Short Story Review – Ten Minutes Past Teatime by Elizabeth Chatsworth (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 52 pages
Publisher: Fairfield Scribes
Release Date: February 6, 2019
ASIN : B07NFCJQJ6
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eBook from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 5/5 stars
“A Victorian spinster-scientist and a Viking shield-maiden find passion and danger in dark-age Ireland.
1896: Forty-three-year-old scientist Miss Minerva Minett is determined to become the first female member of an exclusive inventor’s club. To win their annual membership competition, she invents a time-traveling submersible, and launches her vessel into the Irish Sea for a quick trip to the dark ages. But when she sinks a Viking longship, accidentally joins a monastery raid, and falls into the arms of a grizzled shield-maiden, she discovers that time may not be on her side.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone short story that I borrowed from Kindle Unlimited.
Story (5/5): This was a fun little story about a woman in her mid-forties who is determined to gain entrance into an exclusive inventor’s club. To do this she builds a time traveling submersible goldfish that allows her to travel back in time. When she accidentally crashes her goldfish into a Viking longship things get dicey. This was a fun and entertaining little read that I enjoyed immensely, I only wish that it had been longer.
Characters (5/5): Minerva is fun, determined, witty, and has a huge sense of adventure…I loved her immediately. The Viking shield-maiden she bumps into has just as much personality as she does. I absolutely loved them both. There aren’t a lot of side characters because of the short length of the story, but the few that are introduced are just as full of fun personality as the two main protagonists.
Setting (5/5): I am overusing the word fun here, but this was a fun setting too. I loved the little glimpse at the 1890’s alternate history that Minera lives in and loved traveling back to the Viking era as well. This is a world I want to spend more time in.
Writing Style (5/5): This was incredibly well written and easy to read. This is the second story I have read from Chatsworth and I love the cheeky, humorous tone to her novels and the intriguing, strong female characters as well. This was so much fun to read, I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
My Summary (5/5): Overall this was a very enjoyable read. If you enjoy fun steampunk stories I would definitely recommend this. Chatsworth reminds me a lot of Gail Carriger in writing style but I actually enjoy Chatsworth’s style a bit more. There are fun, strong female characters, crazy situations, and a lot of humor throughout. I am excited to read more stories by her 🙂
