The Lady Machinist

Curiosity Chronicles #1

by Ava Morgan

The Lady Machinist: A romantic steampunk tale of clockwork soldiers, persistent pirates, and political intrigue.

Book One of the Curiosity Chronicles

1837: Lydia Dimosthenis detests pirates, especially those of British ilk. The lady machinist will do anything to protect her island home of Aspasia from the scurvy knaves, even if it means crafting seven-foot clockwork soldiers to drive intruders away. When her automatons catch the eye of a charming yet stubborn ambassador from New Britannia, she is given an offer that she truly cannot refuse. But that doesn't stop her from trying.

Rhys Cartret, ambassador and agent for the Cabinet of Intellectual Curiosities, didn't count on having a strong-willed, attractive inventor thwarting his every diplomatic move. It's hard enough keeping his pirate past a secret from Lydia. Matching wits with her is the last thing he needs, especially since New Britannia's rival France is racing to get the automatons before he does. Intrigue, romance, and striking bargains abound in this curious tale of clockwork soldiers, ruthless pirates, and steam-powered ships.

Genres: Steampunk, Romance

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2013

About the author

I'm a history buff, vintage style lover, and a bibliophile. I'll read anything I can get my hands on, especially steampunk, fantasy, and pulp fiction. When I'm not writing, I can be found bicycling with my husband, raising two furry canine children, costuming, and traveling.


Books by the author:

Steampunk

The Lady Machinist (Curiosity Chronicles, #1)

The Armored Doctor (Curiosity Chronicles, #2)

The Industrial Spy (Curiosity Chronicles, #3)

The Aether Alchemist (Curiosity Chronicles, #4)

Lydia's Decision (A Curiosity Chronicles Short)

Abigail's Discovery (A Curiosity
Chronicles Short)

Dominique's Dilemma (A Curiosity Chronicles Short)

The Scarborough Affair (An Armand and Miriam Novel) -Coming Soon!


YA Fantasy

Uprooted (The Grafters, #1)

Transplanted (The Grafters, #2)

Grafted (The Grafters, #3) -Coming Soon!

Visit my website for the latest news.

www.avamorgan.com

Reviews

[Jacqueline · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Lady Machinist is supposedly a Steampunk novel, I'd call it an alternative earth romantic adventure...sort of.
I found the world and the characters very lightly defined. It felt like I had missed or skipped whole chapters.
I thought the romance strangely un-romantic, the adventure was really just uncomfortable sea travel with a bit of mishap along the way.
The main character, Lydia, was apparently fairly clever (she did have some bright moments) but I can't reconcile smart women with women that swoon. A fault of mine, I know.

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot is solid with plenty of action, and the characters are developed with style and panache.

Read full review in the 2014 August issue of InD’tale Magazine.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story left a smile on my face. It was an exciting adventure with a kick butt widower with some serious mechanical mastery well in hand.

The romance was rushed but other than that I enjoyed reading this steampunk and pirate filled plot. 3.5 stars

[SUSAN CREWS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steampunk!

I love Steampunk, and this book doesn't disappoint. The romance is a little lame, but the story is good. I hope the other books in the series will involve more detail on the automatons.

[mari dewitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fun series!

[Evangeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lady Machinist is a Steampunk romp of the best kind. Featuring a strong and brainy female protagonist, a cast of well-drawn characters, and Steampunk elements that are unique but also fitting to the genre, this novel won’t disappoint fans or newcomers.

Lydia Dimosthenis is set on defending her island home of Aspasia against pirates like those who devastated her past, and she’s created her own battalion of clockwork soldiers in order to do so. But it’s not only pirates who seek plunder and gain. Enter Rhys Cartret, an ambassador from New Britannia with his eye on more than Lydia’s automatons. Well-matched in wit, stubbornness, and zeal, Lydia and Rhys must navigate the political intrigue of their respective governments and the desires of their hearts.

Set in an exotic and well-crafted alternate history, The Lady Machinist delivers adventure, romance, and that certain clever quality that has enthralled sci-fi fans and mainstream readers alike.

I look forward to more Ava Morgan adventures!

[William Howe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't finish

Half way through I got bored with the characters. Here we have a widow who is also a genius mechanic and strong willed to boot, and she doesn't make a point of asking to fix the engines on the boat. The ship has a six man crew which indicates a high level of automation, but the INVENTOR OF AUTOMATONS shows no desire to get busy after the ship was attacked by pirates. Nope. Here's a mop.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Short Story

I really enjoyed this short novel. I thought the characters were well done. Also I noticed the grammar has been corrected which someone pointed out in a previous post. It was not an in-depth story, but for 99¢ it was a steal. I'm interested in reading more from this author in the future.

[Swan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was a fun story and a quick read. This is an adventure story, but it also has romance. When I say romance, it's a cute, sweet romance. A fun read and I will most likely read another book in this series.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

three and a half.....four if it were longer....

I liked the characters and the plot was good. My only nit pick is the length but even at that it didn't seem stunted. It was good I just prefer a longer book. I'll read more in this series.

[chimpchomp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read kept my attention. I would recommend this book to all my friends.

An excellent book, I loved action and the romance.Just enough mystery to keep you on your toes. It ended to soon leaving wanting to know more.

[Penelope Bartotto]

Read and reviewed for InD'tale Magazine

[Alexandra]

$.99 on Kindle 1/8/15

[Whitney Bunker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might have liked this more if I was planning on reading a romance novel but I was honestly hoping for some more steam punk machines and action.

[Deanna Stanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of a romance than an adventure, and a poor romance at that. I never got invested in the characters or the plot. Even big revelation was treated as minor. overall, meh.

[mirba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny nice short story

[Michael Fortado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Headline

I gave a high rating as I liked the character development. The plot was standard faire but with a twist of the Greek characters. Over all I in joyed the read.

[MLL · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring and Ridiculous.

This story is so ridiculous and poorly written I don't know where to start. Did anyone proofread it because nothing makes any sense.
It was just one ridiculous thing after another. It made me crazy because it was so annoyingly idiotic.

A journey takes 90 mins one way and less than 10 to reverse.
A childless commoner widow of a relative to the throne is the in line to inherit. That would never happen. Aristocracy is all about bloodlines not marriage.
A man claims to be an envoy and demands to come on a voyage and though he has no leverage and they hate him let him.
The "hero" is a reckless, chauvinistic fool. He refuses to put down a weapon even when it causes the automaton to attack so he destroys the expensive automaton for no reason.
He wrapped a dirty handkerchief around a raw burn for first aid.
She can't be on time to leave because she was saying goodbye to her mother. My mother made me do it.
6 men run the whole ship right? 2 each 8 hrs shift? 3 each 12 hour shift?
They can't protect her from the crew of 6 men.
She can't kiss him again as long as he keeps the secrets of his king and country.

On and on it was inane and not worth reading.