Delightfully fun, wonderfully silly, and hilariously absurd. In this steampunk world, Sheffield is the martial manufacturing heart of the British Empire and home to its most brilliant scientists, its greatest black market arms manufacturer, and some of its most ridiculous subjects. Of course, the reader is quickly introduced to the American spy; the heiress on the brink of losing her inheritance; the all-knowing, all-seeing butler; the heiress's rakish fop relative; and the Machiavellian wannabe determined to ruin their day. Just a few chapters into the book, the phrase "rollicking good time" popped into my head and it stayed there right to the end.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I find myself once again at a loss with The Brass Queen, as it reminds me again why steampunk is so hit-or-miss for me. To be fair, this book being comped to the Parasol Protectorate should probably have been a red flag; I hated book one, and didn’t get why people were so in love with that series.

I will say I think Elizabeth Chatsworth has potential as a writer, and with fairly engaging prose even amid the other myriad flaws. But it only made up for it so much, and I eventually couldn’t take it anymore.

Steampunk world building almost always confuses me unless the author takes extra care with it, and I wasn’t a fan of the way it was done here. It didn’t feel well thought out to balance the historical and steampunk/fantastical elements, and ultimately just left me feeling disconnected.

And the characters failed to engage me whatsoever. I had a feeling there was meant to be some sort of humorous interplay between Constance and Trusdale, but it wasn’t there. And the characters generally lacked depth, only going so far as, “she’s intelligent and stubborn!” And Trusdale is just a nothing character, more show than substance.

Based on what I’ve seen, I’m definitely in the minority on this one, but that is to be expected. I think if you u love steampunk more, or are looking for something similar in the vein of Parasol Protectorate, you’ll probably love this book.

This one looked really promising, but I didn't enjoy it. By 25% I can usually tell if I book is going to become more enjoyable or continue as a slog, and this one was definitely the latter.

My first issue was the the characters. Miss Constance Haltwhistle is... annoying. Brash, rude, entirely self-centered and expecting the world to revolve around her. She's also puzzlingly supposed to be both completely sheltered and innocent AND a successful weapons dealer. Those don't really go together. J.F. Trusdale just sort of sits back and let her steamroll over him. He's also puzzlingly not a spy, but impersonating his dead brother (who was a spy) at the request of his brother's agency... which, would make him a spy, right?

I wasn't a fan of the writing style - it was obviously trying very hard to be funny but for me, it just fell flat. Some of the steampunk details (like the carriage that serves breakfast) were cool -- but also a bit confusing. Why have horses at all if the thing already uses steam power for the breakfast cooking and transforming? The steampunk details also didn't really seem to mesh well with the setting. And the worldbuilding in general was spotty.

I will say that a lot of people will probably really enjoy the style of humor employed here, even though I'm not one of them.

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.

I liked this book but I did find it hard to get into. The pacing was slow at times and I found myself skimming through scenes to get to the action.
However I did enjoy the world building and the steampunk/fantasy feel

A few weeks ago a friend of mine reminded me of the steampunk genre (which I love) and I realized I hadn't read anything in that area for a while. To rectify the situation I went searching for something new and came across this.

A Victorian British aristocrat who (while secretly an inventor and military arms dealer) is in desperate need of a husband so as to keep her fortune teams up with a slightly bumbling American cowboy-esque spy to locate three missing scientists kidnapped from a ball, and prevent a lethal weapon from falling into the hands of the enemy.

So lots happen in this book. It does bounce from thing to thing to thing pretty rapidly which makes for some good action but not so good for the investing in the characters.
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This was a good enough read. I think there are better examples of the genre but it was entertaining enough.

4.5 stars
Welcome to the Brassiverse, where we have a debutante in chainmail, a cowboy, and a kidnapping by steamwerks metal soldiers and assassins to kick things off in chapter 1, and I'm hooked!!
We have Constance our chainmail wearing heroine who is being hunted by assassins both visible and invisible for a business deal gone awry. She is intelligent, but not street smart, she's also a lonely, privileged princess kind of young lady unwilling to accept help or other people's opinions, because who would know anything better than her?
Then we have Trusdale our American cowboy who is impersonating his scientist brother on an undercover mission, he's very smart, practical, irritable, but he's still willing to constantly save Constance no matter how annoyed he is with her. I sympathized with him a great deal here, I regularly wanted to strangle her know it all self.
After the kidnapping Constance enlists, rather forcefully, Trusdale to help her solve the crime in a timely manner as she must elicit a proposal by Friday in order to be able to keep her home and lands. Stupid patriarchal rules!!
This is set in the time of Queen Victoria who apparently has the temperament of Alice and Wonderland's Queen of Hearts, but this focuses more on her nephew than her.
There's a brief turn with a god awful Canadian accent(personnel pet peeve), but otherwise I loved all the subtle humor and the pop culture references.

Sadly, this didn't do it for me. The beginning was very confusing and all over the place. I kept feeling like I was missing something, as if this was the 2nd or the 3rd in a series, that I hadn't known about... It made it really hard to get into the book, and sadly, I never managed it.

I was super duper excited when I was approved for this arc on netgalley. It’s basically steampunk with nefarious plots that must be thwarted and it was not at all what I expected, but it was very entertaining (which is honestly all one can ask of a novel).

At first, I did find the writing style hard to get into, but once I got past the first chapter I was hooked. The characters were so original, as was the setting. There was so much creativity poured into this story and I loved every minute. Although I have read a few steampunk novels before, this one was so unique. It twisted history. It twisted my plot expectations. It was just so twisty (is that a word?) in the best possible way. I also really liked the romance. I thought the characters had such perfect chemistry. I could’ve been a little more invested in it than I was, I think, if we heard more of the main character’s thoughts, but nevertheless it was great romance.

Okay so if any or all of what I just discussed appeals to you allow me to bring up the deal breaker: This book was hilarious!!! I loved the little bits of humour that suddenly appeared and made me snort, but most of all I loved this one scene that I can’t mention. I literally couldn’t stop laughing omg it was the best! If you like humorous novels and steampunk I would highly recommend this to you!

Thank you so much to the publisher and @netgalley for the review copy! The Brass Queen comes out in just about ten days, so go preorder it! If you do, there is a great pre-order campaign you can enter.

5/5 stars This is a brilliant cross-genre book unlike any I've read before. It's historical fiction, in that it's set in Victorian England. But it's also science fiction, as it's also set in an alternate dimension, and includes aliens. There's also fantasy with steampunk inventions, romantic tension between the two main characters, and on top of it all, it's hilarious! This is a funny, multi-layered confection of a novel that always keeps you guessing as to what may happen next. I found it to be an absolute delight.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

Stylistically, this novel is lovely. The tone and cadence was really uplifting and addictive. However, the world didn’t feel very well thought out, and my opinion of the protagonists is mixed.
It is my understanding that the steampunk genre is meant to be an alternate history in which steam power remained the dominant energy industry. Therefore affecting daily living with the inclusion of various forms of steam propulsion and mechanics. In The Brass Queen the steampunk elements are superficial in that they seem in no way industrial or otherwise integral to the world beyond being aesthetically appealing. So, they could have been absent and the plot and the world would have lost nothing, which was a little problematic for me.
Out of the two protagonists, Trusdale was my favourite. While I wanted to like Constance, because her set up as a secret weaponsmith was interesting, I found that I couldn’t get past her haughty attitude. I think she was meant to come off as independent and aware of her self-worth, but she asserted her independence through talking AT the other characters rather than TO them. The result is a female character that is not so much independent as she is illogically demanding and demeaning to those around her. This would have been fine if it was meant to be a character flaw for her to eventually overcome, but it didn’t feel intentional, and I didn’t really feel she had changed at all by the end of the book. The other characters, namely Trusdale as the love interest, just became more willing to shrug off her “quirks.”
On the whole, I don’t think I enjoyed this book enough to recommend it, but the writing style does have potential so I would be willing to try with this author again.

Debutante and secret weapons dealer in need of a husband, Lady Constance Haltwhistle reluctantly teams up with the Stetson-wearing American JF Trusdale to discover who kidnapped three prominent scientists from her grand party. There's steampunk inventions, period romance tropes, breaches of etiquette, an overload of American vs British comparisons, and the small secret that Constance's father is off gallivanting in another dimension.

By halfway through the book, Constance had yet to do anything more impressive than order carriages for some scientists, so I put it down. All of the most interesting bits - dimensional travel? her secret job as the Brass Queen? - only came up briefly in her thoughts, and didn't really affect the story. It felt like I was missing out on a more interesting prequel. However, the possibility of the action picking up after that point could make it worth the read for lovers of anything steampunk.

**Thanks to Netgalley and CamCat Books for the ARC**

This book is cuckoo fun. I never know what to expect to happen next. The banter between Constance and Trusdale is perfect.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

I would like to thank #CamCatBooks for sending me an #ARC of #TheBrassQueen by Elizabeth Chatsworth via #NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.


The Brass Queen by Elizabeth Chatsworth centers around two protagonists, Miss Constance Haltwhistle, the last in a line of quirky scientist (but also a lady, and don't you forget it!) and J. F. Trusdale, an American spy, with a deep love for his Stetson hat. When Constance's coming-out party is ruined by a kidnapping of three brilliant scientists, Trusdale doesn't see a way to complete his mission. Before he can follow through with his plans of heading back home, he somehow finds himself allying with Miss Constance Haltwhistle herself to find and rescue the scientist. Can these two natural leaders actually work together without killing one another though? Well, you need to read to find out!


The Brass Queen was an unexpected delight. It is an original, fun story, that is non-stop action and funny banter between our two protagonist. The characters are charming in their own ways, with Constance being an intelligent, resourceful woman ahead of her time, with a delightfully quirky outlook on life, whereas Trusdale is a wonderful balance with his cool logic and stealth. This book, admittedly, is more mystery and action than romance, but despite the lack of what I look forward the most to in most books, I was very quickly immersed. If you are a fan of clean romances, you will definitely enjoy this book.


The Brass Queen was delightfully whimsical in it's plot and setting, it's characters were fun and intriguing, and quite a few times I found myself smiling at the banter between Constance and Trusdale. If you like steampunk settings, clean romance, and strong female protagonists, you will for sure enjoy The Brass Queen!

ARC from NetGalley

4.5 stars

Well this was whimsical and lovely. Elizabeth Chatsworth wrote a funny, steampunky fantasy in a voice that I could so easily visualize. It was almost like a movie, I could see every little tic of certain characters. They were written really well.

Constance is clueless. Her father has kept her locked up on their estate for pretty much ever because he is a bit paranoid for her safety, and I mean people do keep trying to kill her, so, fair enough. But her father is gone now, and watching Constance trying to navigate polite society, because if she doesn't get married immediately then she will lose her family home, is adorable. She is a feminist science dork alive in a time where she can't own property and really shouldn't have an opinion on much of anything, certainly nothing she should share out loud. This is a struggle for her and a treat for us.

This would have been a 5-star read for me if things didn't go a bit sideways at some point. I lost interest. I'm not even sure where I lost interest, but things just didn't really matter much to me anymore at some point. I wanted something to come of the romance, but nothing really did. In general, it was a bit shallow. Lots of things are alluded to that aren't really explored. The characters don't really evolve. The plot was okay but not riveting, not deep. Still, this book was amusing enough and interesting enough for me to recommend it.

This book was a quick read and held my attention easily. The premise is that Constance is an heiress who has a deadline to wed in order to inherit her estate or see it fall into the hands of an undesirable relative, but she's also a secret arms dealer.
While the book sets itself up as a readlike to the Parasol Protectorate series, it feels like it borrowed heavily from that series and didn't provide enough uniqueness to stand on its own. Constance and her cohort show little character development and the plot device of an arms dealer who doesn't have any real world experience with violence is hard to believe.
The technology and world are interesting, but ultimately it fell flat.

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.

"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 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!

Perfect for fans of Gail Carriger. A joy of a ride set in an alternate steampunk Victorian era, with a plucky heroine with a heart of gold and a mysterious foreign stranger who band together to solve a mystery and save not just some kidnapped colleagues, but the British monarchy as well.

Fantastic world-building and sparkling characters make The Brass Queen by Elizabeth Chatsworth a fantastic breath of fresh air for this reader! Delightful, five out of five stars!

Move over Evie and Rick, there's a new sassy British/American pairing to sit upon the Shelf of Goals.

I literally cannot get over how much I adore Connie and J. F. and need more of them in my life.

Brass Queen itself is a whip-crack of a novel, setting a rapid pace form the first chapter which never lets up. Taking place in a fully realized streampunk Sheffield, Chatsworth wields her pen with finesse as she takes the reader through the misadventures and steps of a Plan with a capital "P" to set all wrongs right, and achieve a few more wins along the way. 'Plucky Heroine' does not quite describe Constance Haltwhistle to her full extent. Sassy, competent, headstrong, and hilariously stubborn, she inhabits a world that simply needs to keep up with her and refuses to make concessions to those who won't do as she says. She usually knows best, after all. And when she doesn't, J.F. is there with cautious bravado and the aid of vast experience to clean up the mess. Our two leads inhabit such a level playing field it is hard to determine who finishes the novel with the upper hand.

Which is just how it should be: Connie's faults illuminate J.F.'s strengths and vice versa; and when the two finally decide to stick together and form a Plan with a capital "P" as a team, they are unstoppable.

I laughed out loud far more than is appropriate for reading in bed late into the night, and couldn't wait to pick the novel back up in my waking hours. THIS is the book we need as 2020 comes to an end: a fun, fancy, joyous adventure reminiscent of The Mummy (1999).