Review: White Elephant by V.E. Ulett

Title: White Elephant
Author: V.E. Ulett
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Self-published
Publish Date: November 30, 2019
Source: Author

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "To keep her place aboard the airship Nonesuch, Miriam must complete another mission for Lord Q — persuade the first white rajah of Sarawak back to loyalty to the British Crown. When Nonesuch crash lands on the coast of Borneo, the mission changes to one of survival. In order to rescue her beloved Captain Maximus Thorpe and the crew of Nonesuch, Miriam must trek through the jungle guided by a team of traveling elephants to the would-be empire-builder's capital. But the jungle has its own laws, wisdom, and lessons, and Miriam may not emerge with her mission and loyalties unchanged."

My Two Cents:

"White Elephant" is the second book in V.E. Ulett's Code Black series. This book picks back up the story of fearless adventuress Miriam and the crew of the airship Nonesuch. They are on another adventure, this time to the jungles of Borneo. Lord Q has issued a new mission and the stakes are even higher as Miriam and the rag tag crew face new challenges and new dangers. February is the time when I begin to yearn for warmer days and far off adventures and since my feet have to stay where I'm at, living vicariously through Miriam was a great substitute!

As I mentioned, this book is the second book in the Code Black series. I suggest going back and reading the first book: "Golden Dragon." "White Elephant" starts with a bang and gets right into the action so reading "Golden Dragon" will give you a little more insight into the characters and a bit more of their origin story. Besides, it's an enjoyable read so go enjoy that adventure and then come right back to this one!

As with the first book, the descriptions and world-building are great. I loved being able to feel the hot, sticky air of the jungle in Borneo and to hear the waves crashing on the beaches. I loved getting more insight into how the crew of the Nonesuch keep getting themselves tied up in so many difficult situations and I loved all of the detail of the characters, both old and new!

The tagline for this book is "romance, intrigue, and elephants" and you definitely get all of that in this book! I particularly loved the elephants in this book. The descriptions of them were super vivid and you could almost feel them pushing through the dense forests. No wonder I as a reader was as taken with them as Miriam was in the book!

Steampunk isn't my usual genre but I loved this book and it provided just the very escape I was looking for!