Virtual Tour & #Giveaway for The Brass Giant by Brooke Johnson

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Tour, presented by Pump Up Your Book, for The Brass Giant by Brooke Johnson.  Please leave a comment or question for Brooke to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter Brooke and Harper Voyager’s tour wide giveaway, for a $25 Amazon/B&N GC, by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You can also follow all of the stops on Brooke’s tour by clicking on the tour banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.

The Brass Giant

by Brooke Johnson

A Chroniker City Story, Book 1

           
Publisher: Harper Voyage Impulse

Release Date:  May 5, 2015
Genre: Steampunk

Length:  236 Pages

ISBN:  978-1468057492

ASIN:  B00M719Z06

To Purchase The Brass Giant

  
  

About the book: 

Sometimes, even the most unlikely person can change the world

Seventeen-year-old Petra Wade, self-taught clockwork engineer, wants nothing more than to become a certified member of the Guild, an impossible dream for a lowly shop girl. Still, she refuses to give up, tinkering with any machine she can get her hands on, in between working and babysitting her foster siblings.

When Emmerich Goss–handsome, privileged, and newly recruited into the Guild–needs help designing a new clockwork system for a top-secret automaton, it seems Petra has finally found the opportunity she’s been waiting for. But if her involvement on the project is discovered, Emmerich will be marked for treason, and a far more dire fate would await Petra.

Working together in secret, they build the clockwork giant, but as the deadline for its completion nears, Petra discovers a sinister conspiracy from within the Guild council … and their automaton is just the beginning.

A steampunk novel set in the early 1860’s, The Brass Giant by Brooke Johnson is an enjoyable mid length story with colorful characters, sharp dialogue, a bit of mystery and a touch of romance.  While a book dealing with mechanics and machinery, Ms. Johnson creates a world that is fairly easy to understand, even for those of us not mechanically inclined.  In addition Ms. Johnson tackles some of society’s issues of the time: poverty, the lack of women’s rights and quality education being denied to the poor.  If you’re looking for something a little different in your historical reading, you’re going to want to give this book a try.

Naturally intelligent and mechanically gifted, Petra Wade wants nothing more than to be an engineer and become a member of “The Guild”, something denied to her due to the misfortune of being born a girl.  Donning a disguise, dressed as a man and using her brother’s first name, Petra attempts to bluff her way into the university but is unable to enroll due to a lack of money and lack of a transcript.  Continuing to work as a shop girl, Petra works on any machine she can get her hands on and refuses to give up on her dream.  Especially after she meets Emmerich Goss, a new member of “The Guild” who recognizes her from her attempt to gain entrance into the university, who needs help designing a new clockwork for a top-secret automaton and turns to Petra for help. 

Ms. Johnson does a good job developing both Petra and Emmerich’s characters right from the start.  I was able to connect with both characters and understood Petra’s anger at the injustice of being denied an education and “career” as an engineer due to her gender.  Ms. Johnson also does a good job showing how the class separation and financial struggles of the day kept many gifted people from being able to pursue their dreams.  The friendship and mutual respect that grows between Petra and Emmerich is based on their shared interests and a desire for self-improvement.  They in essence fell for each other’s brain first.

The secondary characters are well developed and made some very interesting contributions to the story.  I especially liked Mr. Sticket, Petra’s boss at the shop, who was also her secret teacher and who believed in Petra’s talent.  While “The Guild” was originally presented as the villain, as it were, of the story, it turns out that there are several different factions at play and most of them don’t have good intentions.

Will Petra be able to help Emmerich design the clockwork required for the new automaton?  Will their budding romance get in the way of Petra realizing her dreams?  You’ll have to read The Brass Giant to find out.  I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next book in this series.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 Crowns

About Brooke Johnson:

Brooke is a stay-at-home mom, amateur seamstress, RPG enthusiast, and art hobbyist, in addition to all that book writing. As the jack-of-all-trades bard of the family, she adventures through life with her fiercely-bearded paladin of a husband, their daughter the sticky-fingered rogue, and their cowardly wizard of a dog, with only a sleep spell in his spellbook.

They currently reside in Northwest Arkansas, but once they earn enough loot and experience, they’ll build a proper castle somewhere and defend against all manner of dragons and goblins, and whatever else dares take them on.

For More Information

Visit Brooke at her Website, Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus

Brooke and Harper Voyage Impulse are giving away a $25 Gift Card!

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Gift Certificate to the e-retailer of your choice
• This giveaway begins April 27 and ends on May 15.
• Winners will be contacted via email on May 17.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

a Rafflecopter giveaway