Scan barcode
alexiachantel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
plottrysts's review against another edition
3.0
The plot: it's absolutely ludicrous - at its heart it involves an inheritance issue that requires our main character, Constance Haltwhistle, to marry by the end of the week in order to retain her ancestral holdings. However it grows tangentially to include an attempt on Queen Victoria's life with side stops in "the multiverse," illegal arms dealing, Scandinavian and American spies, and the strangest polo match you'll ever read. Convoluted and ridiculous plots aren't always a deal breaker, but they must be matched by strong storytelling in other parts of the novel.
The characters: they are all drawn in the broadest of strokes. Constance is hardheaded, aristocratic, intelligent, and beautiful. She takes no shit but also takes no advice, either. Truesdale (first name in question) is American - and if you've read steampunk or historical romance, you know what that means: he's convinced of his own infallibility, doesn't care about social conventions, is supremely competent at his job, and is super patriotic. Finally our villain is so ridiculously villainous that he's not content only to hatch a plot to depose the queen - he also has his former lovers (and their new lovers) killed, backstabs all of his allies, and can't wait to debauch Constance before he kills her.
The politics: this is perhaps the portion of the book that was most confusing. Victoria's British Empire is parodied as a structure in place simply to bring the best of the world's food to Britain. Constance is a gifted weapons maker who sells her creations to the highest bidder and doesn't seem to make the connection between the constant worldwide conflict and the product she provides. Trusdale is out to save America, but once he realizes that Britain is no threat, he has no care for the rest of the world. And of course, the fact that there are multiverses out there that could destabilize reality added the threat of total annihilation on top of everything. We were not sure how we were meant to feel about these issues. Was Constance a moral person at heart? Is Victoria's empire a stabilizing force in the world? Although enjoyable, it was also nonsensical to the point of detracting from the story.
All of these points aside, if you are a fan of the OTT Steampunk AU, you'll probably enjoy checking this one out.
This objective review is based on a complimentary advanced reader copy provided by NetGalley and and CamCat Publishing.
powerlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
From the very first page we’re transported to a whimsical, yet deadly steampunk Victorian England. Chatsworth’s writing style makes this novel stand out among the rest. Every single sentence is ripe with humour and wit, and there are countless literary references for every book lover to devour.
This is a true genre-blender, with an action plotline, a historical yet fantastical setting, and a thread of romance holding the whole story together. While the plot is fast-paced and the characters are three-dimensional and intriguing, Chatsworth’s writing style is the major appeal of this book. She doesn't dumb things down for the reader, which is a delightful surprise and makes the laughs that much better.
The world that Chatsworth has created is so dynamic and engaging that it seemed to leap from the page like one of the villain’s exo-suits. The book’s approach to scientific advancement was quite fascinating when it wasn’t downright hilarious.
The romance between Miss Hartwhistle and Trusdale is quite the slow burn, and their interactions are adorable. When they first meet, they despise each other, but it's clear even in the beginning of the novel that their relationship will not be quite so simple. Miss Hartwhistle is an amusing protagonist, with her arrogance and determination in finding a husband so she can inherit her father’s estate. Trusdale almost feels like the voice of reason, though he’s not without his comical moments. There are three points of view throughout the novel: that of the hero and heroine, but we’re also occasionally treated to the perspective of the villain. Prince Lucien is quite possibly the best-written villain I’ve read in a long time. He’s equally amusing and deadly. He’s inefficient, yet merciless. Imperious, yet easily manipulated. The writing in these POV chapters is delightful and at times almost macabre.
While this novel can be enjoyed well enough at the surface level, there's quite a bit of depth to it. As the novel follows a single young woman in the Victorian era, there are feminist undertones to the story. These come in various shapes and sizes, from the fact that the heroine single-handedly runs an arms business to the misogynistic villain’s innermost thoughts.
The Brass Queen is a hilarious read that’s full of literary wonders, from playful puns to witty wordplay. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a laugh along with their intrigue, romance, and invisible assassins.
*Thank you to NetGalley and CamCat Books for the ebook to review*
This review appeared first on https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/
Instagram | Blog | Website | Twitter
My 2020 Reading Challenge
crolovr's review against another edition
4.0
"Steampunk is a literary and aesthetic movement that takes inspiration from 19th-century science fiction and fantasy as well as the technology of that era, especially the steam engine."
I think knowing more about this genre helped me to enjoy and understand the story. Our heroine Constance Haltwhistle (love this name) is the last of her line of arms dealers. She has a coming out ball at the Steamworks Exhibition Hall to try to find a husband.
The night of the ball three of Steamworks top scientist were kidnapped by invisible men. Constance was saved from death by a US spy JF Truesdale who is pretending to be his brother. Constance enlists him to help her find the missing scientists that are possibly in an alternate universe.
Constance is tough, funny and can handle herself better than any man. The book is full of interesting gadgets and characters. The Brass Queen has humor, fantasy and romance.
geauxgetlit's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to the audiobook and from start to finish was an action packed rip-roaring adventure.
I loved the English aristocrat Constance and Truesdale the American good ole boy and their banter was so ridiculously brilliantly weird, and it gave me such joy when a bit of romance was tossed into the mix.
Thank you Elizabeth Chatsworth, Audible and Suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy and introducing me into what may be my new favorite genre!
shelfofellys's review against another edition
5.0
frazpan's review against another edition
2.0
The story - ⭐⭐
Overall - ⭐⭐
This was my first time reading a Steampunk novel, and it could well now be my last. My hope is that this was just a poor choice for an introduction, because I couldn't even finish this one.
The main character is incredibly unlikeable, unbearably unlikeable and it made reading this an absolute slog, the style of writing is also not great, so I gave up pretty quickly.
This ARC was provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
saccalai's review against another edition
2.0
The very quirky main character comes across as quite mad. I'm still not sure if she was actually insane or not, though I wonder if it was the narration that made her seem quite so much like a mad scientist. This put me off the book quite a lot unfortunately and it was quite robotic. Trusdale, on the other hand is quite a funny character, I really liked his sarcasm.
bubblewombat's review against another edition
4.0
With her father away on one of his sciency expeditions into unknown worlds and pronounced missing, Constance has to marry in a short time frame to be able to keep her family estate.
But the problem is, Constance is fairly undesireable with her red hair, short stature, and previously mentioned temper.
At her coming out ball she meets a cowboy spy, Trusdale who saves her life and their fates become intertwined in more ways than one.
Right from the beginning I wasn't very fond of Constance. She gives off this pretentious vibe with the things she says. Yes, she's a sheltered rich girl and all that, but I would've expected more from someone who's fighting for women's rights and helping those in need (this is where it's most prevalent, it feels like she's doing it because it's a convenience at the time, not because it's the least she can do).
Still, she's pretty funny when she wants to be and I eventually warmed up to her so she's not my most disliked person in the book.
Trusdale I have no complaints about, he was done right and is sweet.
Lucien was an interesting angle and if we ever get a sequel I hope there's more of him.
I like that, even though the book is dealing with some grim subjects here and there, it's still lighthearted and suitable for younger readers. Particularly all the failed "attempts", there's so many of them that it gets hilarious and you start to wonder if she's a good luck charm or a bad luck charm.
The descriptions were both my favourite and my least favourite part of the book. They're done well, set the right atmosphere, but there's too many of them in places there shouldn't be.
The last third of the book is also the most exciting. The first two weren't exactly slow but the pace really picks up around 77% in.
The ending is where it gets a little ridiculous, there's so much thrown in to promise future chaos. I don't mind that much, it's not a cliffhanger.
*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*
bananatricky's review against another edition
3.0
US spy J. F. Trusdale has infiltrated the ball looking for the Brass Queen, he is in a position to save Constance when the assassins attack, but gets arrested for his trouble, condemned by the very woman he has saved.
But Constance and Trusdale need to work together to save the scientists and uncover who is behind the invisible assassins.
This book showed amazing world-building, unfortunately it never stopped. Absolutely everything, food, clothes, sport, etc was all 'different'. There is a large cast of wacky servants, Trusdale is a spy, masquerading as someone else and looks like a cowboy (inconspicuous much?). Constance is like the Energizer bunny she has her fingers in so many pies, heck she's even organising most of the celebrations for Queen Victoria's visit to Sheffield. I just felt the book was all 'look at this steampunk world I've created' and high-energy scene after high-energy scene with no character-building. Maybe that's a long-winded way of saying I didn't warm to Constance, nor did I see what Trusdale (eventually) found so attractive.
I finished this book because I could appreciate the world-building and I kept hoping that it would calm down and develop more of a plot and more likable characters but it kept up the frenetic pace right to the end and it was just too much. No book really needs steampunk, spies, cowboys, mad scientists, kidnapping, treason, alternate realities, polo on mechanical beasts (think Wizard Chess), pirates, invisible assassins, krakens, and Queen Victoria!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.