A Lady’s Handbook to Gadget and Guile by Angela Bell

 

Are you handy?  I am mediocre handy.  I can MacGyver pumps and equipment to do lab experiments and sample, but I am not as handy as my Dad who seems to be able to get anything put back together again.

Thank you to @authorangelabell, @bethanyhousefiction,and @greatreadsbookpromo for the gift copy of A Lady’s Handbook to Gadget and Guile.

In 1865 London, Margaret is an inventor of gadgets for the Daughters of the Genus Society.  This group is comprised of lady inspectors who are disguised as bluestockings.  Margaret is an ambulatory wheelchair user and has been happy helping from the sidelines until she gets caught up in a case involving London’s most famous inventor.  She runs into an intriguing man named Charles and the pair work together to solve the mystery. Will they solve it in time?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I would classify this novel as historical fiction, historical fantasy, clean read, inspirational, and Christian.

·       I read this book in July, and I loved that Margaret is an inventor in a time when it was hard for women to thrive in this role.  She also suffers from chronic pain but is able to go through a faith journey as well as to keep on inventing.

·       Charles has also ended up on a path in life that was not what he planned.  He was a good person who really listened and cared about Margaret’s problems.

·       This is the second novel in “A Daughters of Genius Society” series.  I enjoyed the first book in the series, but this book would also work as a standalone.  Characters do return from the first book, and I enjoyed reading about them again.

·       This was told from the third person perspectives of Margaret and Charles.

·       The tech in this novel went to the world of fantasy for this time period so that’s why I would classify this as historical fantasy.  I loved the gadgets.

·       I loved the romance between Charles and Margaret.  It was sweet.

·       The mystery was a bit light, but I did enjoy the humor in the novel.

·       The Christian theme was faith through difficult times.

Overall, A Lady’s Handbook to Gadget and Guile by Angela Bell was an inspiring historical fantasy novel with great characters.