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tortacular's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Wanted to like it and there are moments but I found the MC frustrating, felt like the story needed further editing. Also the magic/science element feels like a box of madlibs.
anatomydetective's review against another edition
4.0
I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my fair and honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed are completely my own.
I generally do not read much from the romance genre, but thought this might be a fun change of pace. Set in an alternate reality where Queen Victoria had set out to greatly expand the British Empire. Since the book only deals with aristocrats, all we see of this is the availability of various foodstuffs coming and going throughout the novel -- there is no discussion of the impact of war on the everyday man, nor of the fact that the heroine of the novel is an arms dealer.
The writing itself is quite good, and the plot is fun if you are willing to suspend your disbelief and allow yourself to be swept along. If you read romance for racy sexy bits, you will be disappointed. This is not that kind of book. Flirtation and flashes of petticoats is all you will find here.
I generally do not read much from the romance genre, but thought this might be a fun change of pace. Set in an alternate reality where Queen Victoria had set out to greatly expand the British Empire. Since the book only deals with aristocrats, all we see of this is the availability of various foodstuffs coming and going throughout the novel -- there is no discussion of the impact of war on the everyday man, nor of the fact that the heroine of the novel is an arms dealer.
The writing itself is quite good, and the plot is fun if you are willing to suspend your disbelief and allow yourself to be swept along. If you read romance for racy sexy bits, you will be disappointed. This is not that kind of book. Flirtation and flashes of petticoats is all you will find here.
Spoiler
My quibble with this book and the reason behind the reduction of one star is that it is left until the very end to reveal the true identities of both of the romantic leads to each other. Trusdale is masquerading as his brother, and Constance is hiding the fact that she is an arms dealer. They both find these things out about each other at the very last minute and it doesn't seem to affect the way they feel about each other. Those feelings barely seemed to make sense anyway; they seemed to be built more on attraction and convenience than anything else, so it seems a bit of a stretch to expect them to also survive fairly substantial lies/misinformation about identity with nothing more than a bat of an eye.siobhanisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
isa_levogira's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
3.0
aplpaca's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
It's not objectively bad or anything, I just didn't really vibe with it
mbooksbycandlelight's review against another edition
2.0
I wasn’t a big fan of this story. In the beginning I thought it was going to be a great adventure steeped in mystery but overall, it just felt quite silly. I did not love the main characters. I thought they had no real connection. I also did not enjoy the way the historical elements and the steampunk elements meshed. It didn’t feel very natural. The writing was nice. At times I felt like maybe the goal of the book was to be funny. I guess it was just not my kind of book.
I received an eArk via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an eArk via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
bookish_bullsh_t's review against another edition
Personal rating- 2/10
DNF at 33%
I received an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I'm not gonna beat around the bush here. This is a rant review, I usually try to uphold both my personal positives and negatives of the book and let the reader decide for themselves; because reading is a subjective experience and they might like something that I don't like. This time it's just a rant, hopefully explaining why I would DNF an Arc. I wish the author and publisher all the best for their success, but this book was just not for me, and I think I'd grow to loathe it more if I force myself to read it instead of just moving on.
The only thing that I probably liked about the book was the premise. The idea is so creative- which is why I requested for the Arc in the first place. I don't have much to add.
My first issue with the book is the Main Character. I did NOT like Constance. She's just so childish and one dimensional. I expected The Brass Queen to be.. you know... Badass? And her little "quirks" are also very annoying. She's supposed to be 21! She feels like a 14-year-old. Maybe she develops further on in the story, but I wanted and was waiting for a gradual maturity to a more. oh, idk a capable arms dealer? Am I really expected to believe that an established arms dealer who's supposed to be finessing people all over to have 0 people skills? She's an awful liar, mutters while thinking, and cannot keep a poker face and she's supposed to be the "badass" Brass Queen? Good luck with that. And She's just so bland. Whatever, have a quote.
So.. yeah.
Then we have the cowboy-spy boy. Trusdale, well... he doesn't have enough character for me to start a substantial discussion yet. So, moving on...
This setting was on colonialist Britain, although an alternate version. It's just history and I see characters glorifying it but not the author, so that's a good job on her part. I was just... estranged from it, as a citizen of a previously colonized country. This one's on me though, it's just history and I should've seen this coming.
Speaking about Britain, it honestly felt like a parody. An idea of what the modern commonfolk thinks when they think of Victorian Era Britain. I could feel the dissonance of the characters from the setting. They felt like a modern YA protagonist stuck in that setting. It was just meh.
The Writing is just so tedious to get through. I'm not even gonna try to explain, I don't know HOW to explain except that "It's just not for me".
Well, I can't pinpoint on why I find lines like this tedious, but I do.
The time I truly began to lose hope was when the oh so Proper British Noble Ladies referred to Italy and the likes as "Europe", as if Britain is not a part of the European Continent...
So yeah... I guess I'm done with ranting. Happy reading!
DNF at 33%
I received an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I'm not gonna beat around the bush here. This is a rant review, I usually try to uphold both my personal positives and negatives of the book and let the reader decide for themselves; because reading is a subjective experience and they might like something that I don't like. This time it's just a rant, hopefully explaining why I would DNF an Arc. I wish the author and publisher all the best for their success, but this book was just not for me, and I think I'd grow to loathe it more if I force myself to read it instead of just moving on.
The only thing that I probably liked about the book was the premise. The idea is so creative- which is why I requested for the Arc in the first place. I don't have much to add.
My first issue with the book is the Main Character. I did NOT like Constance. She's just so childish and one dimensional. I expected The Brass Queen to be.. you know... Badass? And her little "quirks" are also very annoying. She's supposed to be 21! She feels like a 14-year-old. Maybe she develops further on in the story, but I wanted and was waiting for a gradual maturity to a more. oh, idk a capable arms dealer? Am I really expected to believe that an established arms dealer who's supposed to be finessing people all over to have 0 people skills? She's an awful liar, mutters while thinking, and cannot keep a poker face and she's supposed to be the "badass" Brass Queen? Good luck with that. And She's just so bland. Whatever, have a quote.
"She cursed her lack of fluency. She was only proficient in nineteen languages, including French, Latin, Russian, Welsh, Portuguese, and nine dialects of Ancient Sumerian."
So.. yeah.
Then we have the cowboy-spy boy. Trusdale, well... he doesn't have enough character for me to start a substantial discussion yet. So, moving on...
This setting was on colonialist Britain, although an alternate version. It's just history and I see characters glorifying it but not the author, so that's a good job on her part. I was just... estranged from it, as a citizen of a previously colonized country. This one's on me though, it's just history and I should've seen this coming.
Speaking about Britain, it honestly felt like a parody. An idea of what the modern commonfolk thinks when they think of Victorian Era Britain. I could feel the dissonance of the characters from the setting. They felt like a modern YA protagonist stuck in that setting. It was just meh.
"Did Americans have no concept of the British need for three feet of personal space?"
The Writing is just so tedious to get through. I'm not even gonna try to explain, I don't know HOW to explain except that "It's just not for me".
"A shaving shelf behind the dolphins held an extendable mirror, a straight razor, a mug, soap, a badger hair brush, grooming scissors, and a tin of mustache wax. Everything the modern gent needed to look presentable to the fairer sex."
Well, I can't pinpoint on why I find lines like this tedious, but I do.
The time I truly began to lose hope was when the oh so Proper British Noble Ladies referred to Italy and the likes as "Europe", as if Britain is not a part of the European Continent...
"Indeed? Servants can be so self-centered. You give them a roof over their head and pennies in their pocket, and then poof. Off they go to Europe at the drop of a hat. There should be a law against it. Is this the same maid who put you in that awful white dress?
So yeah... I guess I'm done with ranting. Happy reading!
jellifysh's review against another edition
4.0
I read The Brass Queen back in December, and, to be honest, I don't remember too much about the story.
In The Brass Queen, wanna-be/have-to-be socialite Constance is secretly also a super machine engineer who creates guns, gadgets and even Jaegers like from Pacific Rim, which is cool since The Brass Queen is a steampunk novel. Her scientists get kidnapped, which kicks the plot in motion. There's also some American dude she falls in love with, which is somehow vital to the story.
Unfortunately, now that I think back to it, the steampunk was more of a stylistic choice than really thought out, and there's also magic for some reason which is explained as inventions and such, I believe. But I could be wrong because I'm painfully bad at remembering books I read.
It's a very enjoyable book, especially if you don't look too close on the science behind it. And there's also a dope AF golfing/polo event happening in the book! The romance was a bit too main-focus for me, personally, but the book was still fun while it lasted.
It also gives me major [b:Soulless|6381205|Soulless (Parasol Protectorate, #1)|Gail Carriger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1314020848l/6381205._SY75_.jpg|6569140] vibes, which is my favourite steampunk series ever.
@NetGalley and CamCat Publishing: Thank you guys for this ARC!
In The Brass Queen, wanna-be/have-to-be socialite Constance is secretly also a super machine engineer who creates guns, gadgets and even Jaegers like from Pacific Rim, which is cool since The Brass Queen is a steampunk novel. Her scientists get kidnapped, which kicks the plot in motion. There's also some American dude she falls in love with, which is somehow vital to the story.
Unfortunately, now that I think back to it, the steampunk was more of a stylistic choice than really thought out, and there's also magic for some reason which is explained as inventions and such, I believe. But I could be wrong because I'm painfully bad at remembering books I read.
It's a very enjoyable book, especially if you don't look too close on the science behind it. And there's also a dope AF golfing/polo event happening in the book! The romance was a bit too main-focus for me, personally, but the book was still fun while it lasted.
It also gives me major [b:Soulless|6381205|Soulless (Parasol Protectorate, #1)|Gail Carriger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1314020848l/6381205._SY75_.jpg|6569140] vibes, which is my favourite steampunk series ever.
@NetGalley and CamCat Publishing: Thank you guys for this ARC!
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
A highly entertaining and well written story. Had a lot of fun in reading and the author delivers great characters and plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
danireads1225's review against another edition
5.0
This book was such a delightful surprise! If you like steampunk, this is for you. If you like dry humor, this is for you. If you love to laugh out loud while reading, this is for. I loved this British era comedy with a bit of romance so much. The writing was incredible, and it definitely held my attention.