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Bustlepunk Chronicles #3
Curses and Confetti
Esme Smith and Jed Reeve are getting married. The unlikely pairing of an Australian suffragette and an American inventor is set to be the wedding of the year—until the Gypsy Oracle arrives in town, a man is killed, Jed is hopelessly compromised and Esme has to save her man and survive…Grandma!
120 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 25, 2014
24 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Jenny Schwartz
110 books577 followersAustralian author of strangely hopeful fantasy & science fiction. Independently published for over a decade.
Storyteller. Creator of Caldryn Parliament - Golden Age Mysteries in the Realm of Science Fiction & Fantasy
Jenny Schwartz has a degree in sociology and history, and a lifelong fascination with understanding people. Her character-driven science fiction and fantasy novels explore other worlds and how people navigate strange situations and complicated emotions, while retaining their sense of self. Her plots are twisty and unexpected.
***
I've curated my bookshelf to share books which I hope readers of Caldryn Parliament will enjoy. With the older books, please be aware that they are a product of their times and read with care.
Storyteller. Creator of Caldryn Parliament - Golden Age Mysteries in the Realm of Science Fiction & Fantasy
Jenny Schwartz has a degree in sociology and history, and a lifelong fascination with understanding people. Her character-driven science fiction and fantasy novels explore other worlds and how people navigate strange situations and complicated emotions, while retaining their sense of self. Her plots are twisty and unexpected.
***
I've curated my bookshelf to share books which I hope readers of Caldryn Parliament will enjoy. With the older books, please be aware that they are a product of their times and read with care.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 10, 2025
This is the third and final book in this series. The three books in this trilogy must be read in order. Because this series is actually one long book divided into three parts, my review of the first book is for the entire trilogy.
July 21, 2024
A charming end to the series. It wouldn’t make sense unless you read the first two books A quick read.
February 23, 2026
Charming finale
Alternate history steampunk Australia is the setting for this final chapter for Esme and Jed. Cozy adventure, mystery, and romance.
Alternate history steampunk Australia is the setting for this final chapter for Esme and Jed. Cozy adventure, mystery, and romance.
October 7, 2015
Curses and Confetti by Jenny Schwartz is the third novella in her Bustlepunk Chronicles that started with Wanted: One Scoundrel (and continued with Clockwork Gold). This one continues the romance between Esme and Jed in the lead-up to their wedding, while introducing a new mystery and set of shenanigans for them to deal with.
This instalment in the romance of Esme and Jed focuses on their wedding planning, which is rudely interrupted by a scandal and a curse. While Esme juggles wedding planning with appeasing the town gossips over the scandal, hosting Jed's grandmother, and her women's lib plans, Jed gets distracted by clockwork (and helps on the scandal front). I did find the steampunk elements a little bit less quirky than in the earlier novellas, but perhaps that's because the worldbuilding is more established by now (and there was no cause for anything to explode).
Curses and Confetti was not a long read but it was a pleasant and relaxing one. Life has been a bit stressful lately, so it was a good book to wind-down with in bed. If you enjoyed the earlier novellas in the series, I definitely recommend picking up this one. I hope there will be more stories in the series because I would like to know what Esme and Jed get up to next.
4 / 5 stars
You can read more reviews on my blog.
This instalment in the romance of Esme and Jed focuses on their wedding planning, which is rudely interrupted by a scandal and a curse. While Esme juggles wedding planning with appeasing the town gossips over the scandal, hosting Jed's grandmother, and her women's lib plans, Jed gets distracted by clockwork (and helps on the scandal front). I did find the steampunk elements a little bit less quirky than in the earlier novellas, but perhaps that's because the worldbuilding is more established by now (and there was no cause for anything to explode).
Curses and Confetti was not a long read but it was a pleasant and relaxing one. Life has been a bit stressful lately, so it was a good book to wind-down with in bed. If you enjoyed the earlier novellas in the series, I definitely recommend picking up this one. I hope there will be more stories in the series because I would like to know what Esme and Jed get up to next.
4 / 5 stars
You can read more reviews on my blog.
December 23, 2014
A superficial story with low emotional stakes, set in the Swan River colony in a world of suffragettes and mechanical contraptions. Reminds me a little of Penelope Pinkstocking from childhood Sunday morning cartoons.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews