Well, shiver my dirigibles’ timber, I’ve just lost my steampunk virginity!

I’ve heard of steampunk before, that strange subgenre of SF that uses machines and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery and is often set in an alternative history of the 19th century's British Victorian, but never thought it can be so much fun to read a book in such a world.
It’s like the well dressed brother of cyberbunk, top hat and all.

I was pleasantly surprised about how much I’ve enjoyed James Cox’s writing style. It was smooth, documented and downright funny.

Sex, Gunpowder and Saving the Day is set in a world destroyed by a great wave where land is scarce and is owned only by the rich lords and ladies and used mostly for farming. The rest of the population lives in dirigibles up in the sky. There is a king and a queen who govern the world and who live in a palace. Our MC is a Detective - something like middle class- who is investigating the murder of his benefactor, a lord Peasley, who saved his life when he was very young and has taken him in and treated him like a son.

Lord Peasley has a son of his own named Valence, Joshua’s best friend and later on his lover.
And now here it comes, as much as I enjoyed the worldbuilding, the writing and the somewhat confusing plot, I must speak about those sex scenes. And I will put that under a spoiler warning.


Valence’s and Joshua’s first time was cute, both awkward virgins, not knowing exactly the technicalities but doing their best. Joshua began spitting on everything twice to make sure his buddy was well lubricated. So I said, yeah, sure, makes sense.

When in doubt, spit on everything twice.

But Valence’s and Joshua’s second time, many years later, was also in the woods even if they had a huge empty house to explore (and two towers!)- I must admit a house where Valence’s father had died- and an empty dirigible. They began kissing in the house but took it outside for the sake of commemorating their first time and did it in the woods with a bloody storm booming overhead.

Y’all not afraid of yer long dicks catching lighting and gettin' crispy?

Their third time was on a stairwell and I was beginning to realize that these two fine gentlemen had never had an amorous congress in a bed. And never heard of oil before.
Tztztztz, ye barmy cavemen.

The lubrication was done via spitting. I get it, but I wish it wasn't described in so much detail.
An example of a sex scene.

Then I pushed him to his knees and spread his cheeks. I spit and shoved one finger into him.

Bla, bla, bla, some description of how much Joshua wanted Valence, then:

I spit on two fingers and slid them into Val. “I want you so bad.”I pushed them deep and quickly started a brutal rhythm. “You make me cock so bloody hard.” I spit again , using three fingers and eased them into his hole.

By this moment, my weird mind was surfacing this memory of a spitting goat I’ve seen nine years ago on youtube.



I shook my head, cast the memory aside and carried on. Be gone, goat!

“Joshua!” He pushed back.
The stairs helped balance us as I fingered him. I grabbed my dick, removed my fingers, and then pressed my wrinkled tip to his entrance. I gathered all the saliva in my mouth and aimed true .

Once I had Valence naked, not even another Great Wave could stop my progress. I pulled out, spit again to be sure he was well lubricated and then eased back in.

I spread his legs, each one rested against the narrow staircase walls. “I want to watch you come,” I said but it was more of a growl than my usual voice. I used more spit before advancing inside Val.

Bloody hell! Get it out! Get that damned goat out of my head!



Needless to say my sex scene enthuzimuzz was ruined because of the spitting, the goat and my weird ass brain.

The fourth time our dandies finally reached the bed and they discover the wonderful invention of oil. I'm happy & the goat finally disappears from my head …. but! one moment here they were professing their love for each other, and the next moment a 3rd guy appears and an inopinate MMM sex scene bursts out of the page, and I’m sitting there, wondering "what the bloody hell just happened?" feeling like I've literally been spit in me left eye and gone temporarily blind.
But I feel like I should be grateful to the 3rd guy because it was him who brought the oil. If not for him they might have gone into another spit-storm.



I did enjoy the book. The book ends on a cliffhanger and I am really curious of what happens next.

I received this free copy from the author in return for an honest review via the M/M Romance Group DBML program

Overall: 3.7
Writing: 4
Plot: 3
Mystery/ Suspense: 3
World building: 5
MCs: 4
Sex scenes descriptions: 3 ( )

Promising world building and good mystery that devolves into porn. ( )