Ceridwen

Better than average for this sort of thing, and massive points for not whitewashing the cover. The heroine is unusual for steampunk, in that she's not some worthless upperclass twit -- mad scientist father optional, but likely -- but a trained magic worker in the healing arts. The world is mixed steampunk and gaslamp fantasy, and even though it's on Steampunk Planet and not a true alt history, I got the impression of a sort of alt Crimean War thing going on. The war is has murky beginnings and no clear "good guys", and Octavia could read as a Florence Nightingale type. (Although, honestly, I think I'm reading the antagonist nation -- the Wasters -- as having more of a claim than is intended, which puts me in an odd position as a reader. Octavia seems to think they have no claim to independence, while I think they obviously do, especially given how shitty the government of her country is.) The middle goes a little slack, and Octavia frets and moons more than I'd prefer, but all in all an enjoyable read.