudos she deserves and continues to churn out these addicting reads.
4.5 stars
Excellent writing by this author and I hope she gets the kudos she deserves and continues to churn out these addicting reads.
4.5 stars
August 13, 2019
Wow this was dark, creepy, and absolutely fascinating. This was the first steampunk book I've read; I look forward to reading more if they're anything like this.
The alternate Victorian England universe created in this novella was appealing to me. I loved the take on Victorian Era anthropologists as well as the prejudices that existed during this time period.
Lady Glyde - She was scary hot.
Lord Glyde - What a creep. I'm not sure what Lady Glyde saw in him (besides his wealth).
Alice - My heart broke for her because she was so naive, and
I really hope this author continues to write, I'd love to read more from her.
The alternate Victorian England universe created in this novella was appealing to me. I loved the take on Victorian Era anthropologists as well as the prejudices that existed during this time period.
Lady Glyde - She was scary hot.
Lord Glyde - What a creep. I'm not sure what Lady Glyde saw in him (besides his wealth).
Alice - My heart broke for her because she was so naive, and
I really hope this author continues to write, I'd love to read more from her.
April 29, 2018
Skin Deep: a Steampunk novella by Violet Penrose has quite a few elements I find really attractive in a novel. We have a Steampunk Victorian setting, a female scientist who loses her head but is redeemable, her long suffering partner in science, a gorgeous temptress with ill intent, her creepy-ass husband, a mysterious snake cult from Africa and a creation that should never have been.
That sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it? Well it is!
I have a great fondness for Indie publishers. They bring us that off-the-beaten-track material (within an already niche market that is lesbian fiction) the bigger publishing houses can’t or won’t touch. I applaud their courage to go the self-publishing route and will always try to support them.
Skin Deep had a somewhat Gothic feel to it and was a nice mix of dark, creepy, exotic and erotic. I wouldn’t mind reading more from this author.
f/f explicit
Themes: I loved Lady Glyde’s seduction of Alice, we knew she was all kinds of trouble but still I wanted her to go there, I guess I just have a weakness for the bad girls ;-)
4.5 stars
That sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it? Well it is!
I have a great fondness for Indie publishers. They bring us that off-the-beaten-track material (within an already niche market that is lesbian fiction) the bigger publishing houses can’t or won’t touch. I applaud their courage to go the self-publishing route and will always try to support them.
Skin Deep had a somewhat Gothic feel to it and was a nice mix of dark, creepy, exotic and erotic. I wouldn’t mind reading more from this author.
f/f explicit
Themes: I loved Lady Glyde’s seduction of Alice, we knew she was all kinds of trouble but still I wanted her to go there, I guess I just have a weakness for the bad girls ;-)
4.5 stars
August 23, 2019
I recommend this with a smile.
A great, odd story and a wonderful first novella. Dr. Alice Victor and Dr. Marion Bell, both working in the field of Automatous, are friends and colleagues. It’s the 1870s and their lab needs funding to continue their work. Alice and Marion are at a function to garner funds when Alice notices and is noticed by Lady Sibyl Glyde. She is the wife of a wealthy Lord with whom she shares some peculiar proclivities. Alice is invited to dinner to discuss her project with the couple, which she gets, and ends up in bed with Lady Glyde. One thing leads to another and Alice is building am automaton in Sibyl’s image. Trouble and betrayal are in the wind, but in the end Alice finds what she is looking for.
Exotic women, snakes, automaton limbs, a self actualize automaton female, ancient magic, and murder can all be found here.
Self published with clean text, only a couple edits needed.
A great, odd story and a wonderful first novella. Dr. Alice Victor and Dr. Marion Bell, both working in the field of Automatous, are friends and colleagues. It’s the 1870s and their lab needs funding to continue their work. Alice and Marion are at a function to garner funds when Alice notices and is noticed by Lady Sibyl Glyde. She is the wife of a wealthy Lord with whom she shares some peculiar proclivities. Alice is invited to dinner to discuss her project with the couple, which she gets, and ends up in bed with Lady Glyde. One thing leads to another and Alice is building am automaton in Sibyl’s image. Trouble and betrayal are in the wind, but in the end Alice finds what she is looking for.
Exotic women, snakes, automaton limbs, a self actualize automaton female, ancient magic, and murder can all be found here.
Self published with clean text, only a couple edits needed.
April 10, 2018
A sexy, pulpy mashup of steampunk and gothic horror
Skin Deep is a clever story that neatly ties together forbidden love, a sexy take on Frankenstein's monster and an homage to Victorian lost civilization stories. It's set in an alternate reality Victorian England where advances in automata and mechanical computers have made robots and artificial intelligence possible, if still experimental. Alice is a researcher hired by an eccentric noble couple to build a life-like automaton, even down to human-like skin. Alice's attempts to meet this request leads her into a series of conflicts and opportunities that explore her place in society, her sexuality and her scientific curiosity.
Penrose sympathetically portrays Alice's tensions and desires and makes her a character the reader can cheer for even as she allows her obsession to override common sense. There is a pervading atmosphere of creepiness. The sexism, racism and homophobia of the era (and the era's writing) are handled deftly. It's a skillful balancing act: erotic, without being lurid and I never felt the tone was off. There are enough steampunk touches to satisfy hardcore fans but the sci-fi and alternate history are purely secondary to the romantic tension at the core of the story.
The narrative twists left me pleasantly surprised and the ending was satisfying. This is an entertaining read and that will appeal fans of steampunk, gothic horror and dark romance.
Skin Deep is a clever story that neatly ties together forbidden love, a sexy take on Frankenstein's monster and an homage to Victorian lost civilization stories. It's set in an alternate reality Victorian England where advances in automata and mechanical computers have made robots and artificial intelligence possible, if still experimental. Alice is a researcher hired by an eccentric noble couple to build a life-like automaton, even down to human-like skin. Alice's attempts to meet this request leads her into a series of conflicts and opportunities that explore her place in society, her sexuality and her scientific curiosity.
Penrose sympathetically portrays Alice's tensions and desires and makes her a character the reader can cheer for even as she allows her obsession to override common sense. There is a pervading atmosphere of creepiness. The sexism, racism and homophobia of the era (and the era's writing) are handled deftly. It's a skillful balancing act: erotic, without being lurid and I never felt the tone was off. There are enough steampunk touches to satisfy hardcore fans but the sci-fi and alternate history are purely secondary to the romantic tension at the core of the story.
The narrative twists left me pleasantly surprised and the ending was satisfying. This is an entertaining read and that will appeal fans of steampunk, gothic horror and dark romance.
April 27, 2018
Scientist becomes seriously infatuated with the mysterious wife of her research benefactor despite all signs that suggest this new romance will be dangerous. Includes the building of soulless automata infused with the blood of a sexy snake cult. Mmm!
May 1, 2018
Great story
This was an awesome story. I loved the steampunk aspects as well as the snake cult. I enjoyed reading this story.
This was an awesome story. I loved the steampunk aspects as well as the snake cult. I enjoyed reading this story.
July 20, 2018
It’s so wonderful to pick up a self-published work of this quality. Skin deep is an entertaining and enthralling steampunk novella that brilliantly melds together science and romance. Set in an alternate Victorian London, where advances in robotics, (automata), surpass our own. Two young female scientists, Alice and Marion, are trying to break boundaries with their automata research. Entrenched in a patriarch society, the main protagonist, Alice is also trying to break boundaries of accepted social norms.
She falls in love with the seductive Lady Glyde, who also happens to be the financier of Alice and Marion’s research. Unfortunately, the enchanting Lady Glyde is married. Their lesbian affair is scandalous enough, but Lady Glyde has even darker secrets that threaten to undo everything Alice and Marion have worked so hard for.
Penrose is a wonderful storyteller. I love her descriptive handling of the steam punk genre. The sensuality of the romance scenes are thrilling, yet it never gets in the way of the story, meshing perfectly with the drama and science. Penrose’s writing is polished and intelligent. The themes are cleverly laced with modern issues of gender, class and equality. A fantastic read for romance readers as well as lovers of speculative fiction.
She falls in love with the seductive Lady Glyde, who also happens to be the financier of Alice and Marion’s research. Unfortunately, the enchanting Lady Glyde is married. Their lesbian affair is scandalous enough, but Lady Glyde has even darker secrets that threaten to undo everything Alice and Marion have worked so hard for.
Penrose is a wonderful storyteller. I love her descriptive handling of the steam punk genre. The sensuality of the romance scenes are thrilling, yet it never gets in the way of the story, meshing perfectly with the drama and science. Penrose’s writing is polished and intelligent. The themes are cleverly laced with modern issues of gender, class and equality. A fantastic read for romance readers as well as lovers of speculative fiction.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2019
I really did not enjoy the book even though the story idea was interesting. I did not get a feel for the characters personalities other than the project that they were working on and the initial love affair between the first 2 romantic leads. The intimate scenes between the characters felt skimmed over although it was a significant part of the storyline. The secondary characters were supposed to help the
story along but even after reading some bits twice, I can not tell you much about any of them except their names and work titles. Very disappointing.
story along but even after reading some bits twice, I can not tell you much about any of them except their names and work titles. Very disappointing.
June 4, 2019
First time to read Steampunk novel
I was pleasantly surprised at this book and did enjoy it. I would have given it a 5 if it were expanded to include more descriptions of the world these characters lived in. An example is the author describes the wardrobe of the women and as for the men we read how the hair curled or the color and that was it. How did they get around the city, how were there houses lite, why could a walking, talking robot be made but one character still used a monocle to see with. Questions that should be answered.
I was pleasantly surprised at this book and did enjoy it. I would have given it a 5 if it were expanded to include more descriptions of the world these characters lived in. An example is the author describes the wardrobe of the women and as for the men we read how the hair curled or the color and that was it. How did they get around the city, how were there houses lite, why could a walking, talking robot be made but one character still used a monocle to see with. Questions that should be answered.
June 5, 2022
4 stars. This was a really fun read. I thoroughly enjoyed it though Alice’s infatuation with Lady Glyde was annoying. She was way too smart to be so gullible. I also didn’t buy into her and Marion becoming a couple in the end. It felt rushed and super forced. Outside of that the plot and writing were really good. I don’t read a lot of steampunk so I’m always happy when I find one that works for me and this one definitely did.
July 20, 2019
There were elements of the story, especially the inventions, that were interesting, but weren't really developed. However the main part of the story was Alice’s infatuation with Lady Glyde, which I found quite annoying and it didn't take long for me to become very frustrated with her.
Overall I'm afraid I didn’t really enjoy the story.
Overall I'm afraid I didn’t really enjoy the story.
June 13, 2018
Enjoyable read, well paced and enough mystery to keep the pages turning. I thought more could have been done with this interesting theme, partly because I wanted more of it. Some of the support characters and settings could have been fleshed out but well worth adding to one's steampunk library.
December 29, 2021
Other than a lot of snakes being around this is a perfect Victorian steampunk story. Excellent.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews