A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure

By: Angela Bell

Narrated by: Beverley A. Crick

Miss Clara Marie Stanton's family may be eccentric, but they certainly aren't insane. London, England, 1860: When Clara's ex-fiancé begins to spread rumors that her family suffers from hereditary insanity, it's all she can do to protect them from his desperate schemes, society's prejudice, and a lifetime in an asylum. Then Clara's grandfather Drosselmeyer brings on an apprentice with a mechanical leg, and all pretense of normalcy takes wing.

Theodore Kingsley, a shame-chased vagabond haunted by the war, wants a fresh start far from Kingsley Court and the disappointed father who declared him dead. Upon returning to England, Theodore meets clockmaker Drosselmeyer, who hires him as an apprentice, much to Clara's dismay.

When Drosselmeyer spontaneously disappears in his secret flying owl machine, he leaves behind a note for Clara, beseeching her to make her dreams of adventure a reality by joining him on a merry scavenger hunt across Europe.

Together, Clara and Theodore set off to follow Drosselmeyer's trail of clues, but they will have to stay one step ahead of a villain who wants the flying machine for himself—at any cost.

©2024 Angela Bell (P)2024 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Utterly charming! What an original and adorable story. Angela Bell's debut is a book I can, without hesitation, highly recommend."—JEN TURANO, USA Today bestselling author

"Bell's voice will draw you immediately into her world, and her characters will hold you there. A must read!"—ROSEANNA M. WHITE, Christy Award-winning author

A wonderful adventure like no other

Wholly unique and utterly delightful, this steampunk romance is filled with lovable, quirky characters and a frollicking journey through a wonder-filled world. This has been a story to make me laugh, cheer, and even tear up a time or two. I won't soon forget this story and I will absolutely be recommending it to friends and family. Everyone who enjoys humor, romance, and adventure with a heartwarming dollop of faith should read this book.

Religious overtones.

Didn’t realize there would be heavy religious theme; readers should be aware of Christian theme. I’d considered this a religious book.

It was gentle fun

While I enjoyed most everything about this book, there are two things that I would have liked to know before deciding if to read it or not. 1- It’s mostly narration, with little conversation. I personally don’t care for that. 2- The religious rub-in is awful. Had I known I would have not read this book. The gall to try and make people believe that a prayer saves a person that has been kidnapped. I come from a family that has dealt with that pain. And let me assure you that no amount of praying helps, fixes, finds, or quickens the search or gives peace to those suffering from it. It’s insensible to assume that prayer can fix a horror humanity often goes through. clearly the writer has not had to live through this.

Pleasant tale with promotion of Christianity

The story is sweet and narrated well. However, the last forth of the book has a strong religious component. This is fine, but good to know before starting the book.

Fun, but overly preachy

I wanted to like this book better than I ended up doing so. The narrator was great. The characters were diverse and interesting. The story was also fun and whimsical.

BUT the first half of the book gives you no clue that the second half of the book is going to drive home Christian philosophy. It would have been much better if the author cut about half of the “giving up to God” stuff and just had the characters learn to trust each other.

I did like that the romantic hero was disabled but didn’t much much of it and the family scarcely made a fuss either.

Delightful and Humourous.

This audiobook was pure delight to listen to. The pacing was superb and the accents properly prim. A rare example of how powerful a secondary character can be to a storyline. Clara's "mummy" pickled the plot line with delectable punctuations of humor as readers follow the impelling clue's left by the missing "Grand." Excellent authorial restraint worked like delicious smells from a kitchen on Thanksgiving day to cause readers to savor the inevitable romance of ever-in-control Clara and her wounded Theodore. His resurrection from the dead and their combined prayers in desperate moments threaded into a perfect braid bound with dry, sharp British humor. I savored this comedic and romantic delight, grateful for the light-hearted relief during these dark days threatening the death of democracy. An excellent reminder of who's really in control and the peace beyond all understanding God offers us all.

Love the fantasy, history and quirky characters.

I loved the entire concept of Victorian age meets Jules Verne fantasy.
Great quirky characters with great charm.

The vivid descriptions of the characters and their adventures

Absolutely loved the narrator. Her voice of the characters brought them to life as if they were right in front of me!

Couldn't get enough!

The connections to other well known pieces was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed almost every moment of this book!

Unique

This steampunk romance comedy was a refreshing change from the usual. Hope to see more from this author. Highly enjoyable!