A fun reimagining of history. One of the funnest parts of reading this book was reading the Wikipedia page for Annie Oakley alongside it. Much of the history is preserved, and even the werewolf connection is inspired by a couple that Oakley referred to as "the wolves."

A video review including this book is on my Youtube channel at https://youtu.be/FyK7hcbNrvc?t=322

Though this is the sixteenth book in the Elemental Masters series, it works as a standalone. This is the first Mercedes Lackey book that I have read, and it was a fine entry point to the series.

I was delighted by the vocabulary in this book. I learned many new words through reading. Lackey doesn't pull her punches here. It never feels confusing, but it does feel like you're reading an academic book.

This book is also very slow paced. This is because for large portions of the story, there aren't any real stakes. Though there is the hypothetical threat of werewolves looming, that isn't present or important to a majority of the story. Even when there is the final confrontation, it feels perfunctory.

In the end, this is a fun book with a cute married couple at its center. It has some action and a lot of love for Germany in 1901.

Thanks to DAW and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.