Hey, writers and readers!
I’d like to share another indie book review. I recently just fell in love with The Earl of Brass by Kara Jorgensen. I’m definitely 2 years behind on this series, but it’s never too late to enjoy some steampunk magic. Check out the review below and make sure to give your two cents in the comments section if you’ve already read the book, too!
Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis:
Lord Sorrell will pay any cost to avoid the stifling standards of proper British society. In a freak accident, he loses an arm and with it, all chances of normalcy. Of course, to keep up appearances, he looks for the best prosthetics business in London and his life is set on a new course once he meets the vibrant and clever Hadley. In exchange for a new arm, Lord Sorrell offers her a chance at independence in the deserts of Palestine.
The two end up finding a curious society that challenges everything they accepted as “normal society.” However, there are other people in their company that would rather exploit these findings and bury the unusual lord and lady.
What I enjoyed:
Um, everything? I can start with the characters. Jorgensen does a great job by establishing each character as a fully-fleshed out character that, to me, gives us a great sampling of different mindsets that people would have in her Victorian England setting.
For example, Sorrell’s parents embody everything well-meaning but racist people would believe or think. There aren’t any cliches thrust on anyone in this novel. The same goes for Eilian and Hadley. Even though Eilian is radically open and accepting of other religions and peoples, he’s quite balanced, too. His inclusion of other people is natural and welcoming to read. Hadley is every inch a lovable feminist, but is also balanced in her femininity and her forward-thinking opinions about society and gender roles. Even though both would be considered queer in their time period, it’s not over-done, cliche’, or preachy. I love having multiple viewpoints in a steampunk novel like this to represent various schools of thought in what we usually box in as an overly-quaint society.
My Final Thoughts
I basically didn’t want this book to end. I’m glad there’s more to the series so we can see what becomes of all the characters. There were some parts that I expected to be more dire or difficult to overcome, but other than that, the pacing was enough to beautifully describe the surroundings while keeping time with the characters’ interactions. I’m just delving into steampunk novels and I think Jorgensen did a great job of explaining her steampunk inclusions (such as the mechanics of Eilian’s new arm), including friendship/romance, and giving us great action and character development.
Basically, if you like books or movies like Tarzan, Pochahontas, or Atlantis, you’ll love the direction Jorgensen takes you in this novel. If you’d like to read this or other works by Kara Jorgensen, you can catch up with her via social media:
Have you read this novel? Do you have your own thoughts about it? Share with me in the comments! You can also see all of my other book reviews by checking our the Book Reviews tab.
It’s on my TBR pile! And it just moved up the queue, thanks to you.
Oh wow! That makes me feel super happy! 🙂