Jane Eyre meets Beauty and the Beast in this Steampunk Proper Romance 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, shape-shifting creatures 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 … 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 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?
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I adored this story and the world the author created. I can’t recommend it enough!!
When I first started reading Beauty and the Clockwork Beast, it took me a minute to find my footing as I realized that maybe I didn’t know steampunk very well. In essence, this book takes place in London, long ago but the steampunk part is that people have access to electricity in Tesla coils and many clockwork mechanisms that provide transportation, robots, and even airships (planes). Also, there are vampires and werewolves. Not what I was expecting at all from a typical proper romance and totally different from Nancy’s earlier release, My Fair Gentleman, but this book was just as good. Once I recognized what continent/age I was supposed to be in, then I burned through this book.
This novel had everything I love in a great story. Lucy is an interesting character and a force to be reckoned with. I loved the interactions of her and Lord Miles Blackwell. I also loved the mystery throughout! It was fun to watch the romance unfold even as I paid attention to the clues that Allen left along the way. I liked the otherworldly connections and the drawback to one of my favorite fairy tales–Beauty and the Beast. Allen is an excellent writer and she’s created another enchanting story that I highly recommend. If you haven’t tried Steampunk before–don’t let that scare you. This story has all the same classic underpinnings as a traditional proper romance novel.
I absolutely love this book! The chemistry between the two main characters is done incredibly well. Nancy is a wonderful author. Not too much fluff or description that some authors get carried away with. Her attention to detail is done perfectly. This is a must read if you’re into any kind of fairytale, steam punk, or just a good love story.
Amazing! Beauty and the Clockwork Beast is the first steampunk novel I’ve ever read. It’s a little bit dark and scary, romantic, interesting, smart. I love it! I’m so glad it’s a series!
This might be the first book written by Nancy Campbell Allen that I’ve ever read but it sure won’t be the last. Talk about a perfectly eerie Gothic Steampunk romance with mystery, murder, foggy surroundings, large oak doors that block gardens with a secret, and paranormal beings. There is so much going on that I’ve lost count as to how many edge-of-my-seat scenes I experienced.
There is a solid romance in the background but it’s muted to a degree to allow the murder mystery to carry the characters along. The focus is on the heroine, the intrepid Lucy Pickett, a botanist tasked with discovering a way to thwart a new drug that allows vampires to walk in the day. Her knowledge of plants is what she hopes will help her dear cousin who is suffering from a mysterious ailment. That’s a trope I’ve seen done before but I actually enjoyed how the author employed it.
Lord Miles is exactly what you’d expect – brooding, grouchy, stern, scowly, big and burdened with guilt and secrets. One thing about the narrator, Ms. Maarleveld, that I kept thinking about as she did his voice was that by the time she was done with this novel, I truly felt her throat must have been hoarse. Her vocal range seemed strained while she voiced Lord Miles, but she was able to go deep enough to differentiate the hero from the heroine. I have no complaints; I just kept wanting to offer the narrator a glass of water.
Oh, I forgot to mention the ghost. I liked how the author portrayed the ghost and by the end of the novel, I was truly sad that the person was dead. I would have dearly enjoyed this person on stage because of the strength of character, devotion, determination and love that was truly powerful, even beyond the grave.
The ‘tons that are mentioned brought to mind a movie I’ve watched at least 15 times so far, I, Robot. Think of Sonny and you’ll know how I envision the maids, butlers and garage personnel in the story.
I enjoyed watching Miles thaw the more time he spent with Lucy. The longer she stayed in his castle, the more he saw her strength, her loyalty, her love for her cousin and family, and her unique passion that propels her to attempt escapades of daring do and investigations that definitely caused the hero a heart attack, or two. When she got him to laugh, I knew he was hooked.
As far as the romance, it’s sweet. The most action were kisses but oh, how wonderfully romantic they were!
There is a villain for sure but it turns out to not be who I thought it was. I really thought I had it figured out but of course, that was a red herring. As far as I’m concerned, the actual killer was mentally unsound, clever and vicious, but unsound. I can say for sure that the climactic scene was one that had me wide-eyed and on the edge of my seat. It was the not knowing how the defeat would come about and at whose hands.
The ending was very romantic and brought to mind the scene in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. More than likely, that was the author’s intent and if so, it worked. It was special and a nice way to wrap up a very well-told story. Beauty and the Clockwork Beast was an awesome read and easy to recommend in either print or audio format.
First off, the Steampunk is great in the world Ms. Allen has created. It has all the elements of air ships, automatons, steam powered vehicles, goggles, everything.
Second, while most of the classic elements of BatB are there, it is by no means derivative of Disney, thank heavens! I also felt there were elements of Dracula evident. Maybe that is just me…
Lucy is intelligent and capable. Miles is dark and brooding and carries a beastly secret. While they work together to solve Lucy’s cousin’s illness, they develop a very sweet and at times intense attraction with plenty of chemistry. All around it’s a great reimagining.
This was my first read in the Steampunk Proper Romance series and I must admit I had no idea what to expect going in. It took me several chapters before my hesitancy gave way to enjoyment of the book. I would say this book is a melding pot of steampunk, paranormal, romance, mystery, sorts of magic, and fairytale retelling. Which is an odd mashup to be sure, though somehow it all works. Perhaps my biggest hesitation came in the fact that I generally don’t read paranormal books. Vampires, ghosts, werewolves are not a fodder I am overly fond of reading. There is a reason I never got into the Twilight series. “I don’t do vampires” has always been my phrase for explanation regarding that series. If I’d known vampires were a part of this story, I may not have picked it up. That said, I didn’t hate it. For the first few chapters I kept thinking, “what have I gotten myself into??” But definitely by the half-way point I was completely engrossed in the story and had to finish. This book is the perfect book for reading in October. And as it is not entirely vampiracal in nature (made up word!), I found I could generally enjoy it. It is a bit more chilling than the cozy mysteries I usually limit myself to. Even knowing that vampires don’t really exist I found I couldn’t read this at night, especially if my husband wasn’t home. Haha!
Lucy was a fantastic heroine. She is spunky, independent, fiery, smart, and not afraid to speak her mind or stand up for herself. I liked her right away.
Miles is the character who perhaps underwent the most development. He’s an interesting character, with quite a lot of depth and complexity. It was nice to see how Lucy was able to help him. She definitely became his beacon through the storm, the glue to his divisive behavior. The romance between the two was quick paced, more so than I usually like in a romance. Lucy definitely knows her mind! But as it is a crucial element to the book’s ending, I understand why everything happened as it did.
As for the remaining characters, Kate & Johnathan are fantastic. Arther and Candace are sooo interesting. Aunt Ustess is unfortunate. Mr Clancy is kind of my favorite grumpy old man. And Miles’ three friends are so cool. I hope their stories are the ones we get in the continuation of the series.
I think if you enjoy a good mystery that is a bit chilling, you would like this book. Also, if you’re into steampunk or paranormal, I think you’d like it. As neither is my typical genre, I’d say it’s a three-star read for me. I do plan, however, to read the others in the series.
When Lucy receives a letter from her cousin Kate stating that she is afraid and falling ill, she drops everything to rush to her side. There was an urgency to the letter and she could not waste a moment in getting there.
From the moment she arrives at Blackwell Manor, Lucy knows that there is definitely something amiss. Her cousin is worse off than she thought, the ghost of Lord Blackwell’s sister, Marie, roams the halls of the manor and is bound and determined to get Lucy’s attention, there are vampire attacks near by and werewolves have been reported in the area.
On top of all that, she has to deal with the infamous Lord Blackwell upon his arrival home from his monthly trip to his hunting lodge. He is none too happy to discover her in his house. Can things get any worse?
Miles is beyond surprised and extremely agitated to have his solitude disturbed by some random woman running around his house in the middle of the night in her nightgown. Who is she and where did she come from? He detests visitors, and with good reason. He has a secret that must be kept at all costs. His life depends on it after all. But it’s getting harder and harder to keep. Someone out there knows it and is determined to bring it to light. But who? And how can he stop them?
Lucy and Miles must work together if they are every going to solve the mysteries that plague Blackwell Manor. But the more they work together, the closer they become and the harder it is to fight their feelings for each other. Can Miles trust Lucy to keep his secret and keep her safe at the same time? Can Lucy prove to him that love can conquer the beast within?
*dreamy sigh*
Oh how I loved this book! It had me chuckling out loud, sitting on the edge of my seat, creeped out, letting out little dreamy sighs, swooning… I felt like I was right there with Lucy and Miles experiencing it all! I wasn’t too sure what to expect when I started reading this book. I have some friends who adored it and that’s the reason I decided to give it a chance. And I am SO glad that I did! This is my first introduction to the Steampunk genre and I was not disappointed! I am definitely looking forward to reading more books in this series!
Not only is this my very first Steampunk book, but it’s also my very first Nancy Campbell Allen book. She did an amazing job of sucking me in to her world and making me forget all about reality. I absolutely love when that happens! I will definitely be reading more books by her!
This was such a fun steampunk retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I love fairy tale retellings and I love steampunk, so I was pretty sure this was gonna be a winner. And it was! It’s the perfect mashup. There’s vampires, werewolves, and ghosts – a paranormal combination that I enjoy so much. And it was seamlessly integrated into a fascinating steampunk setting.
The characters were great. Miles was dark and brooding with an air of mystery about him, yet with a heart of gold. He’s the type of leading man that I just can’t resist. Lucy was a little too perfect, but not annoyingly so, at least for me. I’d usually find her type of character irritating, but for some reason I didn’t this time. I liked her. She was the perfect match for Miles.
Filled with mystery, suspense, fun gadgets, and a clean romance in a Gothic atmosphere, Beauty and the Clockwork Beast was a complex story that I couldn’t have enjoyed more. I highly recommend it and can’t wait to start book two.
I first saw this book as a suggestion on book depository but I really weary about it. It’s not that I thought the idea sounded bad but the complete opposite. This books takes two things that I absolutely love and combined them into one book. Beauty and the Beast was always my favorite fairy tale since I was little and then the idea of adding steampunk elements I got so excited. So I had to take a step back because I just really hyped this book up and I realized that there was a bigger chance that I was going to be disappointed than not. So instead of buying the book I decided to check with my local library surprisingly they only had the audio version. So I added it to my wish list and waited about a month and went into this with really low expectations. A recent reading of a pride and prejudice retelling kind of solidified the thought of how much I may not like it.
I am very happy to say that I was surprised by how much I liked it. I loved the characters and thought that Miles made a wonderful Beast. He was not cruel, but had a good heart and that made me love the story that much more. I really loved the mystery element of this story. This retelling has paranormal and steampunk elements and I felt that they were done very well. I loved how independent that Lucy is and how not once did have to rely on a man to save her, even though with this time period women are not seen as they can take care of themselves. I love books that have strong women in them.
I would suggest this book to anyone that loves Beauty and the Beast and Steampunk.
Love the steampunk aspect