Brass Carriages and Glass Hearts

The Proper Romance Steampunk Series, Book 4

By: Nancy Campbell Allen

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

A steampunk retelling of Cinderella.

Emmeline O'Shea has been an outspoken advocate for the shape-shifter community, which has come under unjust attack from a political body known as the PSRC (Predatory Shifter Regulations Committee), and her robust efforts have landed her a prestigious position as the spokesperson for the International Shifter Rights Organization. She has been selected to give the final address in Scotland before they vote on legislation that will grant protective rights to the shifter community. Because she is fundamentally changing the laws, she is also receiving death threats.

Oliver Reed is a by-the-book detective-inspector who has dealt with Emme's borderline illegal activism in the past, and there is little love lost between the two. When his superior tasks Oliver with guarding Emme around-the-clock to keep her safe until the summit is over, he is frustrated. He has several open cases requiring his attention, and his spare time is occupied with chasing down leads about the whereabouts of his brother, a rogue vampire bent on causing trouble in Scotland.

When their airship is hijacked, Emme and Oliver are forced to parachute away before they exit British soil. They take refuge in Emme's family's hunting lodge where Oliver is introduced to her abusive stepsisters.

Together the pair must make their way to Edinburgh so as not to miss the summit meeting where Emme will be key in helping to pass legislation that will disband the corrupt PSRC. But between her vindictive sisters and Oliver's rogue vampire brother, they face danger at every turn, not to mention dealing with their growing attraction for each other.

When Emme is kidnapped - leaving behind only one shoe as evidence - Oliver must find her before it’s too late - and the summit ends at midnight.

©2020 Nancy Campbell Allen (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Fun steampunk romanc.

Series Info/Source: This is the fourth book in the Steampunk Proper Romance series. I bought this audiobook from Audible.

Audiobook Quality (4/5): I listened to this book on audiobook and it was very well done. No complaints, the narrator does an excellent job.

Story (4/5): This was exactly what I thought it was going to be. There's a good mystery here paired with a decent romance. All in all it was a fun steampunk romp. This is supposed to be a retelling of Cinderella and I think that's a bit of a stretch. There are some elements that make this similar to Cinderella but they felt kind of forced. I would be reluctant to recommend this to someone who is only looking for a Cinderella retelling. However, this was a fun and entertaining light read. There were some fun steampunk elements in here and a lot of vampire/werewolf politics. The romance was well done if fairly predictable.

Characters (4/5): The characters were fun and well done and have good chemistry together. Emme is a werewolf rights activist who is a rising star in the werewolf organization and gaining enemies along with her popularity. Oliver is a detective who has arrested Emme for causing trouble with her protests in the past and has now been assigned to protect her during a political trip. Of course, sparks fly between them. We also have a number of cameos from characters from the previous books in this series.

Setting (4/5): I continue to enjoy the steampunk London setting, the world isn’t really fully built out, but it is still a fun one to visit.

Writing Style (4/5): As with previous books in this series, this book is well written and easy to read. There is an excellent mystery here, blending with some action, and some romance. I didn’t think this was a great fairy tale retelling but it was a fine story on its own.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I have no complaints. I was looking for an easy and fun steampunk romance read and that is exactly what I got.. I would also recommend Anne Renwick's books if you enjoy this series by Allen; I like Renwick's steampunk series just a bit more because it has a more sciency steampunk vibe to it.

Loved it!

Nancy writes an incredible amount of detail into her worlds, but without doing a lot of exposition. In her first book of this series, she had me convinced that vampyres were evil and that the transformation only brought out the worst in them. But by the end of this book, I was rooting for the vampyres. She provided a balanced and nuanced discussion of human rights through the main character without going "all bad" or "all good" trope. I enjoyed their enemies to friends romance, which is saying something because I don't generally enjoy that trope. But I loved it here and it worked.

Wonderfully captivating, cannot wait for more!

I read some of the other reviews and cannot find the same fault with this story. It follows in the vein of Nancy Campbell Allen’s imaginative and captivating stories. This book did not disappoint.

Great Great

What a grade story I hardly expected vampires and shifters to be in the in it was a wonderful surprise I'll be reading more NC!A. Love Justine EYRE as narrator fabulous

another lovely book

this author is unique. the stories are engrossing and well written and the characters are so much fun!

very entertaining

I always enjoy a serie of books like these four. Liked the Steampunk idea. I'm not usually into werewolfs, vampires etc. but wrapped into a good lovestory - well done👍!

Disappointing

Enjoyed the readers, but when It turned to a vampire story it just didn’t fit and I lost interest in the end.

I finally found a romance authors I really like

Well rounded characters, conflict that makes sense, decent world building, and best of all clean!

I avoided the romance genre for a long time because I couldn't find a decent author any time I tried a romance book. I can find no end to great story telling in other genres, but for some reason modern romance writing is like too many comedy movies, full of lazy writing. Why be clever when dirty jokes or, in the case of romance books, bedroom scenes are easier.

Nancy Campbell Allen is an excellent writer and will continue to fill my library with her books.
Justine Eyre is an excellent narrator. Her use of accents is a delight.

adventure and romance

loved the story and true to the series the leading lady didn't disappoint! I love how the women are strong, smart and respected without putting down the male but instead they are better when they are working together!

Loved the first two books !

I really enjoyed it he first two books of to he series.
Didn't like at all the Narrator on the third book had to speed up the audio. I barely finished it.
However, even though I did like the characters in this final book, I just felt that there wasn't enough pull to keep me listening. Overall I truly recommend the first two books, they're sweet and fun to listen to. A very pleasant escape!

Adorable!

Adorable story with sweet characters, I loved the way their love grew, it seemed a bit obvious but was still nice to hear :)

Brass and hearts

Loved it! Have listened to most of this lovely narrators audio books and she couldn't to wrong with this brilliant book. Wonderful from start to finish. I love steampunk and this series of books has it all. I'm now going to purchase the books to read as well as to listen too.