What do you get when you mix a little Jules Verne with a little romantic suspense and add in some steampunk espionage and a blue frog? Anne Renwick's A Trace of Copper! Although the author wrote a tough act to follow with the first two books the third is a worthy successor, although even less Jules Verne and more romance than the first two. With every Steam-Punk book I read I become more hooked on the genre, even though each of the author’s subsequent books becomes more romance and less romantic suspense, I hope future books see her return to what was so successful in the first book “I’m voluntarily reviewing an Advance Reader Copy of this book.” ( )

I think the worst part about this book is that I actually quite liked the characters and the plot for the most part. The mystery of the blue frog was interesting. What sucked though was the romantic complication. It was just so bloody stupid and it made me want to wring their necks. Without that I would've given it 3 stars but it annoyed me too much. Why not just tell her? They could've worked on solving the problem together. Especially since it's a stupid problem. And worse than that - it's her fking speciality. She is literally the expert he needed. I think there probably needed to be more gravity to the issue. Make it a more serious concern to induce tension/suspense, worry. Instead it turned out rather humorous which also would've been okay but fell slightly too short. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Elemental Steampunk Tales series. I bought this for Kindle

Story (4/5): This was a fun story about a young doctor who is forced to journey to a remote Welsh town in order to solve the mystery of blue lesions turning up on a young woman’s skin. She is also there to make an offer to Evan Tredegar, who is the town’s pharmacist and a man she has quite the history with.

I enjoyed the mystery behind the rogue frog and the strange disease it spread. I also enjoyed all the tie-ins with Piyali being a Queen’s agent.

Characters (5/5): The characters are definitely the highlight of the story here. I loved both Evan and Piyali, they had great chemistry together.

Setting (4/5): The setting was also fun. I liked the remote Welsh village and enjoyed the subtle steampunk elements throughout.

Writing Style (4/5): Renwick’s books are always so fun and easy to read. I really enjoy the in-depth medical knowledge and science she includes in her books. I have really enjoyed every single one of her books that I have read.

Summary (4/5): Overall this was a fun and quick steampunk romance read. I enjoyed the characters and the mystery they set out to solve. These books are always well written and incredibly fun to read. I plan on reading everything Renwick has written, I love all the science and medical information she weaves into these steampunk stories as well. ( )