Kindle Spotlight -- Lady of Devices

Recently Shelley Adina's Lady of Devices, the first book in her Magnificent Devices series, became free on Kindle. I had never read any of her work before, so I decided this was a good time to start.

The story takes place in 1889 London. The protagonist is 17-year-old Claire Trevelyan (no relation to the bad guy from Goldeneye, I'm sure), a young woman from a noble house. Like a lot of steampunk heroines, Claire has a knack for mechanics, and so she aspires to pursue higher education. Her mother, on the other hand, wants nothing more for her than to marry well and live the good life in high society. Unfortunately, a tragic turn of events derails both their plans and threatens to destroy the entire family. Claire ultimately has a chance to rise from the ashes of her old life like a phoenix, but first she'll have to deal with the consequences of her parents' poor choices, murderous thugs and even a Dickensian group of cockney street urchins.

I enjoyed Lady of Devices. At first it seems like it's just another steampunk story, and you think there's going to be a great evil to overcome. Well, there is, but it's not what you might expect. The true villain of this story is society's many weaknesses, but that doesn't mean Claire's struggle is any less noble. As she fights to gain the trust of people society forbids her from associating with, you end up rooting for her more and more, and by the end Adina has assembled a lovable cast of characters. Moreover, the story is not as predictable as I expected. I would elaborate on that, but that would entail spoilers. You'll just have to trust me.

The book is well-written, and I really don't have anything bad to say about it. It's a fine example of what steampunk has to offer, and since it's free, you have nothing to lose by giving it a try.