Beauty and the Clockwork Beast
The first book in Author Nancy Campbell Allen's Steampunk Proper Romance series.
Tropes & Themes:
Reimagined fairy tale, Steampunk romance, werewolves, vampires and shifters, sweet romance, beauty and the beast retelling
Book Description:
When Lucy Pickett arrives at Blackwell Manor to tend to her ailing cousin, Kate, she finds more than she bargained for. A restless ghost roams the hallways, werewolves have been reported in the area, and vampires lurk across the Scottish border.
Lord Miles himself is clearly hiding a secret. He is brash and inhospitable and does not take kindly to visitors—even one as smart and attractive as Miss Pickett. He is unsettled by the mysterious deaths of his new wife, Clara, and his sister, Marie. Could Miles himself be to blame for the deaths?
Working together, Miles and Lucy attempt to restore peace to Blackwell Manor. But can Lucy solve the mystery of Miles? Can she love the man—beast and all?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HN509IC
My thoughts on the book:
I have a confession to make, Book Monsters, I was in the worst book slump! I have had such a time with reader burnout the past couple of months. I even have a couple of DNFs from this summer for books by some of my favorite authors. Luckily, I found this book and, I’m happy to say, that my reading slump is broken! For the time being, anyway… we’ll see how things go. Have you ever been in a reading slump? What did you do to break it?
On to what I thought about my latest “Mystical Mood Read”:
This first book in Allen’s Steampunk Proper Romance series was a breath of fresh air! I’ve tried in the past to get into the steampunk genre in books, but have never found one that really did it for me until now. I love the whole steampunk aesthetic and enjoy movies based around the idea, but when it came to reading, the books I’d tried always leaned to heavily to the industrial tech and gadgetry side of things for my taste. Allen’s writing did a great job of re-imagining this beloved fairy tale by building a story world set in the Victorian era with just the right amount of nods to steampunk fashion and social mores. Her explanation of the fictional tech held my interest without getting too weighed down by it. I really enjoyed her use of Tesla inspired gadgets and how seamlessly she worked them in.
The whole premise of the book surrounds the arrival of one Lucy Pickett at Blackwell Manor. Lucy is a highly credentialed lady botanist on a mission to solve not only the mystery of a problematic anti-vampiric serum, but also answers to her cousin Kate’s sudden illness.
Blackwell Manor itself is in possession of a dark reputation, one that involves curses, murder, and a very surly—some say—sinister Lord Miles Blackwell. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Miles and Lucy become entangled in the task of solving the manor’s mysteries together. Their relationship developed at a delicious pace and I was soon rooting for the couple to win out against the odds stacked against them.
I’m so glad I found this book! It was such a delight of a read. There are several characters introduced in this first story that I expect to see turn up in books of their own. I’ve already grabbed book 2, Kiss if the Spindle, and can’t wait to dive in! Would highly recommend to readers of sweet fantasy romance, steampunk, and paranormal romance.
Are you a fan of the Steampunk genre? What do you like or not like about it?