The Brass Queen

October 12, 2020
Chatsworth debuts with a fun, frothy blend of fantasy and romance in which the steampunk set dressing often outshines the story. In an alternate Victorian England, Miss Constance Haltwhistle—who is secretly the boutique arms designer known as the Brass Queen—must marry or lose her estate. So she throws herself a debutante ball, complete with enormous robotic champagne dispensers—and an uninvited guest: the annoying, handsome American cowboy J.F. Truesdale. When her champagne dispensers go haywire and kidnap three scientists, including Dr. Maya Chauhan, one of Constance’s closest friends, J.F. saves Constance from being killed in the mayhem, and the pair sets off on a rescue mission, bickering furiously all the while. Along the way, Constance and J.F. battle invisible assassins, uncover a conspiracy to kill Queen Victoria, commune with alternate dimensions, and take detours into parade planning and semi-lethal games of polo. The plot is held together with spit and banter, and there’s little urgency to the rescue mission, but Chatsworth packs her world full of hilarious details and enjoyably cartoonish side characters. Fans of humorous fantasy and headstrong heroines will be delighted.

January 8, 2021
Set in an alternate 1897 England, this steampunk novel takes the reader on a twisting adventure of multidimensional intrigue and budding romance. The highly erratic Prince Lucien Albert Dunsten, the erstwhile American J. T. Trusdale, and the enigmatic Lady Constance Haltwhistle, aka the Brass Queen, set out to solve the kidnapping of three doctors from Lady Haltwhistle's coming-out ball. The prince has ulterior motives, but so do the others: Trusdale is only thinking of Constance, while Constance is focused on the queen's Grand Parade. Though the pace is a bit slow, there are plenty of twists and turns, and things pick up once the culprit is identified. Fans of Gail Carriger's Custard Protocol novels will appreciate the developing romance between Trusdale and Constance. Chatsworth's debut is a good introduction to the world of steampunk fantasy romance.

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