A small Welsh village. An interrupted romance. A rogue frog on the loose threatening their future.New recruit to the Queen’s agents, Dr. Piyali Mukherji is given a simple first assignment. Travel to the small Welsh village of Aberwyn and solve the mystery of a young woman’s blue skin lesion. A challenging task, for the alarming infection is unlike anything she’s seen before–and it’s spreading.… she’s seen before–and it’s spreading.
Evan Tredegar, the town’s pharmacist and the only man to ever capture her heart, knows more than he’s telling. Despite his efforts to push her away, her touch reawakens old desires. As more villagers fall victim to the strange disease, he’ll have no choice but to reveal his secrets, even if it means sacrificing his freedom.
Together they must move past broken promises, capture a rogue frog, and stop the infection before it spreads out of control.
A TRACE OF COPPER is a story set in the Elemental Steampunk World, including The Elemental Steampunk Chronicles, Elemental Steampunk Tales, and Elemental Steampunk Stories.
Steampunk adventure wrapped around a romance and threaded with biotechnology. Join USA Today bestselling author, Anne Renwick, as she takes you back into an alternate past.
THE ELEMENTAL STEAMPUNK CHRONICLES
The Golden Spider (Book One)
The Silver Skull (Book Two)
The Iron Fin (Book Three)
Venomous Secrets (Book Four)
ELEMENTAL STEAMPUNK TALES
A Trace of Copper
In Pursuit of Dragons
A Reflection of Shadows
A Snowflake at Midnight
A Ghost in Amber
ELEMENTAL STEAMPUNK STORIES
The Tin Rose
Kraken and Canals
Rust and Steam
more
This was my first true steampunk novel, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Format read: Unabridged Audiobook via Author’s Direct App
Narrated by: Anais Inara Chase
Length: 3 hrs and 56 mins
Release Date: 06-08-19
Publisher: Anne Renwick
Ratings
Overall
Performances
Story
I loved Dr. Piyali Mukherji’s unique career and that she did double duty as an agent of the Queen. Circumstances put her back in touch with her former lover Evan Tredegar who is the town’s pharmacist. The oddness of what was happening in this town made for a very colorful read.
I’m a big fan of second chance romances and used to be an avid historical romance reader. This novella was a nice combination of both, and I’ll keep my eye out for more books in this series if and when they become available via audiobook format.
Most steampunk tales deal with magic and machinery. This is one of the few that deals with biology and zoology in a steampunk world. For all that the author is creating new twists and turns for the steampunk genre, she still manages to make it light-hearted and fun. Chasing blue frogs? Feeling up invisible ducks? While hunting Russian spies?
I received a copy of this book from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
A Trace of Copper
Good characters and an interesting story, that gives you action, mystery, and intrigue to work your way through from the start right up until the end
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A well-written medical mystery with romance
4 stars overall, 5 stars narration, 4 stars story
It took me about an hour of listening to this 4-hour standalone novella before I got hooked, but then I was captivated by the mystery and by the second-chance romance. The story had a couple of surprising twists. The author’s Ph.D. in Biology was evident in the realistic scientific details of this slightly science-fiction-like medical mystery and in the ways in which the main characters investigated the problem.
Anais Inara Chaise did a great job on the narration. She has a beautifully authentic English accent that is very pleasing to my ear. She also had a good but faint Welsh accent for the hero and for some townspeople. Each character’s voice was distinctive. She is very good at tense scenes, love scenes, and action scenes. The narrator was also flawless with the many complicated words in the story. I slightly disagree with the complete lack of Indian accent for the heroine, but it is possible that the heroine emulated her English stepfather’s accent. Overall, I think that Anaise Inara Chase does a much better job with this series than the narrator in the previous audiobooks, Henrietta Meire, who made everything sound boring.
Dr. Piyali Mukhergi is a rare female doctor in a steampunk version of 1880s Britain. She is so brilliant at solving infectious disease mysteries that she has become one of the Queen’s Agents, which seems to be the equivalent of a CDC doctor mixed with an FBI agent. The world in which she lives is very similar to Victorian Britain, but there are steam-powered technology like airships, motored carriages, and robotic bird-like drones. In addition, there are bioluminescent flashlights, neurotoxin guns, and a few unusual creatures. Evan Tredegar, a world-renowned pharmacologist, is Piyali’s estranged almost-fiancé. They haven’t seen each other for over four years since Piyali went to Paris for medical school and Evan went to Brazil to do plant research. After they both returned to Britain, Evan mysteriously did not respond to Piyali’s letter. Three months later, Piyali is sent to investigate a weird blue skin lesion on a teenager in Evan’s tiny Welsh town.
I highly recommend this story to anyone who likes both romance and medical mysteries. In addition, every steampunk romance fan should try this one. After listening to this audiobook, I intend to catch up on the rest of the series because I feel like I have been missing out on something good.
I received a free advanced listening copy from the author via Authors Direct, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
UPDATE: I recently purchased the audio version of A TRACE OF COPPER because I have been enjoying Anne Renwick’s Steampunk series, “Elemental” – it’s quite unique and captivating! The narrator for A TRACE OF COPPER, Anais Inara Chase, did a wonderful job with the voices. My audio copy is a “bundle” with 2 additional Tales (similar to novellas) from Anne’s Elemental series which I haven’t previously read. I look forward to listening to more fascinating tales in this medically-influenced Steampunk world. And indeed – the cover art is lovely!! (The audio bundle copy is different than shown here, but equally eye-catching).
ORIGINAL POST:
I love the book covers on Anne Renwick’s Elemental Steampunk series. They are lovely, elegant, and beautifully detailed. The cover on “A Trace of Copper” is perfection! ( The blue frog!)
Wales, Spring 1885.
Mr Black is among the Queen’s best spy masters. He has selected young Dr Piyali, a specialist in infectious diseases, to check into the recent unusual occurrences in a small Welsh village. On her 1st assignment as a Queen’s agent Dr Piyali Mukherji/FMC must quickly discover the cause of an isolated, blue pearly skin rash that seems to be spreading quickly upon afflicted victims’ bodies.
Welshman Evan Tredegar/MMC recently returned from 4 yrs of scientific field work where he studied herbal cures and restoratives with a local shaman deep in the Brazilian rainforest. As an experienced and knowledgeable research pharmacist (and formerly Piyali’s dearest and closest friend) Evan could contribute greatly to Piyali’s intelligence mission. Instead, Evan seems reluctant to share information regarding the strange infection, or explain his 5 yrs of avoidance.
A Trace of Copper has a Steampunk setting, fascinating medical references, and I loved the unique main characters – Dr Piyali and Evan. I recommend A Trace of Copper to readers who enjoy the 2nd Chances trope, Steampunk and/or historical romance fiction, fiction with a medical basis, sweet HEAs, and Cozy Mysteries with romance (although the intimacy level may be more than some Cozy Mystery readers prefer).
A Trace of Copper can be read as a standalone title yet it is part of the Elemental Steampunk series by Anne Renwick. I look forward to reading the next title in the series – The Iron Fist Chronicles.
Renwick’s website has the recommended complete reading order – #1/Tin Rose/a short story, #2/Golden Spider/a full length title, and #3/Rust and Steam/a short story begin the series. Each title is delightful as a standalone title but an overall story arc connects them.
READER CAUTIONS
Profanity – Yes, but extremely rare (less than 5x?)
Violence – Marginal; not graphic. G/PG. The main character is a 1880’s British spy investigating “unusual occurrences.”
Sexual situations – Yes. Three occurrences of on-scene intimacy in this 2nd Chances novel; although such sections could be skipped.
Due to the aforementioned, IMO not suitable for YA readers.
Trace of Copper is the first story in the Elemental Steampunk Tales series. This is a novella that takes place in Anne Renwick’s steampunk world. I read Tin Rose earlier this year and since I enjoyed that I decided to pick up this one.
I enjoyed the story but I went though this book feeling like I missed something. I have not yet read the actual novels that are in this world so I very well may have missed something. I am not sure who I am going to give the first novel in this series a chance before I make any decisions.
This story is a second chance romance, and I liked the story for what it was but the angst felt a little forced. I didn’t have the feelings that I normally do when there is angst. I think that I was mostly frustrated with Evan. If he would have been honest from the beginning instead of ignoring Piyali things would not have gotten so bad. Yes, I know then we would not have the story we do. If he was half as smart as the book claimed him to be then he should have reached out from the beginning instead of making them both miserable and risking the safety of the whole village.
I really did enjoy the story when I was reading it I just wanted to shake Even the entire time.
She is sent on her first mission to a small village where someone skin has turned blue. It seems a rogue frog is behind it all. She sees her old love and she knows he is hiding secrets. He finally tells her as the disease is spreading. Can they stop it? What are his secrets? Can they work together?.See if they can stop it
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A Trace of Copper is Book 1 in the An Elemental Steampunk Tale series. This is a book well worth reading. Our two main characters Dr. Piyali Mukherji (Queen’s agent) and Evan Tredegar (Aberwyn’s pharmacist) have shared a failed romantic relationship in the past and now must work together to find a cure for the blue lesions that are spreading thru the village population and find the culprit. This is an exceptionally well written storyline with well developed characters who are complex and interesting. Anne Renwick has created an entertaining, suspenseful medical mystery with comic scenes that are laugh-out-loud and the romance is perfect. I loved everything about this book and highly recommend it. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. Received an ARC copy and this is my voluntary and honest review.
A Trace of Copper is the story of two people brought together to solve an obscure medical mystery who once shared a very heated past. Dr. Piyali Mukherji of the Queen’s agents is sent to a Welsh town to figure out why a lesion on a young woman is turning blue. Evan Tredegar, the pharmacist in said Welsh village and Piyali’s former lover, provides his expertise as they team up to solve this mystery. Can they accomplish this goal without being too distracted by emotions and words left unsaid? I appreciate a nice, strong independent and intelligent woman with an innovative mind. Dr. Piyali Mukherji, the female lead, fit that role quite nicely. Ms. Renwick provides a good balance of scientific details and explanations for why events are happening in the book when it comes to the medical mystery. The romance piece of it was a bit sudden, but I believe this was the intent considering Piyali and Evan had a passionate past. Piyali’s reaction to the women of the town fawning over Evan was entertaining. I like that Ms. Renwick told the story in such a manner to allow readers insights into what the respective main characters were thinking/feeling. It helped to complete the story for me. I definitely look forward to reading more from this author.
All’s not what it seems in this small village in Wales. A Queen’s agent and doctor, Piyali thought that her broken heart was starting to mend, but seeing her almost-fiancee again is breaking it all over (especially with him standing over a simpering girl). Hope dare he. She waited for him to return from the Amazon and returns with no note, nothing. But she is here as a professional for the strange blue lesion received by a blue frog that Evan seems to know more than her is letting on.
Evan longs to renew is acquaintance with Piyali, but things are not what they seem. In order to protect her, her must drive her away and find that damn blue frog before things get out of hand.
It’s an enchanting story of second chances and intrigue, of mysticism and science. You’ll find yourself engrossed in the loves of the characters so you hope along with them for a HEA.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Elemental Web Tale Book Two. Elemental Web Chronicles Book Two.Five.
Dr. Piyali Mukherji has been summoned by the Queen’s agents to help a small Welsh village cure a strange blue lesion. As the town’s pharmacist, Evan Tredegar will be her main point of contact. What the town doesn’t know is that Evan proposed to Piyali years ago, and she turned him down. Now, Piyali is ready to rekindle the relationship that they lost, but Evan has a secret that prevents him from going there. As the mysterious lesion spreads, Piyali and Evan must untangle the web of secrets and lies in Aberwyn before the town is completely lost.
If you’re looking for a short, lite-Steampunk story with mysteries, magical and otherwise, this is the book for you!
Audio Review:
Anais Inara Chase gives life to the characters and grounds the magical elements in reality.
This is a wonderfully written and intriguing story. I really enjoyed the steampunk elements and the scientific aspects of this book. There was also a good amount of mystery and romantic suspense.
I loved Piyali. Not only is she a very intellectual person but she’s also strong and independent. All things I love in a heroine.
I look forward to reading more from this author.