The Brass Queen is an action packed steampunk fantasy adventure. I was very intrigued by Constance Haltwhistle and her alternate identity of the Brass Queen. Most of the story, however, focuses on Constance's battle with presenting herself as a prominent member of society and hiding the fact that she is more than she seems. The story is very involved with descriptions of machinery, fashion, and proper etiquette and manners, which Constance is obsessed with despite being an undercover arms dealer. I did think that there was a significant break between the two personalities that Constance holds and I didn't really see them merge until the end. There were a few inconsistencies that made it hard for me to believe that Constance led a double life. J.F. is a nice counterpart to Contance's very Victorian need for perfection and rules. J.F. holds the same set of values as Constance, but displays them in a very different way. I was very intrigued by the mystery of why someone wanted to steal the invisibility formula and everything surrounding the Enigma Keys. Towards the end, I was very happy to see Constance finally be the Brass Queen that she was hiding underneath and accomplish good things for her people and the women of the time.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.