Napoleon is determined to conquer the world with his steam-powered weapons. Nothing in England can stop him … except two young lady inventors.
In 1819, France is surrounded by armies. With Russia in the north, the Karlsruhe Confederacy in the east, and a pirate kingdom in the south, Napoleon cannot break out, nor can the English Navy seem to break in. Europe teeters on the edge of a sword. Whichever side rules the air will win.
Celeste Blanchard, daughter of the Emperor’s disgraced Air Minister, is running out of time to develop an air ship that can carry his armies to England and restore her mother to glory. But on a daring and desperate test flight, she is blown off course … and washes up, half drowned, on the shores of Cornwall, in the heart of enemy territory.
Loveday Penhale, cosseted daughter of gentry, has her own inventions to build, even as pressure mounts to behave like a proper young lady and seek a husband instead of a design for a high-pressure steam engine. But when Arthur Trevelyan, heir to the neighboring estate, Gwynn Place, asks for her help in rescuing an unconscious young woman on the beach, Loveday discovers an aeronaut and an inventor as skilled as she is. Between them, a friendship blossoms, and Loveday wonders if they might even pull off the impossible and invent an air ship that will catch the eye of the Tinkering Prince Regent, who has offered a prize to anyone who can help England break the impasse. Celeste’s loyalties are torn in two. If she is caught working secretly for France, she will lose her friend, the love of an honorable man—and her life. But if Napoleon learns she has betrayed him, she will be executed on sight.
Can friendship prevail in the face of war? Or is there a third solution—one where everything hinges on the bravery and daring of a Cornish debutante and the Emperor’s aeronaut?
Hott Review of The Emperor’s Aeronaut:
The Emperor’s Aeronaut came just at the right time. It’s been years since I’ve read any steampunk. A couple of bad experiences turned me off for a while but when I saw that Regina Scott was lending her hand to this fun genre I knew it was time to return.
And boy was I right!
It took me a few chapters to wrap my head around The Emperor’s Aeronaut but as soon as I did I just couldn’t put it down. Turning each page and wondering whether Celeste would prove to be a true friend or if she was still hiding. Wondering if Loveday was right in where she placed her trust. If the pair would be made to stop their car achievements… And would Boney succeed in fiction where he didn’t in history.
I’d love to share more but I can’t express my total delight in this book without giving away too much, except to say… FABULOUS! I can’t wait for the next book in The Regent’s Devices series. And you need to catch up! It’s a great beginning to what’s going to be a do not miss series!
More…
Authors: Shelley Adina & Regina Scott
Source: Regina Scott
Publisher & Date: May 4th 2022 by Moonshell Books, Inc.
Genre: Steampunk Christian Romance Mystery
ASIN: B09NZ3LFPX
Grade: A
Ages: Any
Steam: None
Setting: 1819 France/England
Series: The Regent’s Devices #1
Author Bio:
Regina Scott started writing novels in the third grade. Thankfully for literature as we know it, she didn’t actually sell her first novel until she had learned a bit more about writing. Since her first Regency romance was published in 1998, her stories have traveled the globe, with translations in many languages including Dutch, German, Italian, and Portuguese. She is now the author of more than 50 works of warm, witty historical romance.
She and her husband of 30 years reside in Washington State on the way to Mt. Rainier. Regina Scott has driven four in hand, learned to fence, sailed on a tall ship, and dressed as a Regency dandy, all in the name of research, of course.
Catch Up with Regina: 
Shelley Adina is the author of 24 novels published by Harlequin, Warner, and Hachette, and a dozen more published by Moonshell Books, Inc., her own independent press. She writes steampunk and contemporary romance as Shelley Adina, and as Adina Senft, writes Amish women’s fiction. She holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania, where she teaches as adjunct faculty. She won RWA’s RITA Award® in 2005, and was a finalist in 2006. When she’s not writing, Shelley is usually quilting, sewing historical costumes, or hanging out in the garden with her flock of rescued chickens.
Catch Up with Shelley:
** Many of the books I review are Advance Review Copies. These books are loaned to me for my review. I am in no way compensated for my time nor am I asked to give anything but my honest review. If you have further questions, please, review my FTC Disclaimer on my homepage.