"A Lady's Handbook to Gadgets and Guile" by Angela Bell

About this book:

  “Ambulatory wheelchair user Margaret Kingsley secretly crafts gadgets for the Daughters of Genius Society, a covert team of lady inspectors disguised as harmless bluestocking spinsters. While her fellow inspectors gallivant about London solving crimes, Margaret has been perfectly content assisting from the sidelines--until her expertise is needed to infiltrate the domain of London's most prolific inventor, Alvan T. Harrison.
    Charles Noble sacrificed his career as a musician to support his family after his father's stroke. Now he balances ledgers as a secretary by day and tends his disabled father by night, until taking a temporary job as event coordinator for a famous inventor commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of his mechanical empire. As strange occurrences surface, Charles's event planning collides with Margaret's case, and the pair must unravel a plot of sabotage against the inventor's legacy while also investigating the sparks of attraction between them.”


Series: A spin-off/sequel to “A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure”; Also considered to be Book #1 in its own series, “Daughters of Genius Society”. 


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are mentioned & thought over; Prayers & Thanking God; Praising God through hymns and worship; Talks about God, Him being our Sustainer, & giving Him our pain; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God, His creation, & Him sustaining us; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of hymns & worshiping God; A couple mentions of a meeting being an “occurrence of providential orchestration”; A mention of the rapture; 
             *Note: Mentions of Cupid’s arrow making someone smitten; A mention of being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘balderdash’, a ‘by jove’, a ‘drat’, a ‘dumb’, a ‘gah’, a ‘pah’, a ‘shoot’, a ‘stars above’, a ‘what in blazes’, two ‘botheration’s, two forms of ‘dashed/dash it all’, two ‘idiot’s, two ’shut up’s, and nine ‘stupid’s; A mention of a curse (said, not written); Margaret exclaims “rusted cogs” (x4) and “great gadgets” (x17); Charles often exclaims composers’ names in place of typical phrases (such as “Bach and Beethoven”, “Hummel help me”, “Great Gustav Mahler”, and “what in the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart”); Side characters say exclamations based off of their interests (such as a woman who likes plants saying “oh my morels” and “cremini”; Margaret also says ‘what in the ever-loving kitty cats’); Charles and his brother call each other names when bantering (teasing, not mean-spirited); When undercover, Margaret does lie or withhold the truth a few times; Eye rolling; Being attacked, Fighting, Injuries, & Pain (including pain due to chronic pain and old injuries; up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths & grief; Mentions of wars, battles, deaths, & grief for fallen friends (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a father having a stroke & his injuries (including being paralyzed on one side and losing the ability to speak; Charles’ father); Mentions of an accident, serve injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of a woman being committed to an asylum by her husband & others planning to rescue her; Mentions of kidnappings/abductions & hostages; Mentions of thefts, thieves, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of threats & blackmail; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of injured animals; A few mentions of arrests & prison; A few mentions of embezzlement; A few mentions of eavesdropping; A couple mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of alcohol & drinking; A mention of a drunk pirate; A mention of cigars; A mention of throwing up; 
             *Note: A panic attack and unable to breath or focus (Charles, up to semi-detailed); Due to an accident in her childhood, Margaret is afflicted with chronic pain and feels like a burden on her parents (often thinking of herself as a burden, useless, and deals with guilt over it all, but tries not to allow her thoughts to wallow in bitterness); *Spoiler* Margaret mentions this feeling to Charles and he tells her to talk to her parents about these feelings as they probably do not feel the same way that she does and are grateful she is alive; She talks to her parents a bit later about this and feeling like she is a burden, but they firmly tell her that she is not a burden and is their most precious treasure *End of Spoilers*; Margaret dislikes being called or treated as an “invalid” or a “cripple”; Margaret recalls hurtful words from a childhood friend’s mother about her injury and hasn’t allowed any of her new friends to find out the extent of her pain since then (as she is concerned that they would find her eventually leave her as well if they knew); Margaret overhears two young boys talking about her and her disability like she can’t hear them, which hurts her; Mentions of musicians/composers (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Franz Listz, Gilbert and Sullivan, Gustav Mahler, Handel, Haydn, Hector Berlioz, Herman Bemberg, Hummel, Humperdinck, Johann Pachelbel, Joseph Bologne, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Paganini, Richard Wagner, Scarlatti, Schubert, Spafford, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Vivaldi, & Wette); Mentions of and references to different authors & fictional characters (Jane Austen, Pepper Basham, Toni Shiloh, Wilkie Collins, Jaime Jo Wright, Edgar Allen Poe, Jules Verne, Sharon Hinck, & Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Elizabeth Gaskell, & Louisa May Alcott); A few mentions of ballets (Swan Lake); A few mentions of panic attacks; A couple mentions of miscarriages and a couple suffering losses; A mention of an artist (Henriëtte Ronner-Knip); A mention of some men believing that the female mind is “incapable” of inventing something.
 
 
Sexual Content- A fingers-to-lips touch, a hand/fingers kiss, a forehead kiss, and two barely-above-not-detailed kisses; Staring at lips (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Hand holding, Flutters, Nearness, & Smelling (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Blushes, Flirting, & Winks; Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of blushes & winks; A few mentions of chaperones; A couple mentions of a married couple kissing; A mention of flirting; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Margaret thinks of herself as a “damaged good” that no man would care to buy (because of her injury); A few mentions of a woman possibly not being able to have biological children due to an injury (*Spoiler* Margaret *End of Spoiler*); A mention of buxom woman.
 
-Margaret Kingsley, age 30
-Charles Noble, age 30
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                         Set in 1895-1896
                                                        336 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

After reading “A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure” twice and greatly enjoying it both times, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the next book by Angela Bell. The blurb and cover for this book had me so curious and so excited about meeting Margaret. Which was multiplied by about a hundred when I started reading and found out that Margaret is the daughter of Clara and Theodore from this first book! This may have been obvious to some astute readers if you notice her last name, I was taken by surprise and so happy about it! It was so wonderful to see those two again as they are one of my favorite couples of all-time and it was so special to meet their daughter. 

 

In fact, there were some Easter Eggs from not only that book but other clever hints (my favorite was “The Aristocats” nod!) that made me tickled pink while reading and smile at finding them!

 

Margaret was a lovely girl who I wish I could give a big (but gentle) hug to; due to her chronic pain, she faces challenges that many wouldn’t think twice about completing. Washing her face, getting dress, and daily tasks can be too much and require assistance from family members. I do not have personal experience in chronic pain, but I have dear family and friends who do, and this book helped me understand a little bit more of some of the things they have to handle on a daily basis. Despite all of this, Margaret is a dear. Her faith was the best—okay, if I’m being fully honest, second best part of this book because I adored seeing Clara and Theodore the most—part of this book because of how she still worships the Lord through her pain and weakness. She could have easily continued to be mad at God for the accident that stole her mobility and health, but she praises Him through it and I just loved that major element to this book. So, maybe seeing my favorite couples again and the faith content are tied overall for my favorite thing about this book. 😉

 

Margaret’s group of friends reminded me of some friend groups from Jen Turano’s books—particularly “The Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency” series. I did have to make use of the search feature a few times to keep them all straight, which helped a lot in that regard. 

 

Our Male Main Character, Charles, was also a dear. He turned away from his promising music career to take care of his family after his father’s stroke. I personally related to his story a little more after taking care of my mother and loved seeing the parts of him with his family. I understood his anxiety and introvert nature so well and thought him and Margaret were wonderful for each other. He was completely like a smitten schoolboy over Margaret. This is absolutely not a complaint because I love it when the Male Main Character is smitten with his girl. That will always be a favorite trope of mine, especially with the two of them being friends first before being anything more. He instantly fell for her, but it felt so sweet and precious. One thing I would have liked to see more of would have been more faith content and conversations in his parts, but overall, I great appreciated that both main characters had strong faiths in Jesus Christ. That’s not always super common in Christian Fiction books and stands out to me when I read a book with both main characters/both halves of the couple having a faith—Margaret and Charles were great in this regard. 

 

“A Lady’s Handbook to Gadgets and Guile” felt a little more like a fantastical historical book than I would say “A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure” did was due to all of Margaret’s inventions. While that one had a flying machine that looked like a giant owl, this book had more steam-powered and unique products. It’s not purely historical because of these clever ideas and items, so go into this story expecting some interesting inventions. 

 

The verdict? Precious. Heartwarming. I want a group hug with all of these characters. While I don’t think any spin-off book can top the original book, this was a lovely companion story with lovable characters. I look forward to seeing what will happen next in this series! I also plan to listen to the audiobook version of this sequel with my mom as she greatly enjoyed “A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure” when we listened to it together last year. I look forward to revisiting this book and all the characters soon!

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.

"A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure" by Angela Bell

About this book:

  “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.”


Series: As of now, seems to be a stand-alone novel. 


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are mentioned; Prayers; Singing a hymn; Talks about God, trusting Him, giving up control, & leaning and relying on Him; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Clara believes that everything is up to her and wants to make sure she doesn’t disappoint her family or her God, but both her mother and grandfather witness to her about trusting God and giving up control; Clara’s mother accuses her of trying to carry the world on her shoulders when she’s not God; Clara, her mother, and Theodore visit a handful of beautiful cathedrals, but Theodore doesn’t enter them due to his belief that he’ll soil the Almighty’s house due to past actions; Theodore longs to enter different cathedrals and wonders if he staying away from the Lord’s house has been a mistake; *Spoilers* Theodore wonders if God would be willing to welcome him home after Clara’s mother tells him not to mistake his heavenly Father’s character for his earthly father’s voice, but later thinks that God would never welcome him home; Towards the end, he has a dream of a voice talking to him, treating him kindly, and saying that He will always claim Theodore as his child and him can depend on Him; Theodore wakes up from that dream and kneels at a cross pledging to lean on Him and nothing else *End of Spoilers*; Clara receives letters for her grandfather encouraging her to pursue relying on the Lord and being dependent on Him; *Spoilers* Towards the end, Clara asks God to forgive her stubbornness and asks Him for help, wanting to lean into Him; Clara later wants to seek the Lord’s guidance before admitting her feelings to Theodore, knowing that the last time she didn’t do that regarding a relationship, there was a lot of pain; Theodore agrees to pray about it with her and do what the Lord leads *End of Spoilers*; Many mentions of God, Jesus, trusting Him, giving Him control, leaning and replying on Him, faiths, & Hope; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of God’s creation & His animals (Clara’s mother is an advocate for rescuing mistreated and injured ones); Mentions of cathedrals, visiting them, worship, stained glass windows, statues of saints, & priests; Mentions of songs of worship & it being moving (bells at a cathedral & singing a hymn); Mentions of Jesuits & saints; Mentions of a parade of the apostles and with the archangel Michael battling a skeleton figuring (representing death) at an event; A few mentions of thanking God; A few mentions of blessings; A couple mentions of Providence; A couple mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of a priest spewing brimstone and hellfire; A mention of the Resurrection; A mention of the return of Christ; A mention of the Gospels & reading them; A mention of divine intervention; A mention of being a good Christian woman (Clara’s mother jokes that she’s not one until she’s had her tea and toast); A mention of a vicar; A mention of Clara’s mother’s plan to baptize animals (not sure if joking or said in earnest); 
             *Note: ‘Good heavens’ is said four times, ‘Thank heavens’ twice, ‘Heavens above’ twice, ‘Heaven knows’ twice, ‘Dear heavens’ once, ‘for heaven’s sake’ once, and ‘how in the name of heaven and earth’ once; A woman yells out for Heaven to save her after seeing a rat; Someone says that “there is no darker hell than a government intuition”; A swan is called a “winged demon” by Theodore; Mentions of Greek mythology and gods, statues of them, & parts of the legends; Mentions of a hobgoblin (Clara calls Theodore one multiple times); A couple mentions of something not being magic but ingenuity; A mention of Theodore’s demons haunting him and controlling his nightmares; A mention of demonic rodents; A mention of sinfully delectable chocolate truffles; A mention of an ungodly speed of a train; A mention of animal being an omen of good luck; A mention of someone screeching like a banshee.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘bah’, a ‘confounded’, a ‘what the devil’, two ‘bloomin’s, two ‘for the love of all’s, two forms of ‘my foot’, two forms of ‘what the dickens’, three ‘cursed’s, three forms of ‘shut up’, three forms of ‘what in the blazes’, four ‘botheration’s, four forms of ‘drat’, four ‘stars above’s, five ‘gah’s, seven ‘by jove’s, seven ‘shove off’s, seven ‘what the deuce’s, eight forms of ‘blast’, eight forms of ‘dashed/dash it all’, eight forms of ‘idiot’, ten forms of ‘stupid’, and sixteen ‘stars’ (exclamation); Theodore exclaims “Rusted cogs!” six times; Other made-up curses like “Salted paper cuts”, “Feathers and figs”, “Liver and onions”, and “Rust and rot” are used; Mentions of curses (including Clara holding some back when in pain and Theodore being tempted to swear; others are said, but not written out); Some eye rolling & sarcasm; Being kidnapped, Being held at knife- and gunpoint, Being drugged (chloroform), Being tied up, Almost drowning, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, & Passing Out (up to semi-detailed); Stabbing someone & Seeing someone shot (self-defense, up to semi-detailed); Seeing someone knocked out, the injuries and blood, & Being concerned for the person (up to semi-detailed); Nightmares (Theodore about his time in a bloody battle and seeing deaths along with hurtful and hateful words from his father and being whipped and slapped by him as well, semi-detailed); Some grief (Clara for her grandmother); Clara feels panic when her mother disappears (she walked away from her, up to semi-detailed); Clara’s ex-fiancé is stalking her due to her family’s money & she is mistrusting towards others because of what he’s done and threatens to do; Clara’s mother rescues animals that are injured, mistreated, or about to be killed by a human (we see this on page and some were going to be drowned); Clara’s mother gets excited about watching two men engage in fisticuffs (they witness the fight, up to semi-detailed); Clara tells a white lie to her mother, but her mother calls her out on it; Mentions of battles, deaths, injuries, a soldier’s “mental faculties” being “deemed damaged beyond hope” and being committed to an asylum, & nightmares and guilt over it (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths of loved ones & grief (Clara for her grandmother, but we also see mentions of her grandfather’s grief for his late wife and son, and mentions of Clara’s grandmother receiving horrible news that caused her to collapse and later her death); Mentions of train crashes, deaths, & Clara’s fear of trains because of hearing about people trapped in them (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of an abduction/kidnapping, chloroform, being tied-up, being held at knife- and gunpoint; Mentions of fights, fighting, an attack, people being shot at, pain, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of violence, thieves, thefts, pick-pockets, stealing, stolen items, robberies, & break-ins; Mentions of stalking & a stalker; Mentions of jails/prisons, arrests, & deaths; Mentions of threats, blackmail, dastardly spies, & revenge; Mentions of gambling, a man’s addiction, bets, debts, a debt’s prison, & a man being beaten and threatened by his creditor (*Spoiler* At the end, it’s revealed that Clara’s mother betted on a sure-thing, received a large purse from it, and plans to open two orphanages *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deception (including Theodore lying to get Clara’s mother’s animals on a train); Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & drunks (including a man pouring a drink for someone who has passed and then pouring the wine in a river); Mentions of manure/excrement & chamber pots; Mentions of injured animals & Clara’s mother rescuing them before they die or are killed by humans (including drowning the animals in a sack or tossing them off a ship); A few mentions of murder & murderers (mostly towards animals, which Clara’s mother stops); A few mentions of taxidermists; A few mentions of fashionable items being made from animals (pelts and feathers for hats); A few mentions of the death of a mother animal; A couple mentions of a saint being tortured and thrown off a bridge wearing heavy armor; A couple mentions of nooses; A couple mentions of an ambush with torches and pitchforks; A couple mentions of tobacco; A mention of being conned; A mention of a hunter;
             *Note: Theodore’s father resents him for his mother passing away when giving birth to him (He recalls his father saying that he would trade Theodore for his wife, a few times), is verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive, & whips Theodore in past memories and nightmares; Theodore does not have a good family and the topic of his family is a sore spot for him; Theodore views himself as a spare part in the world and a faulty one (because of his father’s ugly words); *Spoiler* At the end, Theodore writes a letter of extending forgiveness to his father, now knowing that being a child of God is an inheritance no man can revoke *End of Spoiler*; Clara is afraid of her family members being committed to an asylum due to their personalities and rumored “hereditary insanity”; Mentions of asylums, those committed to one, the deplorable conditions (including the patients being chained and whipped), Clara being afraid of her family members being committed to one, being threatened about sending someone there, & deaths that happened at asylums; Mentions of Clara’s medical journals cautioning travelers about “railway madness” that can happen with all the jostling on a train and sensory exposure & she is concerned that her mother could get it (also concerned about her mother’s mind “becoming unhinged”due to the train); A few mentions of authors, books, & fictional characters (Pride and Prejudice & The Three Musketeers); A couple mentions of children discriminating other children because of their parents’ prejudices; A mention of Clara’s ex-fiancé telling her she had no business to be involved in his business deals; A mention of a dog Clara’s mother saved from having his ears docked.
 
 
Sexual Content- Two hand kisses, an almost kiss, and a barely-above-not-detailed kiss; Staring at another’s lips; Touches, Dancing, Hand holding, Warmth, Butterflies, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Recalling touches & warmth (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Flirting, Blushes, & Winks; Clara’s mother hints to Clara and Theodore kissing & that they should not do something scandalous when being unchaperoned for a moment (her eyebrows waggling imply her wanting to do that latter one, though, and Theodore teases Clara about doing something scandalous with her); Theodore gives Clara a foot massage (not sexual, just a sweet action); a ‘trollop’; Mentions of blushes & winks; A few mentions of an almost kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of chaperones; A mention of seducing; A mention of the sort of women that lure unsuspecting lads into alleys and “have their way with them” (Theodore teasing Clara); Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Clara is shocked to hear her mother say the word “rousing” and begs her to never use it again in her presence; Clara kicks a man in his loins to vent a measure of her fury (which causes him pain & to moan in agony); Clara knees a man & it’s implied to have been in his private area as she hopes he can’t sit right for a month; When falling into a lake, Clara starts to undress to help her not drown (not sexual at all or commented on by Theodore); Mentions of Theodore’s mother dying in childbirth; A handful of mentions of Clara’s mother’s ample bosom & Clara being squished by it in an embrace; A few mentions of Clara’s mother’s concern about her new mice friend’s habitat having to consider their “conduciveness to pleasant procreation practice” for the habitat to be deemed suitable; A mention of Clara’s mother wanting to order someone to shoot a man in a place that will “end his chances of reproducing”.
 
-Clara Stanton, age 23
-Theodore “Arthur” Kingsley
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                            Set in 1860
                                                        383 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve heard a lot of different opinions about this book, so even though I was already curious about this book the minute I heard about it, I became even more curious hearing that it was actually a steampunk book and not just a Historical book like I was expecting. Had I not known it would have a Steampunk influence (mainly through automatons and flying machines), though, I think I would’ve been very confused and it would’ve altered my enjoyment of the book. So go into this book knowing this information! 

 

It had its silly moments with all the many animals Clara’s mother has rescued, but then it would take a turn to solemn moments with the mentions of asylums and deaths of loved ones. It was a bit jarring at time, but that’s trying to continue living life and also facing on-going grief. 

 

I can see why some people didn’t like Clara with her attitude towards Arthur—I enjoy it for the first part but I do wish she would’ve been kinder to him quicker because he was a dear. But I can see where she was coming from (trying to protect her family from the scoundrel she used to be engaged to) and I did enjoy how he didn’t let her suspicions and general mistrust of him to bother him. He kept teasing her good naturedly and was such a sunshine-like character. She did lighten up before the half-way mark and when he started to do a bit of flirting, it was so smooth and so cute. They really were a good match and I really enjoyed reading their adventure and quips. 

 

The faith content was lovely and often what my own heart needed to hear along with Clara’s. It was worked in beautifully with letters from her grandfather and conversations with her mother. Arthur/Theodore doesn’t think he can come to God because of his past actions and his earthly father’s loathing, but how it was shown and what happened at the end brought tears to my eyes. Also how their growing faiths made a big role of her acceptance of his feelings and wanting to seek God’s guidance before becoming closer to Theodore was great to see. 

 

I really liked so many aspects of this book! The humor and whit in this book took me my surprised and I really liked it. I also really liked Clara and her protectiveness for her family. This book had a whimsical writing style that can be a little difficult I think to get into at first, but it was fun and fit the mood of the story. 

 

Overall, I found it to be utterly charming. I can’t think of a better word than charming, but I suppose whimsical and even delightful would fit as well. The romance was light and cute, the whit and banter was great, and the faith content was something I needed. Really enjoyed this book and suspect it will be a favorite from 2024!

 

2025 reread: I listened to the audiobook of this one with my mom and it was still just as good as I remembered! She votes that it would be an excellent movie and I agree. You can judge how much I love this story and my own mom because I listened to this audiobook in regular x1 speed--me, the girl who usually has every audiobook at x1.5 - x2.8 speed. As I expected with this reread, I'm bumping up my rating for this book because I truly adore Clara, Arthur/Theodore, Mrs. S, and Grand. I relate so much to Clara and I love how Arthur/Theodore was always kind to her. He really is a gem of a MMC. 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.