The Brass Queen by Elizabeth Chatsworth

Release: December 01, 2021
Format: Audiobook
Publisher: CamCat Publishing, LLC
Source: Suzyapproved Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible

Constance Haltwhistle has three days to save her ancestral estate.

Constance is the last in a line of blue-blooded rogues in 1897 Yorkshire. Selling illegal firearms under her alias the “Brass Queen,” she has kept the coffers full. Due to an archaic law, however, she will lose everything unless she does the detestable…find a noble husband.

Torn between high society and the underworld, Constance throws herself a lavish coming-out ball to attract a suitable spouse.

Enter the thoroughly unsuitable and utterly frustrating US spy, J.F. Trusdale.

Tall, dark, and almost handsome, Trusdale is shadowing an imperial scientist who has developed an invisibility serum that could change the spy game forever.

She knows a liar when she sees one. He knows a fraud when he meets one.

About the Author:

ELIZABETH CHATSWORTH is a British author and actor based in Connecticut. She loves to write of rogues, rebels, and renegades across time and space. Elizabeth is a Writers Of The Future winner, a Golden Heart finalist, a Pitch Wars alumna, and a member of the SFWA. She’s the author of The Brass Queen (January 2021), an award-winning fantasy set in an alternate Victorian age. When she’s not writing, Elizabeth works as a voice-over actor. There’s a rumor she possesses the world’s best scone recipe.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

The Brass Queen Review:

Invisibility serums, enigma keys, and dynamic characters make “The Brass Queen” an exciting novel to read.

Let me start by saying how much I enjoyed the author’s creativity. I love historical fiction, and the steampunk element gave this book a classic yet futuristic feel. The story’s plot is also unique, where you have invisible people attacking our duo, using futuristic tools that are purely fantastical.

The author also adds humor and romance in addition to the exciting plot. For instance, I found some scenes humorous, like when Trusdale meets her cousin and sees her mansion. Constance and Trusdale are such a beautiful dynamic. Initially, they don’t trust each other, but as they spend more time together on their mission, you see how close they become. Some of my favorite moments are how Trusdale and Constance get together when an invisible force attacks Trusdale and the exciting incident in the laboratory.

Similarly, I also enjoyed the additional characters. You have characters like Lucien and Erhard, who are cunning and manipulative, and you wonder how they would trick Constance on her mission. Then, you have characters like Hearn, a complete mystery, and you wonder what they would do. The author fills the story with fantasy where you have no clue how it would turn out.

However, while I enjoyed everything about the story, a few parts were complicated in the world-building, and I had to recall it. It would have been nice if the author toned it down a bit, as at times, I felt there was just too much happening, and I couldn’t grasp a few things.

Nevertheless, “The Brass Queen” is a compelling historical steampunk fantasy that I loved how the author executed.