The first thing that drew me to Jay Kristoff’s debut novel, Stormdancer, was the title. It’s simple and powerful. Combine that with the amazing cover art, and you’ve got an enticing pitch for the reader.

When I dug deeper into what Jay had going on, I saw that it was a Japanese-inspired steampunk fantasy. That alone is pretty awesome and unique. Steampunk isn’t exactly my thing, but it’s growing on me, and so far this book is doing a lot to get me more interested.

I like helping out new writers, so I made a point to buy my copy in the first week when it came out. Tor.com had posted the first three chapters online for free, which helped sell me on Jay’s writing. My favorite line, somewhere in the second chapter was when a character’s fist was “introduced” to a bad guy’s face.

I’m only half a dozen chapters in, but I love what I’ve read so far. If you’ve read it, or have any thoughts, let me know in the comments.