LEVIATHAN by Scott Westerfeld

Sorry, this this is, like, two weeks late or so.  My own novel-writing got in the way and killed my poor, Tendonitis-stricken hands.  And this isn't even a real review.
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LEVIATHAN was a heart-breaker for me, 'cause I anticipated it so much.  I'd just read PEEPS and loved it and was so sure I'd love LEVIATHAN that I let out an audible squeeee! in the bookstore when I found it.  If it had been an ARC, I would be beating myself with a stack of free bookmarks.
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http://enduringromance.blogspot.com/2010/03/peeps-by-scott-westerfeld.html
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LEVIATHAN is very cool.  Let's get that straight.  It's a bestseller.  It's Steampunk.  The world-building is freakin' awesome!  And Scott Westerfeld is obviously one of those authors who constantly strives to better his writing skills.  He doesn't score big one one novel and then sit back and phone the rest in.  LEVIATHAN is extremely well written.
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So, what was my problem with it?  The characters.  If you've hung out around here long enough, you know how fiercely character-driven I am.  If the characters don't grab me, it doesn't matter how fabulous the world-building is or how riveting the plot, I kinda just sigh, set down the book, and move on. 
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Prince Alek is certainly the most 'real,' probably because he's male and so is the author.  I really wanted to love the girl character.  She's certainly well-drawn, but she didn't come alive for me.  That really bummed me out because she's a pilot and I have a thing for pilots.  Married a boy-pilot and made a bunch of little co-pilots with him.  But, alas...  (((sigh)))
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I should add that I had the same experience when I picked up UGLIES, so I handed it over to my daughter.  She's a member of the target readership and she loved it.
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PEEPS remains my favorite Scott Westerfeld novel.  Again, the female character in that one didn't come alive for me, but the male hero did.  So, I think it's just that I don't connect with Mr. Westerfeld's female characters.  I recently picked up another one of his, THE MIDNIGHTERS, and it looks uber-cool too.  I'll be getting to that one eventually.
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Meantime, you should really pop over to Scott Westerfeld's site-

http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/   and read up on all his books.  He's, I think, the foremost Young Adult Science Fiction author right now.

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P.S. I own the hardback novel, which has different cover art.  The cover you see at the top of this post is for the paperback version which is due out soon.