Today I continue my series of blog posts about me picking books that have similarities to mine so I can tell you about another book that I think readers of my books might like. Since like/dislike is taste-dependent, I'm going to instead focus on specific things that make my book and the other book “book sisters.” Not necessarily book twins (if they were exactly alike, you wouldn't need to read both, after all), but at least undeniably related. So today I present: The Electrical Menagerie and the Spellsmith & Carver Trilogy (book one Magicians' Rivalry). Both are the first book in a series, but since The Electrical Menagerie's sequel has not been released yet, this will be focused on the first book in each series.
Also, both of these books are currently up for The Alliance Award, so if you've read them, consider voting! (click here)
Things you'll find in both:
Steampunk gadgets and devices, including clockwork animals (Jaspyr the Fox for Spellsmith & Carver and the elephant you see on the cover of The Electrical Menagerie).
A snarky sense of humor and much much banter.
Bromance: Both stories feature a duo of male leads who share the spotlight and the action and who work through their differences to form a strong bond.
Opposites who must learn to work together: With The Electrical Menagerie you get slick, flashy extrovert Huxley, and the shy, principled artist/inventor/magician Carthage. With Spellsmith & Carver, you get the emotional and impulsive Auric Spellsmith and the practical, thoughtful Jericho Carver.
Things you'll only find in one or the other:
While both series feature magicians, that's actually not a point in commonality because Spellsmith and Carver are “real” magicians who use magic, whereas Carthage is a stage magician, doing tricks in a world that doesn't (at least at this point in the series) have actual magic.
While Huxley get some flirtation, I wouldn't say there is much real “romance” in The Electrical Menagerie (though we'll see if book two in the series proves me wrong). In Spellsmith & Carver, however, Jericho starts out the book very much in love with Auric's charming sister, and I promise you there will be kissing.
The Electrical Menagerie has a charming robot sidekick named Dominic. Spellsmith & Carver does not.
I'd call The Electrical Menagerie light scifi while Spellsmith & Carver leans heavily on fantasy elements (fairies, magic, there's a dragon).
There's a Show Business theme running through The Electrical Menagerie, but not Spellsmith & Carver.
(note, those are affiliate links which means if you purchase the ebooks f1rom these links, I'll get a percentage from Amazon. All opinions are my own.)