Disappointing

Longer doesn't equal better

When you're reading a good book, you don't mind a larger page count. Because then there's even more to savour.
In the opposite case however, it can have a strong reverse effect to the extent that the reader's appreciation will exponentially reduce.

First impression

The cover, title and description were interesting.
On a closer look, the chapter titles also sounded intriguing.
Not to forget the first sentence: "The gras was always greener in another dimension."
And yes, the mention of winning The Best Banter Contest 2018 (Paranormal category) makes one even more curious.
So, it all looked very promising.

Although the first doubts began to rise when it became clear that the author gave herself a 5*-rating on Goodreads.
Of course, as a writer you're proud of your own work. Nobody's gonna argue with that.
But ratings are there to be given by the target audience aka the readers.

The first chapter was a strange mix of totally different elements and the story could still go in different directions from there.
Sadly enough, it only went downwards.

Negative spiral

Where to start?
There were so many flaws that they totally overshadowed the positive things (the good first impression mentioned above and the fact that there weren't much spelling mistakes) which normally would've gained an extra star.
My thoughts in random order:

The worldbuilding is set in the late 1800's and forms a blend of steampunk, victorian, b-movie james bond, c-movie romance, …
It's as if the author couldn't make a choice and threw in a bit of everything.
Furthermore, there's a serious lack of credibility in different areas: characters, events, …
An example of the latter:

"For seven hours, the detectives had taken great care to ensure his skull matched one of five phrenology profiles. It was a matter of departmental pride that any suspect borught in for questioning could be scientifically assigned to the correct criminal category. This was achieved primarily through the application of heavy objects to the suspect's head until its bumps matched the charts."

All of this cán work if the humour really stands out.
But in this case it doesn't. At least not for every reader.
Seeing the many raving reviews on Goodreads, my opinion isn't widespread.
Therefore, it's advised (as always) to form your own opinion about this book.

There are two main characters: the male American protagonist Trusdale is an inept US-spy and the female English protagonist Constance is a 21 year old pig farmer who turned into an arms-dealer and goes under the alias of the “Brass Queen”.
They're both very flat. But above all, they have the most unbelievable/annoying/childish/all of them (pick your choice) reactions I've ever read.
If one were to resume these protagonists, it would be like this: Trusdale hasn't got balls and Constance is obnoxious beyond imagination.
Some of the many reflections of Constance:

"She mentally added public reading to her list of things about Trusdale that irritated her. Perhaps she should start writing these down?"

"She'd always assumed there were few issues in life that couldn't be solved with the application of a hefty bribe or a hearty slap. But between the hunt for a spouse and the quest to find the missing scientists, she needed to approach matters with a little more finesse. It was time for her to become the heroine the situation deserved."

"For some reason, everyone was remarkably unsupportive of her brilliance today."

"If Trusdale was right, and her plan was terrible, this was the last time she would see him alive."

If you want to give your novel a little je ne sais quoi by throwing in a few French words, be at least sure that you do it the right way.
Note to the author and editor: 'the pompous peacock' is translated as 'LE paon pompeux'. From the 15 (!) mentions of this restaurant's name, three of them were wrong and mentioned 'la' instead of 'le'.

"Her face burned hotter than a Madras curry, a popular delicacy at Le Paon Pompeux."

Some things are repeated so many times, it gets on ones nerves.
The restaurant's name was one of them.
The book Babett's Modern Manners, which is kind of a bible for Constance, is another one. It's referred to at least 15 times and just makes no sense at all.

"Shindig? She considered whether it was worth the effort to ask Trusdale to make a formal request using the proper vocabulary. But if she started down that conversational road now, the entire day could disappear into a tautological nightmare of explaining what words he could officially use according to Babett's definition of decorum. Even the very thought of trying to educate him to all the nuances of the English language tired her."

Banter can be so much fun when it's truly witty.
When it's annoying, childish, … and doesn't add any chemistry between the characters nor substance to the story, it's just page-filling.

"Since when does violating a government facility require a chaperone?"
Her eyes widened. "Don't be absurd. I'm a single lady under thirty, and from your consistently poor choices in attire, I assume you're a single gent. So, to avoid any suggestion of impropriety between us, we must have a chaperone. Babett's Modern Manners is quite explicit on the point."

Last but not least, the balance between action and description isn't well maintained.
Page-filling descriptions of non-important things make the reader's attention wandering off.
Despite being 'the brass queen' it must be said that Constance Haltwhistle apparently has never heard of Chekhov's gun.

*Thanks to NetGalley and CamCat Books for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.