Early Review – The Brass Queen by Elizabeth Chatswith (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 450 pages
Publisher: Camcat Publishing, LLC
Release Date:January 12, 2021
ISBN-13 : 978-0744300109
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 5/5 stars
“In a steam-powered world, Miss Constance Haltwhistle is the last in a line of blue-blooded rogues. Selling firearms under her alias, the “Brass Queen,” she has kept her baronial estate’s coffers full. But when US spy J. F. Trusdale saves her from assassins, she’s pulled into a search for a scientist with an invisibility serum. As royal foes create an invisible army to start a global war, Constance and Trusdale must learn to trust each other. If they don’t, the world as they know it will disappear before their eyes.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book that I got from NetGalley to review. I would love to see more books with these characters and in this setting.
Story (5/5): Miss Constance Haltwhistle must marry by the end of the week to save her estate. Her father is off gallivanting in a parallel dimension and her secret alias of The Brass Queen (which she secretly sells steampunk firearms under) is making things complicated since people are constantly trying to kill her. Then the US spy Trusdale appears and he is just making everything tougher!
I absolutely adored this book. It reminds some of Gail Carriger’s books with crazy characters and crazier situations set in a steampunk London of sorts. I just loved it to bits, I never knew what the next page was going to bring and laughed out loud so many times.
Characters (5/5): The characters are crazy, quirky, heartfelt, admirable and are absolutely what makes this story. You never know what they are going to do next but you do know they are trying to do the right thing…even if that involves running naked through London with only green soap suds and a newspaper to preserve your dignity. I absolutely adored Haltwhistle and Tursdale but was impressed by how well the side characters were developed and how much I ended up enjoying them as well.
Setting (5/5): Most of the story takes place outside of London in a “suburb”. It was all very well done and the steampunk parts are blended into the historical setting beautifully. I loved this alternate version of Queen Victoria as well, she’s a bit more militant then other versions I have read about. The world is very well filled out and we hear a lot about how Britain is interacting with the rest of the world.
Writing Style (5/5): This was effortless to read and pretty much a joy from start to finish. It’s a complex plot with a lot of layers to it but it never felt confusing or hard to follow. There’s a ton of humor in here and I really never know what to expect from page to page. I laughed out loud so many times reading this and was pleasantly surprised over and over. I just absolutely loved this. Although this is very comparable in theme and tone to Gail Carriger’s books, I actually thought Chatswith writing was even higher quality; it just flowed really well and the story was complex yet very cohesive.
My Summary (5/5): Overall all I adored this!!! Wonderfully quirky characters and deliciously unpredictable events come together to make a fast-paced story that is impossible to put down, impossible to predict, yet just so much fun to read! I can wait to see what Chatswith comes up with next and am very eager to read her next steampunk adventure.
