Review – Golden Braids and Dragon Blades (Steampunk Fairy Tales, Book 4) by Melanie Karsak (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk/Fairy Tale
Length: 178 pages
Publisher: Clockpunk Press
Release Date: August 17, 2018
ASIN : B07GLWCFKR
Stand Alone or Series: 4th book in the Steampunk Fairy Tales series
Source: Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Being the heir to Camelot is a tangled mess.
Rapunzel has spent her entire life living in Merlin’s cave on the coast of Cornwall. Under the protection of her faerie guardian, Gothel, she’s stayed safe. Safe and bored. Dreaming of a life that looks more like a Jane Austen novel, Rapunzel fears she’ll never have the chance to explore Victorian England’s modern delights. Or meet a man. Or be kissed. Or anything else remotely resembling normal.
When Red Cape Society Agent Ewan Goodwin’s monster-stalking device leads him to Rapunzel—and her unusual pets—the pair’s destinies entwine. Together, they must solve a mystery tied to the very roots of King Arthur’s Britannia.”
Series Info/Source: This is the fourth book in the Steampunk Fairy Tale series. I borrowed this book through Kindle Unlimited.
Story (4/5): Rapunzel is the last Pendragon descendant and has been isolated in a cave to keep her safe from Mordred’s descendents. Her only companions are Gothel, a fae witch who is like a mother to Rapunzel, and three tiny dragons. When Agent Ewan Goodwin accidentally stumbles into her cave both of their lives are changed forever.
Characters (4/5): I enjoyed these characters, they were well done if not as unique as some of the characters in the previous books of this series. Rapunzel is very sheltered and naive but also fierce and protective when she needs to be. Ewan is besotted with her pretty much from the beginning. The surrounding characters are well done and there are some cameos by characters from Karsak’s other books.
Setting (4/5): This book takes place in a few different settings. Some of the book is in Rapunzel’s cave, some is in London and then most of it is out at a country estate. The settings were fine but not the main driver behind the story.
Writing Style (4/5): This book is well written and easy to read. It was a fun steampunk read with a ton of Arthurian references which I enjoyed. I do wish Karsak would create a master list somewhere of what order all her books should be read in. In the last Steampunk Fairy Tales book there were some characters who popped in from her Airship book series (which I have not read). In this book I feel like we’re seeing characters from the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series, which I stopped reading because of all the cameos in the first book from her Steampunk Fairy Tales series. I came back to the Steampunk Fairy Tales series to read that but now I feel like I am getting spoilers for the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series.
Annette Marie also weaves multiple series very tightly together but she gives a very clear reading order list on Goodreads, Amazon, and her website. I would love to see the same thing from Karsak.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I liked this, it was a fun steampunk read with a lot of entertaining Arthurian references. I am just getting a bit frustrated with not knowing what order these books fall in compared to the other series that are also set in this world. Aside from that I continue to enjoy this series and Karsak’s writing style. This whole series has been very fun, full of action, and leaves you feeling happy.
