I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced read, and its very resourceful protagonist, Amaranthe Lokdon, one of the few female "enforcers" (imperial police) in this alt-history novel.

At least in this first book in Buroker's series, it isn't clear if this is an alternate-history Roman Empire that never fell, with name drift over the centuries, or if it is a totally different world. But it's essentially late-19th century tech except for no electricity yet discovered. Some blurbs use the "steampunk" label, but it's not classic steampunk, and there's something else as tech besides steam-powered goodies. As River Song would say, "Spoilers!"