November 2024 Reading Recap & December 2024 TBR

 My November 2024 Reads: 

1. Heart. Soul. Mind. Strength.: A Narrative History of InterVarsity Press, 1947-2022 by Andrew T. Le Peau and Linda Doll - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - A fascinating look at the history of IVP. Read my review.


2. A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - A comical Victorian romance with influences from The Nutcracker and Around the World in 80 Days. Read my review.


3. Across the Ages by Gabrielle Meyer - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Book four in this unique time travel series. Read my review.


4. A Proper Scoundrel by Esther Hatch - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Fun and entertaining, but not without some heartbreak and obstacles to a budding romance. A keeper for my bookshelf.


5. Plotting Summer by Jess Heileman- ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Entertaining and fun, but a bit overhyped.


6. Pretty Little Pieces by Carmen Schober - ⭐⭐½ - After enjoying this author's debut novel, I expected to like this one, but for a number of reasons, it was a miss for me. 

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Expected December 2024 Reads:

1. Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor by Roseanna M. White - My local book club's December selection. Read my review from earlier this year.
 
2. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. - Currently reading. This is a LONG book!


3. Clear Mind, Peaceful Heart by Lysa TerKeurst & the Proverbs 31 Ministries Team - Currently reading, but to meet my deadline, I've published this review based on what I've read so far.


4. One Prayer Away by Lauren Fortenberry - Currently reading.


5. Nourishing Narratives: The Power of Story to Shape Our Faith by Jennifer L. Holberg. - Currently reading.

What will you read this month? 

October 2024 Reading Recap & November 2024 TBR

 My October 2024 Reads: 

1. The Queen's Cook by Tessa Afshar - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Classic Tessa Afshar: witty, entertaining, and lots of spiritual themes. Read my review.


2. Tell Her Story by Nijay K. Gupta - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Academic in tone and thorough in research, the author illuminated the lives of women in the early Christian church. Read my review.


3. A Kingdom to Claim by Sian Ann Bessey - ⭐⭐⭐½ - More adventure than romance as a would-be couple seeks to help King Alfred regain the Saxon throne. Not bad, but I wouldn't reread it.

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Expected November 2024 Reads:

1. A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell - My local book club's November selection. Read my review from earlier this year.
 
2. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. - Currently reading. This is a LONG book!


3. Clear Mind, Peaceful Heart by Lysa TerKeurst & the Proverbs 31 Ministries Team - Currently reading, but to meet my deadline, I've published this review based on what I've read so far.


4. One Prayer Away by Lauren Fortenberry - Currently reading.


5. Heart. Soul. Mind. Strength.: A Narrative History of InterVarsity Press, 1947-2022 by Andrew T. Le Peau and Linda Doll.

What will you read this month? 

February 2024 Reading Recap and March 2024 TBR

My February 2024 Reads: 

1. Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Read my review.


2. A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell - ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ - Read my review.


3. While the City Sleeps by Elizabeth Camden - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Read my review. 


4. Manor for Sale, Baron Included by Esther Hatch - ⭐⭐⭐ - This novella had a likeable heroine, swoony moments, and great potential. Had it been a full-length novel with more character development and certain story elements flushed out, this could have been a five star novel.

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Expected March 2024 Reads:

1. Up From the Dust by Heather Kaufmann.


2. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. - Currently reading. This is a LONG book!


3. The Peasant King by Tessa Afshar - My local book club's March selection. Read my review.


4. Mom Enough: Inspiring Letters for the Wonderfully Exhausting but Totally Normal Days of Motherhood by Rachel Marie Martin. - Currently reading.


5. Mostly What God Does by Savannah Guthrie.

What will you read this month?

Book Review: A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell

 About the 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.

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My Thoughts:

I enjoyed every minute of A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell. The novel held my attention from start to end and was hard to put down. I know so little of Victorian steampunk literature (and did not see it marketed as such) that I missed the clues on the cover and in the book synopsis. The story incorporated futuristic technology not present during the 1860s, which required imagination and acceptance of tweaked historical details, but this didn’t detract from the story for me.

A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure held the type of humor I find funny (typically I’m unimpressed with romcoms). Some of Clara and Arthur’s verbal exchanges had me giggling, but Clara’s mother provided the true comic relief. I laughed out loud so many times! The story felt light and joyful even as it dealt with betrayal and heartbreak.

A prominent issue in A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure was Clara’s desire to protect her family members in her own strength and her own way. Clara’s distrust and overactive sense of responsibility seemed very in-line with the thoughts and feelings that arise when God doesn’t protect from hard situations. Clara’s character growth took time, and I appreciated that changing her mindset was not a quick flip. The relationship between her and Arthur/Theodore spurred both of them toward personal healing and it was fun to watch their enemies-to-lovers romance unfold.

A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell also held many quotable lines, travels around Europe, and a beautiful grandfather-granddaughter relationship. This novel is a keeper for my bookshelf, and I look forward to more books from this author. 4.5 Stars!

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.

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