The story is in a Victorian type setting, which is why I think they called it "steampunk". It's not steampunk. The main character is a woman who runs a photography studio with a box camera (you know, the one with the drape that goes over the photographer and the flash stand etc). She starts noticing these ghostly figures showing up in certain pictures. The figures focus around certain individuals in the picture, and within days, that person dies. She writes to her wealthy and powerful uncle who sends someone to investigate the phantoms. There is some alchemy, magic, supernatural elements, and romance.
Now to the review:
I was not looking forward to this review. I was surprised to find that this story was leading up to a bawdy romance. I was hoping for steampunk contraptions and inventions, but there weren't many and they weren't focused on. I feel like the romance was forced and that the male lead was difficult to understand. I think he was supposed to be the strong and silent, Mr. Darcy type, but there were strange moments in the story when he would giggle. It was very strange. I wouldn't really recommend this story to people unless they were looking for a Victorian set romance with some supernatural elements. Since that doesn't really come up in conversation often, I can't imagine recommending this to anyone.