Reviews

Beauty and the Clockwork Beast by Nancy Campbell Allen

natcommon's review against another edition

2.0

This was very lackluster meh book. The steampunk element was subpar and sometimes didn’t feel like it was steampunk. I never got a good sense of place in this book. Sometimes it felt Victorian and sometimes it felt Regency era. Also the romance felt like it was just there because it was supposed to be a romance book. Overall, the concept was intriguing but executed poorly.

amygibbs's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Strong female lead.  Enjoyed the story but not sure if I would continue with the series.  

kibbles15's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Medical content, and Violence

Minor: Misogyny and Sexism

lectora21's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

comfortable_with_uncomfortable's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

Delightfully entertairtaining steam punk romance with no smut.  

sarah_grace04's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious

3.0

happyreadingwatching's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This has been my 3rd read of Nancy Campbell Allen's Beauty and the Clockwork Beast! This one is my favorite in the series so far :) i like reading this around October time because it gives you the Halloween vibes. I enjoy reading about this world and most of all love how it's clean! 
If you like light steampunk and retellings, i highly recommend this one!!

4th read 9/10/2020
I want to start by saying that Beauty & the Beast has never been my fairy tale. That being said, Nancy Campbell Allen can write any retelling, and I'll  read!!! My sisters and I reread this series at least once a year around fall time. I LOVE how she writes her characters and the romance!!!❤❤❤

5th read/listen 4/29/21
I'm in a reading slump, so I wanted to revisit an old favorite ♡

6th read love , love this series♡ (2021)

7th read, I picked up another steampunk series, and it wasn't for me. The romance was just lust 😔 So I came back to the only steampunk I have truly enjoyed and is clean. ♡ (January 19th, 2022)

8th reread May 17/22 
Love this series & last week, I was lucky enough to get my copies signed by the author ♡♡♡

9th reread Aug 2023
This series is so much fun ♡

hannahcarterr's review against another edition

dark mysterious

3.5

ianthe_the_unicorn's review against another edition

5.0

This book has quickly become a favorite. The characters are well written, the story is funny and frightening, and I was kept guessing "who dunnit" until the reveal. I can't wait until the next book!!

brokenrecord's review against another edition

4.0

I liked this somewhat less than the second book (which I read first because I thought I would like it more), but it was still good. It just took me a little bit longer to get into, particularly since Lucy and Miles don't even start interacting until the 5th chapter, which is like 50+ pages in. Which isn't a HUGE amount, but it took longer than I was expecting for a romance, basically. At first I thought I wasn't going to be as into them as Daniel/Isla in the second book, but there were a couple of moments that really got to me, and so they ended up winning me over.

Spoiler

The first was them dancing, and then afterwards him being ridiculous and breaking the disc to stop the music after she started dancing with his cousin (and then not even being able to admit to himself later why he had done that). Then there was the moment where he wants her to call him Miles and she's like "Oh no, I shouldn't," and he's disappointed because he wanted to be on a first name basis with her. The best moment was then later, when she does accidentally call him Miles, and he's like, "SAY THAT AGAIN," and she repeats the second half of the sentence, and he's like, "NO, THE FIRST BIT," and she realizes and calls him Miles again, and he's like "Yeah that's what I wanted to hear." It was just super cute.

Beyond those moments, I just generally enjoy when two people fall in love over the course of working together on something, so the fact that so much of the book was Lucy and Miles working on figuring out what was going on with Marie's ghost and who the vampire was and all that really appealed to me.

I also liked Miles's friends, and I liked seeing Daniel pop up in the end.

Spoiler

I LOVED that his reaction to Miles telling him he planned on proposing to Lucy was like, "Okay, sounds good!" The ridiculously overprotective brother trope tends to bug me, and so it was nice that it was subverted here, and Daniel was just like, "Yeah, I already told Lucy I approved of you guys together!"

I think the mystery/main plot in the second book was more interesting to me than the one here, but overall this was still super enjoyable, and I hope the author writes more in this series because I would love to read more books set in this world with such lovely romances.