Gearsong over Brassford

This was a delightful, clever take on steampunk tropes. I laughed out loud at Magda’s ‘don’t boil the tea dry’ admonition and then got chills when the Crown’s hum changed — those tonal flips keep the book grounded and tense. The gadget work is fun; I loved the brass vines as a tool trellis and the scene where Elara steadies the stubborn gauge. The mentor and pangolin roofing up the stakes later was just chef’s-kiss clever. Felt fresh, energetic, and full of heart. Bravo!

Gearsong over Brassford hooked me on the first paragraph. That rooftop image — Elara cradling the pressure gauge like a sparrow, graphite on her cheek — felt so alive I could smell the bakery steam and coal. I loved how Elara’s small, domestic moments (Magda’s cane tapping, the tea jokes) anchor the high-stakes mission to save the Crown. The mechanical pangolin is an absolute delight and the mentor character has just enough danger to keep you guessing. The steam tunnels and sky bazaar scenes are cinematic; I was picturing brass airships clanking overhead. This is a warm, clever steampunk adventure with heart and inventive gadgetry. Can’t wait for more from this world.

As someone who devours worldbuilding, I was impressed by the layered mechanics in Gearsong over Brassford. The author doesn’t dump exposition; instead, small tactile details — the cap pinging off the roof, Elara catching it like a seamstress, the Crown’s offbeat hum described as a cat with a burr — build a believable city engine. The conspiracy plot unfolds at a steady clip: the guild edict, the engine faltering, the renegade mentor in the wings, and the reveal of sabotage felt earned rather than thrown in. I especially appreciated the scenes in the steam tunnels, where the claustrophobic, oily atmosphere shifts to wide, dizzying sky bazaars full of airships and traders. Characters grow convincingly; Elara’s defiance ties to her technical curiosity rather than reckless melodrama. Smart, readable, and full of clockwork charm.

There’s a strong premise here and Brassford itself is vividly drawn, but I found several worldbuilding gaps that bothered me. For example, how does the Crown’s maintenance regime actually work if the guild enforces such strict edicts? Political fallout of defying the guild is hinted at but never fully explored. The airships and sky bazaars are gorgeous set pieces but feel underused in the plot’s resolution — they promise wider stakes but the story closes without engaging those broader tensions. Nice prose, lovable pangolin, but I wanted more structural depth.

Cute mechanical pangolin, cute grandma, cute rooftop with a pinging cap — and yet somehow the whole thing felt like fanfic of better steampunk novels. Elara is competent and likable but she’s the ‘plucky young inventor who defies the guild’ trope without much subversion. The conspiracy beats hit the usual notes: mysterious mentor, hidden sabotage, last-minute race to the engine. I didn’t feel surprised. If you’re new to steampunk, this is a fine gateway story, but seasoned readers will find it predictable and a bit too cozy.

Short and sweet: this story sings. The prose is tactile — I could feel the gauge tremble — and Elara is a protagonist I wanted to follow. The relationship with her grandmother is a lovely touch, grounding the broader conspiracy in human stakes. The mechanical pangolin is adorable without being cartoonish. A few secondary threads could use more space, but overall it’s a tidy, satisfying steampunk caper. Recommended for fans of inventive gadgets and city-as-character storytelling.

I appreciated how Gearsong over Brassford balances small, intimate character moments with a broader conspiracy and city-scale stakes. The opening rooftop scene is a masterclass in grounding: the tactile sensibility of the pressure gauge, the scent of bakery steam, and Magda’s brisk voice combine to make Brassford feel like a lived-in place immediately. From there the book expands smartly — the Crown’s faltering hum, the discovery of sabotage, Elara’s moral choice to defy the guild — into a layered narrative about trust, responsibility, and invention. The renegade mentor is written with enough ambiguity to be compelling; you’re never quite certain whether he’s helping Elara out of guilt or self-interest. The mechanical pangolin is more than a cute sidekick: its clockwork design becomes a plot tool, and I liked how the author used machines to reflect human foibles. I also loved the market sequences in the sky bazaar — they’re vivid and gorgeously imagined, packed with details about trade, custom airship rigs, and the social hierarchies that keep Brassford ticking. If I have nitpicks, it’s that a couple of tertiary characters could have had a bit more development and that the middle lurches slightly when switching between investigation and action. But those are small gripes in an otherwise excellent steampunk adventure. The prose is witty without being precious, and the central mystery holds enough surprises to keep you turning pages. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy inventive gadgets, morally grey mentors, and cities that feel like characters in their own right.

I wanted to love this more than I did. The opening is lovely — very sensory — but the plot often reads like a checklist of steampunk staples: young engineer defies guild, rogue mentor appears, mechanical pet provides comic relief, conspiracy uncovered. The sabotage reveal was telegraphed; I guessed the guilty party halfway through the steam tunnel chapter. Pacing dips in the middle too — the jump from investigation to the big reveal felt abrupt, and a few scenes lingered on gadget descriptions while character beats deserved more time. Still, there are moments of real charm (the cap-pinging rooftop bit, Magda’s voice) but overall it feels a little too familiar.

Totally loved this ride! ⚙️ Elara’s rooftop routine (especially the cap pinging and that seamstress catch) is such a vivid moment and sets the tone perfectly. The scenes in the sky bazaar had me grinning — airships, brass vines, merchants hawking clockwork wares — what’s not to love? The mentor is shady in all the best ways and the pangolin sidekick is a brilliant bit of steampunk whimsy. Pace moves quick but never feels rushed. Great fun, with heart and a touch of danger. Would read more adventures in Brassford, pls.