A fun romp through a thoroughly alternate version of Victorian England - filled to the brim with quirky armaments, mechanical marvels, and pink airships, and that's before we get to the army of invisible assassins and the interdimensional krakens. Constance Haltwhistle is an incredibly lively heroine, and I would say she overshadowed all of the other characters every time she appeared but I'm pretty sure that's just an accurate representation of What She's Like. She and the worldbuilding absolutely stole the show for me, I found both of them roguishly delightful.

The book had its fair share of weak points - I found myself lagging a little during Trusdale's narrations, certainly, and especially when he was solo, and the slyly humourous tone of the narrative served the worldbuilding well but made moments of pathos land a little awkwardly, in my opinion. There's also a lot of big-picture issues which are mentioned or which are given a little lip service without much else - feminism in Victorian England, the ethics of creating firearms, the evil of empire, inherited filial expectations, the ethics of the monarchic structure... Obviously a fiction book which we read for fun is never required to critically analyse its own themes but I did end up wanting more engagement than I got. Ultimately, Constance proved charming enough to make up for it, and I could depend upon being delighted by some new facet of the worldbuilding. Thank you to NetGalley and CamCat Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Brass Queen was a story of a woman trying maintain her own autonomy in a man's word. Miss Constance Haltwistle styles herself as The Brass Queen, and would rather revel in creating firearms and contraptions rather than worry about courtship and marriage like all of the other young women her age. But Constance cannot elude matrimony when she's at risk at losing her entire estate because of her missing father. When a scientist goes missing and an assanation attempt on Constance goes awry, Constance is drawn into a scheme involving invisible assassins and political aspirations that could unleash a global war. To find the truth, Constance must put her trust in the American spy J.F. Trusdale, who has secrets of his own. Constance and Trusdale must uncover the perpetrators of this scheme before it is too late, or they will become its next victims.
I had mixed feelings about this book, which is a shame because I had super high hopes for it. I will say that I loved Constance and her spirit. She is a super feisty and strong-minded heroine which set against the patriarchal world of Victorian England was really enjoyable to watch. I thought that the plot itself had good moments full of political intrigue. I thought Lucien was a really enjoyable antagonist and that his schemes to both deal with Constance and get more power for himself were a lot of fun. And I appreciate that this book promises humor and actually delivers on it. It's clear that the author is a very good writer who has worked hard to create this book. These things being said, I struggled with this book because of the pacing. There were so many times where the plot moved slowly or got bogged down with details or dialogue. This was a bit of a hinderance in my enjoyment of this book. I also lost track of the major plot sequences at times for this reason. So overall, I enjoyed The Brass Queen, but not as much as I hoped. I did love its main character and it's strong feminist messages. The Brass Queen is a story of women's rights in a patriarchal age, a humorous and blistering critique of how Victorian England and even some today view ambitious women. A big thank you to the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for this honest review.

Miss Constance Haltwhistle has been financing her family's estate with her ill-gotten gains as an arms dealer called The Brass Queen. Forced by her father's continuing absence in an alternate reality to find a blue-blooded husband, or lose the estate to her uncle who has threatened to raze it to the ground, she throws herself a lavish coming-out ball, which is unfortunately marred when invisible assassins attack the ball and steal away three scientists.

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.

The Brass Queen is an alternate Victorian universe story in which the heroine fights society and bad actors to maintain her inheritance. Lots of action and romance.

I loved the book from start to finish It grabbed my attention from the start to the end. I was torn between wanting to get to the end to find out what would happen and not wanting the book to end. This is a gaslamp fantasy set in the Victorian era with invisibility serums, interdimensional travel, assassination plots and kidnapping. ⁠The main character, Constance, is hilarious as she's just so full of herself that it's endearing (she reminds me of Austen's Emma). The way she sparks off other characters is fantastic as you can almost hear an audible sigh of frustration when she argues with them all. She worked particularly well with the American cowboy Trusdale and I loved their developing relationship.⁠

If you're looking for a fantasy that's fun from start to finish and will have you laughing out loud, then THE BRASS QUEEN is the book for you.

What a wonderful romp of a book! This is a delightful plot with rich characters set in a steampunkish Victorian England. Constance Haltwhistle is an absolute gem and I can't wait for more adventures with this character. this is truly one of the most twisty, hilarious books I've read in a while!!!

Constance Haltwhistle has a problem.  With her father's escape into another dimension, Constance is now the only remaining heir to her estate.  However, according to the law in 1897 England, women can not inherit.  Luckily, Constance has a plan to keep her estate along with all of the people who depend on it.  Known to some as the Brass Queen, Constance's side business as an arms dealer, creating new and imaginative weapons has kept money flowing through the estate.  Now, Constance must simply secure a husband at the coming out ball that she has planned.  The coming out ball goes terribly awry as Constance's exosuits come to life and a cage comes crashing down through the ceiling kidnapping two of the Steamworks most esteemed scientists.  Now, Constance must work with newcomer American Scientist, J.F. Truesdale against an invisible foe with a very nefarious purpose. 

The Brass Queen is an action packed steampunk fantasy adventure.  I was very intrigued by Constance Haltwhistle and her alternate identity of the Brass Queen.  Most of the story, however, focuses on Constance's battle with presenting herself as a prominent member of society and hiding the fact that she is more than she seems.  The story is very involved with descriptions of machinery, fashion, and proper etiquette and manners, which Constance is obsessed with despite being an undercover arms dealer.  I did think that there was a significant break between the two personalities that Constance holds and I didn't really see them merge until the end.  There were a few inconsistencies that made it hard for me to believe that Constance led a double life.  J.F. is a nice counterpart to Contance's very Victorian need for perfection and rules.  J.F. holds the same set of values as Constance, but displays them in a very different way.  I was very intrigued by the mystery of why someone wanted to steal the invisibility formula and everything surrounding the Enigma Keys.  Towards the end, I was very happy to see Constance finally be the Brass Queen that she was hiding underneath and accomplish good things for her people and the women of the time. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Two words: Steampunk fundom.

There is more to The Brass Queen than that, but basically, it is all about the fun. That is, there is a mystery, there is romance, there is adventure. But there are these larger than life characters that do outrageous things while while uttering outlandish dialog. So, fun!

Constance, the heroine with a goggle collection, invents and makes weapons (of mass destruction). I know, it seems an odd profession for a woman of the Victorian age. What is even odder is that she does it incognito. She sells her weapons under the name of the Brass Queen. She a) is not very discriminating about who she sells to and b) needs to hire a good manager to avoid shipping snafus. One particular snafu has the client wanting her dead.

Trusdale, American spy, becomes the reluctant partner of Constance as they search for the kidnapped scientists. There is supposed to be a romance between these two. I found the adventure and the humor kind of overshadowed any romanticism. However, Constance and Trusdale make an interesting, bumbling, team that overcome several ridiculous obstacles with a combination of a little skill and a great deal of luck. It was easy to imagine this story playing out in movie format with witty dialog, cool gadgets and lots of explosions.

An over-the-top bad guy with a mustache to twirl is the perfect complement to the hero and heroine. Lucien is devious, ambitious, over-confident and throws grand garden parties. Relentless in his pursuit of Constance, Lucien’s final confrontation is fast approaching. This is evident from the moment you meet him.

While I enjoyed the story, the characters of The Brass Queen were not the kind I could connect with. If the intent is to turn this into a series, more character development is needed. However, as a stand-alone story, The Brass Queen, filled with humor and adventure, is steampunk fundom!

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I know I say it every time I review a steampunk book, but damn I need to fit them into my schedule more often. I always have so much fun. I read this while in self isolation and smashed through it in two days. It's a book that I found it easy to get lost in.

From the outset we have this dynamic character, Miss Constance Haltwhistle, an inventor of weapons, an arms dealer, she is the daughter of a very over protective father who sheltered her from the general mess of noble society, she is a loyal friend and an absolute force who is juggling everything while trying to find a suitor and avoid assassination attempts. And she is only young, she has a lot going on. Plus she is trying to organise the decorations for the Queen's parade and the local menfolk just don't seem to appreciate her input or her insistence on flowers everywhere. Constance is such a bubbling mass of contradictions that following her on her adventures is enough to keep you sucked in. Throw in a not so trustworthy American and its all turning into quite the scandal.

This was a fun, enjoyable read. It was fast paced and kept me fully engaged. I loved the setting, it felt bright and colourful (yes I said that). There was magic and wonderful character development woven throughout the main storylines. Oh the sass... So much sass. And it's very Victorian English polite sass. I had so much fun.

I look forward to picking up the next book in the series and finding out what hilarious escapades Miss Haltwhistle and her friends get up to next.

I can see where author Chatsworth was going here - a romantic steampunk story that is silly and amusing, much in the line of work by Gail Carriger (the Parasol Protectorate, Finishing School, etc. series). But while the sentiment is there, the emphasis on silly to the point of "too stupid to live" became a bit hard to weather. There are greatly overused romance tropes aplenty, including the popular one of a female lead 'showing' she is strong by doing really stupid things (do readers really still like this type?) - and then needing to be rescued by a more mature, masculine, alpha-male who has good sense. I'm tired of the hero having to rescue the heroine from her own stupidity.

Story: Single minded and independent Constant Haltwhistle has been keeping her estate from going to a distant relative after her rogue inventor father's disappearance several years ago. But the government wants to declare him deceased and she will have to find a husband fast in order to keep the estate in her own hands. When her inventor friends are mysteriously abducted at her 'looking for a husband" ball, she is saved by the dashing American Trusdale - but not before she sends him to jail and almost has him executed for treason. A strange partnership will develop as they seek out their lost friends.

It's the type of story where everyone is incredibly dense and stupid - from officials to politicians to our heroine. It's also a story where our heroine has convinced herself that assassins are trying to get her and that she alone can stop them. Naturally, when our alpha male American saves her, she assumes he is an assassin instead and he is nearly tortured and killed by bumbling British officials. It's disturbing rather than funny and that's in the first scenes of the book (well, that and the heroine thinking she'll defeat automatons with two long hairpins).

To get into the story, I think readers need to have a mindset of plain silly fun is just ok. Let our heroine doing outrageous things, let our hero just take it all like a simpleton and inexplicably fall in love with her for it, and then they live happily ever after in bliss. Meanwhile, stupid villains, stupid officials, and other various stupid people all do random and illogical things for the sake of doing them - not to accomplish anything.

In all, it is a quick read and I can understand there is an audience for the silliness. Unfortunately for me, I really want intelligent heroines doing intelligent things - even in the wonderful steampunk genre where anything goes. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

I did not know what to expect from this story but man did I love it. The mashup between romance and steampunk was amazing. The characters were crazy but I became obsessed with all of them and the world building was everything. I did not want this story to end.

I really enjoyed reading this one!

I was provided an advanced digital copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes, all opinions are my own.

The Brass Queen, by author Elizabeth Chatsworth, is a Gaslamp fantasy, alternate-history, Victorian England, romance mash-up. Debutante and secret weapons dealer, Lady Constance Haltwhistle, is the reclusive daughter of ‘a portal-tripping mad scientist’ who disappeared into an alternative world leaving his only daughter hunting to find a husband before she loses her family’s estate to an agenda driven relative. Since her father has been absent for an awfully long time, her uncle is threatening to seize the estate from under Constance’s bustle, if she can’t manage to snag a decent husband within the next week.

While hosting a coming-out ball at Royal Steamwerks Exhibition Dome, an attempt is made on her life. Not the first, or second, or even third time this has happened. Not surprisingly since she's made a habit of making powerful enemies out of former clients. Meanwhile during the ensuing melee, 3 scientists, including Constance’s friend Dr. Maya Chauhan who is head of the Steamwerks lab, are kidnapped by invisible assailants and Constance's life is saved by a stranger. Said Stetson hat wearing stranger is an American cowboy turned spy named J.F. Trusdale who has a few secrets of his own including why he is here in Sheffield. Trusdale served in the US Army Military Intelligence Captain and is on the trail of a serum that makes a person invisible.

Constance and Trusdale must work together to fight off invisible assassins and a royal foe who wants to remove Queen Victoria from power and create a global war. While Constance and Trusdale are fighting each other’s quirks and personalities and feelings, several villains want to remove Constance. She keeps finding ways to escape every assassin sent after her which makes the villains even more eager to go the extra mile.

In many ways, this story reminds me of the Parasol Protectorate with the tongue-in-cheek humor, flamboyant main character, and the ridiculous situations the characters find themselves in, including a bloody polo match that will make you laugh. There are, however, no vampires or werewolves. If you are wondering about the title The Brass Queen, it's actually Constance's secret alias which she secretly sells steampunk firearms, exo-suits, and flamethrowers.

While the story itself has a beginning, a middle, and an ending, the author stated that she is eagerly writing the next adventure for Constance and Trusdale in Paris.

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.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this one. On the one hand, I love steampunk and the premise intrigued me, on the other hand, I wasn’t sure how heavy the romance was going to be (something I rarely read). However, while the romance wasn’t my favourite part of the story, more down to one of the characters than anything else The Brass Queen turned out to be a fun read, with humour weaved throughout. Sometimes humour can also put me off a book (I am ridiculously fussy when it comes to humour and comedy), but I liked the banter and the moments that were in this book and felt that it really did lift this book to another level, and there was more than one point where I found myself laughing out loud.
This was not the easiest book to get into, partly because of the writing style and because the pacing is rather slow in the beginning, and there were a couple of points where I almost put it down completely. However, I am glad that I persevered because once I was a few chapters in I found myself hooked. Chatsworth’s writing once you’ve got used to it is engaging, and she has created a wonderful alternate world as a backdrop to the story. There were a few places here and there where I would perhaps have enjoyed a little more depth to the world-building, especially with the steampunk element, as it felt a little superficial at times, whereas I prefer steampunk worlds to have that element woven throughout everything rather than as an almost aesthetic level that was present in this book, but it was still well-imagined, and I would be keen to spend more time in this world.
The characters were not my favourite part of this book, or rather Constance wasn’t, which is why the romance fell particularly flat for me in this one. There were moments where I enjoyed her attitude and her sass, and her interactions with Trusdale were fun in places, but her general attitude and personality just rubbed me up the wrong way. Even taking into account her upbringing, she was almost too haughty for the role she had, and it was hard to see why the other characters – especially the love interest – were so taken with her, and unfortunately, it felt as though there was little to no growth for her throughout the book. Trusdale was a much more likeable character, with a much more rounded personality, and you had to feel for him at times dealing with Constance’s demands.
This was by no means a bad book although it does have flaws, and I did have fun reading it, and there were more than enough twists and intrigue to keep me hooked. I feel that some people – perhaps with more of an inclination to romance – will really love this one, and like I said it was entertaining and made me laugh, so a much-needed read for this year.

This book was so much more than I expected it to be. The world building is excellent with a lot of unique elements. I´m really impressed of all the wonderfully complex inventions which are just as realistical as a work of imagination. The magical elements are seamlessly woven into both the world and story which really makes it all more real.

Another thing which really sets this book apart from many in the same genre is how brilliant Elixabeth Chatsworth uses the English language to bring life and especially emotions into the story. The descriptions are sometimes very uniquely written but that is also what makes all the characters come to life. For example, the sentence: "Behind him trailed an elderly male servant with the air of a depressed stork." This description is funny while also giving the reader a very clear picture of how the character is. This is just one of many brilliant descriptions in the book.

The Brass Queen is not only a funny and clever historical SciFi read but also contains topics such as feminism, and especially how women was seen on in that particular time era.

It is a wonderfull combination of suspense, romance ( enemies/not friends-to-lovers kind of trope and the romantic tension is just perfect) , mystery, SciFi and more than a little humour. I truly recommend this book!

I tried to enter in this story but even close to half mark, I was still struggling.
I will try to finish it but I am tempted to pass pages.
I find nothing attractive about the heroine, she is high-handed, conceited, and unknown to the world a weapon dealer, providing killing machines to any bad guy with the wealth to afford them. She doubts everyone and everything maybe be rightly but her plight does not render her more likable.
She is haughty and certain of her place on the world. Seing everyone and everything as a threat.
I liked much the hero, he is like a fish out of water but quickly finds his marks.
Their interactions were what brought the more fun. They throw witty barbs quips at one another and it was what made the charm of this book.

I have read few steampunk romances, and while this one offers a very detailed world, I lost quickly interest in part of the background plot.
Even if this book did not do it for me, it appears as a great read for fantasy tales lovers. The intrigue is complex, the banters between the heroes is the highlight point of the book and the world is captivating.
3 stars

Constance is a twenty-one year old pig farmer turned arms dealer with a fiery temper.

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*

“Deep in his chest, his heart ached for her solitude. Everybody deserves to love someone who loves them back.”
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I have received an eARC of this book through Netgalley. 3.5 🌟 First of all I just want to say that the characters are so much fun. Constance, in particular, is able to hide her true feelings and her sorrows behind an armor of sarcasm that made me laugh badly. Her character is quite interesting, she is a strong and independent young girl that is able to create innovative and incredible arms and that is called The Brass queen! She is maintaining a house and its servants by her own, but she is not allowed to inherit it. Indeed the only way for her to have it is to marry a man who can legitimately take care of her things. As much as she loathes this law this is how things go in this alternate Victorian London. She has no other choice, especially when her father has decided to leave her to go to another parallel universe where he can stay with her mother (who is dead in her world). But finding a husband when she needs to protect herself from the many assassins the crown is sending to kill her is not easy, and when her heart starts beating faster for an American cowboy things get even more complicated. I loved how Trusdale was able to understand Constance, who definitely hasn’t an easy personality but who is capable of great love and sacrifice. That said I found the story a bit slow in particular at the beginning and it has been difficult to get attached to characters because they are a bit stereotyped.

I was very excited going into this book, but unfortunately struggled to find anything to like about it. The descriptions, while well-crafted and sometimes witty, were endless, far beyond what was needed for worldbuilding and entirely superfluous to the plot. Wacky gadgets can be fun in moderation, but here there was so much irrelevant detail that the pace of the story slowed to a crawl. And then there were the characters. I never believed that Constance could truly be a competent secret arms dealer. What we saw of her was childish, reckless, judgmental, and rude. The other characters all seemed to like her, for some inexplicable reason, even though she treated them horribly. And she had no character growth to improve upon this. She was the same at the end as at the beginning, save for a tiny bit in the very last chapter where out of nowhere she has a tiny flash of maybe intending to be a better person. Trusdale was nice enough, though pretty two-dimensional and also without any discernible growth. Their romance had no spark. The action sequences were well done and by far the best thing about the book, but could not make up for the plodding pace and bland characters.