Review: The Queen of England: Coronation

The Queen of England: Coronation
Courtney Brandt
Steampunk 

Set in an alternate universe of London, after the untimely death of Queen Victoria in 1840, recently crowned Juliette faces a mysterious organization. The New World Order threatens her country and claims responsibility for the dirigible accident which killed off much of the aristocracy. Add in distracting romantic entanglements, a gifted unicorn, and tracking down the legendary Excalibur and this teenage Queen has an uphill battle leading to her coronation at Westminster. Will her reign be over before it has a chance to begin? 

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

England! Victorian Era! Royalty! All of my favorite things. The premise for this story is brilliant and super imaginative. Naturally I was happy to dig in to QoE.

So -

The writing and dialogue need work- people often stated the obvious where they wouldn't in real life, words were repeated and used incorrectly, contradictions arose.

Plot: Overall good. It moved around, lots of players and events. I was constantly engaged and there wasn't a dull moment. However, there were too many convenient occurrences that I just couldn't overlook. People managed to avoid Juliette's guards all too easily, someone in the middle of nowhere traveling exactly where she needed to go exactly when she needed it, and the list goes on.

Characters and Relationships: Juliette is smart, curious, active and modern. Truly, a heroine written for the purpose of being a literary female role model. Unfortunately, she was also naive and quick to trust, something that in a more realistic novel would have gotten her killed.

Relationship-wise, in QoE there was an unusual element I liked a lot- multiple love interests! I found that to be realistic. The Queen of England, pretty and young, would naturally have many suitors and in real life wouldn't immediately fall desperately in love with one of them, contrary to what stories would have us believe. It also allows for many things to happen in further installments.

The other characters in the book were cool, but none fleshed out enough. I want complexity!

All in all, given the sequel I would probably read it. The flaws in the writing are workable and with a little more professional editing the story could go far.