Audiobook Review – Magnificent Devices (Magnificent Devices, Book 3) by Shelly Adina, Narrated by Fiona Hardingham (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 7 hours and 23 minutes
Publisher: Moonshell Books, Inc.
Release Date: May 02, 2014
ASIN : B00K31Y1O2
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Magnificent Devices series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars
“An air voyage to remember turns into a disaster no one may survive. With her orphaned charges, Lady Claire Trevelyan joins the Earl of Dunsmuir’s family on an airship voyage to the Americas. If she can stay out of Lord James Selwyn’s way until her eighteenth birthday, she will be of age and cannot be forced into marriage. What she doesn’t know is that Lord James is in the Americas, too, with Andrew Malvern closing in on him – and the wonderful device he stole. But when a storm cripples the airship and air pirates swoop in like carrion birds, Claire and the children must live by their wits to make their way across a harsh landscape. Will Andrew ever see her again and right the wrong he believes he has done? Will Lord James succeed in his monumental thievery? And how exactly does Rosie the chicken evade the soup pot?”
Series Info/Source: This is the third book in the Magnificent Devices series. I borrowed this audiobook through Audible Plus.
Audiobook Quality (5/5): This whole series has been beautifully narrated so far and this book continues in that trend. Hardingham’s voice is beautiful and she does an amazing job with narration. She conveys character emotion well and does a great job with character voices.
Thoughts: This time Claire and crew are in the Americas on the way to Canada when their airship crashes. Claire has been trying to avoid Lord James until she is 18 and cannot be forced to marry him. This was a fun steampunk adventure with a lot of delightful devices, some heartstopping action and an entertaining adventure across an alternate historical American landscape.
I continue to absolutely adore Claire and her orphaned charges. The group of them make such a quirky, lovable, and fun family together. This is one of those heartwarming books where no one is too evil (although there are some decently evil characters in here) and nothing is too surprising. It is just an all in all pleasant steampunk adventure.
The story is fairly predictable and this book is just another leg in Claire’s journey to escape her arranged marriage and find a place for her charges and herself to call home. I enjoy the alternate historical America we see here and enjoy a lot of the adventures that Claire ends up on…she does get put through quite a bit in this book. There is also a fun plotline around inventorship and patents that has woven between books of this series.
My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a very entertaining and pleasant steampunk read. The story is a good blend of action, adventure, devices, invention, and also has a bit of romance in it. I would recommend to those who enjoy lighter, more heartwarming, steampunk reads about finding family and staying true to one’s own path in life. I enjoyed this and plan on continuing the series. This is aimed at a young adult reading audience.
