BRASS CARRIAGES AND GLASS HEARTS, by Nancy Campbell Allen, Shadow Mountain, Oct. 6, 2020, Paperback, $15.99 (young adult/ new adult/ adult fiction)
Brass Carriages and Glass Hearts is the fourth book in Nancy Campbell Allen’s entertaining Steampunk Proper Romance series.
Emmeline O’Shea is determined to save the world—single-handedly, if necessary. A strong voice for societal reform, she is the natural choice to deliver a key speech at the end of the International Shifter Rights Organization’s week-long Summit in Scotland.
But when a death threat arrives at Emme’s home, she is immediately placed into protective custody, watched over by none other than her personal nemesis, Detective-Inspector Oliver Reed. The two have crossed paths many times, with disastrous results, but now they will have to work together in order to reach the Summit before midnight of the last day in order to ensure legislation is passed to protect the Shifter community.
As unseen enemies close in around Emme and Oliver, they struggle to reach Edinburgh by any means necessary, only to find Emme’s vindictive stepsister, Oliver’s vampire brother, and a dangerous political minefield awaiting them in Scotland.
Even more difficult is their own refusal to admit that the fiery animosity that once burned between them might be turning into the heat of romantic passion. Could a straitlaced policeman determined to uphold the law and an outspoken activist willing to break the rules ever find true love? Or will all their dreams shatter like glass when the clock strikes midnight? —Synopsis provided by Shadow Mountain
Each of the books in Allen’s steampunk series are loose retellings of classic fairy tales — Beauty and the Clockwork Beast (Beauty and the Beast), Kiss and the Spindle (Sleeping Beauty), The Lady in the Coppergate Tower (Rapunzel).
Brass Carriages and Glass Hearts is billed as a retelling of Cinderella, but that’s a very loose connection. Short of two stepsisters and a ball at the end, there aren’t many similarities. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, the book is better for it.
Because Allen has allowed herself to stray far from the source material, the world she has created feels unique unto her works. There aren’t specific plot points to look forward to and compare. Her steampunk flair also adds a nice twist
As with the other books in this series, Brass Carriages and Glass Hearts stands alone-ish. Characters cross over from one to the other, and you get more out of them, if you read them in order. Based on how this one ended, I’m guessing there’s at least one more books in the works. If that is the case, I’d like to reread them all together when it comes out.
