The Lady in Coppergate Tower by Nancy Campbell Allen is a fascinating story with brilliant characters and a suspenseful plot. Great romance, friendship and family relationships. Smart female characters that figure things out and take action. Wholesome male characters as well. This one was more frightening than I expected. Highly recommend.

#TheLadyInTheCoppergateTower #NetGalley

The Lady in the Coppergate Tower, is the third book, in this steampunk series. I would recommend reading all of the books in this series, they will make more sense if read in succession. Hazel has had strange dreams since childhood and never understood them. She feels like some of her questions have been answered, when an unknown uncle shows up. Hazel is not sure he can trust him . A fast paced read.

Grab a blanket and get comfortable because this steampunk romance will keep your attention for quite some time! It is part of a series, and would probably make much more sense if read in order but it doesn’t have to be.

I have truly enjoyed each of the books in this steampunk fairytale series. Due to the fairytale quality of each story I always go into each book thinking I know what will happen, and the author never fails to throw twists and surprises into the plot. This retelling of Rapunzel had just enough twists to keep me guessing, and I really loved the way things turned out. The combination of technology, regency era, and magic made this quite a fantastical tale- I loved the little details that made it feel like a whole different world.

Hazel was a fantastic protagonist. She is kind and humble, with an incredible photographic memory, and a growing sense of her powers that only continues as the story progresses. I loved how strong she was in the face of increasingly difficult odds.

Sam was a great hero as well- he is observant and smart, an incredible doctor in his time, and quickly comes to realize his feelings for Hazel go beyond friendly protectiveness. His ‘ton Eugene was hilarious and a fun side character. Despite his disadvantages in having little to defend himself with against the magical forces he and Hazel face, he doesn’t give up.

I do wish the ending didn’t feel so rushed, but all around it was still a great story. Now I am anxious to read the next story about a certain couple this book introduces you to (hoping author Nancy Campbell Allen will write it soon!).

**I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Magical, mystical, and enthralling. The third installment of Campbell’s Steampunk story line was well worth the wait. Hazel’s story takes us on journey with both new and familiar characters. I love that the book starts right where Kiss of the Spindle left off. Hazel is introduced to her long-lost uncle and learns she is from Romanian nobility. He needs her to travel back to his castle with him to help save her twin sister who is slowly going mad. Sam, a talented doctor and her employer, who just happens to be in love with Hazel, refuses to let her go without him. The closer they get to the castle, the more Hazel learns about herself and her gifting. The romance between Hazel and Sam is just as it should be and perfectly captures the essence of true love. The unfolding of the story is creative and hooks you from the very start. I wasn’t ready for it to end. Now we need to read about Marit’s happy ending.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Shadow Mountain Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was so excited to receive an advance copy of this book! I love this author, especially her books written in this steampunk setting. Her characters are wonderful, and Sam and Hazel are no exception. The denouement could have taken a bit more time, but overall, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to fans of the previous books in the series. It could also easily be read before the others, which is a lovely thing about this series.

I absolutely loved this author previous book, The Secret of the India Orchid, so I was fully expecting to enjoy this book. Unfortunately, that just wasn't the case! It was like another author write it - the style of writing felt very confusing to me. I felt like I was dropped into the middle of the story, with no context, worldbuilding, or setup to help prepare me for the rest of the story. I understand that there was another book prior to this one, in the same world, so perhaps I should have read that first. But since it wasn't listed as part of a series, I expected more background information. I won't be giving up on this author, but perhaps for this genre, I will decline.

The pacing on this book killed me. The characters were interesting. The romance was nice. The play on Dracula meets Rapunzel was well done. But the pacing it took to get to essentially Rapunzel's tower was off. The reader is stuck in a submarine far too long. Once the reader is at Rapunzel's tower things happen far too fast. Yet, I still enjoyed this book and am looking forward to other installments of this series.

(4.5 stars) - a satisfyingly “Grimm” journey to happily-ever-after

Initially, the book summary had me expecting that Hazel would be blundering thru efforts to be a medium, but apparently that's just a nod to her introductory role in the previous books.

Not having read the first 2 books yet, I was slightly confused by the prologue & transition to ch 1, but realized the prologue must be from an intersecting point with the previous books & the story quickly smoothed out from there.

Sam & Hazel are both intriguing characters, & easily sympathetic - I connected with them readily & was eager to see how their relationship would develop.

The introduction of the Count as Hazel's uncle has a too good to be true cinderella flavor to it. In time, we begin to understand that the story is more akin to cinderella meets rapunzel, Grimm style (with a dash of 20000 leagues under the sea)..

The story successfully evokes a curiosity mixed with apprehension then suspense then a bit of horror (not overmuch). As the author built the atmosphere, it did at times feel a little redundant or dragged out, but that does heighten the sense of nervous anticipation.

Once the action hits, things happen quickly & just when it seems that there couldn't possibly be a happily-ever-after, there is - with plenty of momentum to make me eager for the next in the series!

Clean romance level: sweet kisses

An enjoyable read for me, and my first for steam punk. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went in reading this but I enjoyed it overall. It was easy to read as a stand-alone but I could see having the details from the previous novels would also be helpful!

This is the third in a seemingly ongoing steampunk proper romance series, and the author hits so many high notes. There’s just enough background provided in the prologue that this book can stand on its own, but I feel it’s much more enjoyable having knowledge of the characters and previous situations.

There’s no “meet cute” here: our leads have been working together for over a year. The build up is different. The anticipation comes from knowing how they feel about each other as a reader, but waiting for the characters to figure it out for themselves.

Great creepy villain and supporting characters, a few which I wouldn’t be surprised to see as protagonists in a futures Nancy Campbell Allen story (Emme? Oliver? Marit?). Overall, a lot of fun that kept my attention enough to allow me to read it in one day.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Hazel Hughes has grown up believing she can talk to ghosts, but her ability has frustratingly not manifested itself yet. Sadly, the only thing she is plagued with is a recurring dream about a girl who looks like her who is slowly going mad. Sam McInnes, a talented, good-looking surgeon, decides to hire Hazel to help him with his medical practice. Drawn to each other, the two’s relationship is derailed by Count Petrescu, a mysterious man from Hazel’s past. He claims she was kidnapped at birth and her twin sister is in danger of dying. Together, Sam and Hazel head to Romania to uncover the truth of her past, but the count seems to be hiding something. Will the two uncover the truth about Hazel’s past? Who really is Count Petrescu? Full of automatons, witches, vampires, magic, submarines, and even horse and carriages, fans of steampunk fantasy will be delighted to find all these elements expertly intermingled into Hazel’s world. The characters are fun, easy to like, and draw the reader into the story. Hard to put down, fans of romance, mystery, adventure, alternate history, and fantasy will enjoy reading this book.

I enjoyed The Lady in the Coppergate Tower. I would love to read the previous book the Steampunk Proper Romance series. I give it four and a half stars.

It was an interesting twist that this was a retelling of Rapunzel and had elements of the story in it but the main character wasn't the Rapunzel equivalent and the prince doesn't come to save "Rapunzel" but her sister instead. And those elements of the story don't really come in to play that much until the tail end of the book. We are aware of a woman being locked in a tower during the story but we don't get there until that ending.

I was intrigued by and liked the connection between sisters. I was a little confused about the genealogical aspects of the story and had to reread a bit to try to make sense of it. I liked how smart Hazel was and how Sam admired that trait in her probably even more than her being attractive to him.

This is a fun read and could be read as a standalone but I think it would be better to read the series in order to better get references to past characters and events. It will make more sense.

Sex: some kisses
Language: no
Violence: yes

3.5 stars.
I listened to the first two of these books and thought they were both okay. The steampunk is fun and different. I do enjoy the fantastical even though I do not often choose it. I didn't love the narrator for thsoe, maybe a little too breathy, and I hoped that if I read the book I would enjoy it more, but was a little disappointed.

I don't know exactly what it is about this book that fell flat for me. I did enjoy the mystery and the steampunk. I liked both the main characters. I really liked the 'ton Eugene and his dry humor. I believe part of what fell flat was a little too much of the character analyzing their feelings in their heads. A little analyzing is okay, but when they are both doing it often it gets quite old. I also feel like there was too much time on ship, and it got boring. I would have liked less time on ship and more time at the Coppergate Tower.

I will probably still listen to or read the next one. I think I like Emme and her spunk and I think the story will be about her and Oliver.

I also hope to see more with Marit.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Content: Clean romance
Violence: moderate

An amazing story with a totally unique and interesting plot. I really couldn't put the story down. Mystery and romance rolled into one.

I received this copy of The Lady Lady in the Copper gate Tower from Shadow Mountain Publishing through Netgalley.

This steampunk romance was so much fun! Hazel and Sam are such great characters and I loved Hazel's deperation to have a family.
I found it very relatable.

Well, maybe not the mentally unstable twin sister
Or the uncle who might be a vampire
Or the assistant who might be a Murder.

Ok, you got me
But this one was an absolute ball to read.

Excellent Regencey romance. Fairy tale quality to the story. A sweet romance and mystery that will have you wishing for more.

I loved this. The characters were wonderful and I loved the authors ability to add the steampunk feel so smoothly. It never felt forced.
The storyline followed the classical telling of Repanzel with a few extra embellishments. It held enough to the original that you didn't get lost in the story but could more thoroughly enjoy all the side plots.

When I requested this book I wasn't aware that it was the third installment in a beautiful steampunk world! So I did what any normal reader does and got a hold of the previous two books and devoured them. Each of these books takes me just over a day to read because they are that good! Engaging plots, strong characters who grow and develop throughout the story, and just a bit of fantasy to keep the book from being mundane.

In this book the author brings back characters from a previous story and draws their path together. Hazel, a supposed medium according to her mother, and Sam, a brilliant doctor, work together to rescue a sister Hazel never knew she had!!! There are some fantastic new steampunk elements added into this story that we haven't seen in the previous two.

I would say of the three steampunk fairy tales Nancy Campbell Allen has written that this one was most in line with the base fairy tale I grew up with. I think it's interesting the elements of the fairy tale she uses and where she chooses to add her own spin. I am sad this journey is over right now; it's been a delightful two weeks reading through these stories. Nancy Campbell Allen will become one of the authors I follow so that I can see what she comes up with next!

Hazel Hughes enjoys her work healing alongside Dr. Sam MacInnes and is grateful for his friendship and kindness, even as she wishes that a romantic relationship with him were possible. But she knows she's not his equal socially, and so she contents herself with work and learning. Her life takes a drastic turn, however, when Dravor Pretescu, a Romanian count, comes to London, finds Hazel, and tells her that she is his niece and has a twin sister who is gravely ill and needs Hazel's help. Hazel has long had visions of her twin, without understanding what they mean, and while she senses something isn't quite right with the count, she also can't leave her sister to suffer.
When Hazel agrees to travel to Romania, there's no way Sam is going to let her go without him. He trusts the count even less than Hazel does, and as he and Hazel work together to try to figure out his secrets, he finds his underlying attraction to Hazel growing even more; she's beautiful and intelligent and his perfect match--but if they're going to have a shot at a future together, first they have to save her sister--and possibly themselves.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters--Sam and Hazel are both smart, capable people who understand the value of knowledge and learning. (Maybe it's the former librarian in me, but I loved their many forays to the library!) I liked seeing how they worked together and depended on and trusted each other.
The pacing was really good and the story moved steadily. This is an interesting mix of genres--romance, steampunk, fantasy, mystery, etc.--but it works well. I'm not really a steampunk fan, but I've enjoyed this series because it focuses on the characters and plot with the steampunk elements complimenting the story, not overwhelming it. I did feel like the ending was a little quick--at 93% finished, I was really worried there was going to be a cliffhanger ending because it didn't seem like it could wrap well in the remaining pages. It did have a good ending but it was a little rushed.
Although this is the third book in a series, I think it can be read as a stand-alone.

I read an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.