Lady of Devices: A Steampunk Adventure Novel

Magnificent Devices, Book 1

By: Shelley Adina

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

London, 1889: Victoria is Queen. Charles Darwin's son is Prime Minister. And steam is the power that runs the world.

At 17, Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, was expected to do nothing more than pour an elegant cup of tea, sew a fine seam, and catch a rich husband. Unfortunately, Claire's talents lie not in the ballroom, but in the chemistry lab, where things have a regrettable habit of blowing up. When her father gambles the estate on the combustion engine and loses, Claire finds herself down and out on the mean streets of London. But being a young woman of resources and intellect, she turns fortune on its head. It's not long before a new leader rises in the underworld, known only as the Lady of Devices...

When she meets Andrew Malvern, a member of the Royal Society of Engineers, she realizes her talents may encompass more than the invention of explosive devices. They may help her realize her dreams and his...if they can both stay alive long enough to see that sometimes the closest friendships can trigger the greatest betrayals....

©2011 Shelley Adina (P)2013 Shelley Adina

Well told!

I rarely concede to give a book four stars. However, I'm so impressed, not only with the story but equally with the narrator. This story has no boring moments. It moves at a good pace and will keep your interest by moving so quickly from one excitement to another. If you take a chance on a new novel, I highly recommend that you choose this one! You won't be disappointed. I read it from beginning to end in one day. I just couldn't find a good place to pause. The narrator is to be commended! I will look for her narration in other books.

Performance of the narrator grabbed my attention

If you could sum up Lady of Devices: A Steampunk Adventure Novel in three words, what would they be?

Quirky feminine lead

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lady Claire was young and frustrated by the requirements of society.

Which scene was your favorite?

When lady Claire decided to get her car back.

Inventiveness and Explitives

What did you love best about Lady of Devices: A Steampunk Adventure Novel?

Inventions are marvelous.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Lady of Devices: A Steampunk Adventure Novel?

This one is short. She crawls into an known laboratory, scrambles out and back to the inhabitation of her possessions, then through that science gained with manhy failed experimentation, or despite the failures in "home chemistry", she accomplishes the unbelievable. Lady Claire manages not only to stand up for herself against many other with more worldly understandings, but also to regain her possessions in total!

Which scene was your favorite?

See "most memorable moments"...

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Even with his eyes burning from the capsules, Willie's instant kinship with Lady Claire is quite touching.

Any additional comments?

It's like survivors guilt in one breath. I feel, as often I do, that I must suffer the incorporation of others misfortunes, because I have not personnaly experienced them. I feel that I must pay for whiteness, for anglo-ness, and for the every ounce of me that has strived and succeeded for everything that I have acquired as a woman, when so many, past and present do not have even the slightest bit of my opportunity, because I am a white, anglo, 21st century female. It all sucks. I hate what people suffer today and certainly what people have suffered in my stead previously so that I might break the cycle and break the ceiling.

If I provide no bit of anything (double negative intended...), I would like to say that I, as do many, take a female's rights and role in society for granted at times. I'm not a staunch feminist, because I believe that the only way to kill the investation of stupidity is to constantly widdle away at its incessant nature.

We go along and make plans and have dreams and nearly succeed as well as any male. Not so long ago, certainly, even in the last 50 years, we would not have had that opportunity. Our parents would have had much more hold over our dreams and ambitions, overwritten even then, by our "husbands" perception of our role(s) in society. Being a woman of science, of STEM, of programming and any type of accomplishment for which I endeavor, regardless of the glass ceiling that still exists, I can say firmly that this was a frustrating listen.

I read the UK reviews. I admit that I am not fully familiar with the various accents of the various areas. I'm sure some of them are hard to recreate without a leaning toward stereotyping one group or another... In most cases, one class or another... However, with the exception of McTavish, which certainly should have had a leaning toward, at the very least, an approximation of someone from up in the Wooler or New Castle areas (The Gaelic name Mac Tamhais is pronounced similarly to 'MacTavis' or 'MacTavish' (the "mh" in Gaelic pronounced as the "v"), the rest of it seems reasonable for lower-end... lower-class, cockney London... However, I am very much at a loss to having a realistic understanding of the various dialects of the country, regardless of how close I might stand in heritage to its origins...

Loved it!

Delightful read-cannot wait to read the next book in the series. Might order it today.

Exceptional and unique

Steps out of the Steampunk mold. As does the main character who must make her own way in the world when her own world collapses and her plans for the future are cast into doubt. Some points of detail could be argued with but in general it's a fine story with a huge human heart.

Lady Of Devices

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

YES,I would!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Claire,she knows what she wants

What does Fiona Hardingham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her portrayal of the characters was wonderful!

Any additional comments?

In a Steampunk World a girl born into the 'Bloodline' half of society graduates school w/plans for college.She is to be married off instead.In a span of a few weeks she and her family lose everything and Claire ,though suffering scoundrels and ruffians my just find her destiny.
I REALLY liked this book.The story was interseting,tight,the characters seemed pretty real.The narrator,Fiona Hardingham,did a wonderful job in her portrayal orf all the characters.I can not wait to go on to bk 2!

Love this series!

I adore the Magnificent Devices series. The first book is a little slow, but all of the characters are introduced, in order to set the scene for the rest of the series. Excellent story of a girl doing anything she must, and realizing she's not as helpless as she thought.

Fun listen or read....

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This series is a very fun listen or read that could be easily enjoy by young adults and adults.

The narrator also was excellent!

Lady Claire Is Determined To Be An Engineer

What did you love best about Lady of Devices: A Steampunk Adventure Novel?

I loved the interplay among the street gang and Claire. I loved the way Claire defied her mother without a single confrontation.

What did you like best about this story?

The way Claire makes her strength known and takes charge. She is 17 but old enough for marriage but she decides that Is Not for her. She has learned to drive a car and lusts for more knowledge which made her unusual for the times.

Which scene was your favorite?

When she shot Luke and then didn't realize he was dead. She was an innocent but learned quickly.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

The Best of Female Heroines..

So I admit, I’ve been living off Fantasy Smut books for at least two years now and while in search of a new series I came upon this book. At first I was disinterested, but then took a chance on one of Audiable’s sales promotions. The series follows yes a young woman, who yes is attempting to branch out from social norms. The kicker being is that it’s the 19th century and our heroine is attempting to cut through the social and gender red tape. In general the books I read have a love interest of some sort, which I love don’t get me wrong, but it is refreshing to find a female protagonist who wants nothing more to become educated and esteemed for her talents. Although there is a love interest in the book, it’s nothing more than a backdrop from the larger story. The narrator is fantastic! She’s very reminiscent of the narrator for Game of Thrones. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy books like The Hallows Series and Sookie Stackhouse. The characters are rich and exciting, and the historical aspect of the time is phenomenal. I will have to warn you though, there are no witches, vampires, werewolves, ect. However, this series is about a remarkable young women much like the series I mentioned. My only hope is that Audiable chooses to finish the last of the series so that I can download it.