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.

Easy listen

Straightforward plot with a very strong faith foundation and easy to understand characters. Fun journey with Christian lessons

A delightful read I loved with my whole heart!

Title: A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure
Author: Angela Bell @authorangelabell
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Dear Ms. Bell,
I am wholly and utterly charmed by this delightful book. The entire thing was lovely, from the cast of characters to the personal menagerie, from the exclamations and turns of phrase to the depth and wit. Absolutely delightful.
I loved how you balanced depth and heartache with lightheartedness and fun. The Christian faith-filled elements were inspiring and deep, but not overdone. And I chuckled aloud many times at funny witticisms and quirks of the characters.
The characters in this book have my heart. I loved every single one (save for the villain, who was very much a man one loves to hate, as he was much too cunning and sneaky and ruthless) and I am sad the book is over and I have had to say goodbye to them for now. I will be revisiting this one because i love it so much! Mum is hilarious, with her menagerie and love of animals, but she is also full of depth and love for Clara that is beautiful. Grand’s quirky personality and inventions are delightful (how many times is too many times to say delightful in one review?) and I adore him. I want him to adopt me as his own granddaughter and have mechanical butterflies flutter around my own head.
The character arcs of both Clara and Theodore were perfection. The road wasn’t easy for either of them, and they had to do a lot of faith reconciliation and learning to trust. It’s interesting that they both needed the same things for different reasons, and that they found their way together but not because of being pushed by each other. Also, their little enemies to friends to more progression in their love story was so good. I was absolutely swooning by the end. I’m obsessed with the entirety of chapter 39 and that proposal scene! *swoonswoonswoon*
So many tabs now fill the sides of my book, because I want to remember all the wonderful, charming, funny, *delightful* things I have fallen in love with. As far as I’m concerned, this book deserves alllll the stars and I’ll be telling anyone I know to read it.
Your newest fan,
Jessica

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: this narrator was fantastic! Her voices were incredible and distinctive, and her narration added to the whimsical and delightful nature of the story.
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**Many thanks to the publisher @bethanyhousefiction and tour host @austenprose for the copy. A positive review was not required and these thoughts are mine.

Amazing Adventure!

I loved this adventure filled story! The suspense was good too.
I found the faith elements fit well with the characters needs.

Good story, but too preaching

This book was a charming story, with endearing characters. However in the last quarter of the book, the author pushes their own religious beliefs on the reader (or listener) without really being a necessity to telling the saga. This was almost a deal breaker to this reader's completing the book.

Too much preaching

The story started fine but it kept getting more religious and ended with too much proselytizing .

Fun adventure

I completely enjoyed this fun story which includes adventure, mystery, and romance. The characters are delightful and the spiritual lessons learned by them are wonderful reminders to us all. I look forward to more stories from the author and will definitely enjoy this one again.