First Chapter Review: The Marvelous Mechanical Man by Rie Sheridan Rose @riesheridanrose #firstchapterreview

Thanks for visiting Literarily Speaking! Today's post is a first chapter review for THE MARVELOUS MECHANICAL MAN, Rie Sheridan Rose's latest steampunk novel. First, a little about the book....

The Marvelous Mechanical Man is the first book in a Steampunk series featuring the adventures of Josephine Mann, an independent woman in need of a way to pay her rent. She meets Professor Alistair Conn, in need of a lab assistant, and a partnership is created that proves exciting adventure for both of them.

Alistair’s prize invention is an automaton standing nine feet tall. There’s a bit of a problem though…he can’t quite figure out how to make it move. Jo just might be of help there. Then again, they might not get a chance to find out, as the marvelous mechanical man goes missing
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Jo and Alistair find themselves in the middle of a whirlwind of kidnapping, catnapping, and cross-country chases that involve airships, trains, and a prototype steam car. With a little help from their friends, Herbert Lattimer and Winifred Bond, plots are foiled, inventions are perfected, and a good time is had by all.

FAVORITE QUOTE FROM FIRST CHAPTER:

"The “surface” in question turned out to be a young gentleman dressed in most peculiar clothing—natty tweed trousers and neat brown boots, but a collarless shirt with undone vest in a vile green plaid that clashed horribly with the trousers. Over the entire ensemble, he wore a long white coat with many pockets bulging in interesting ways and bearing several noxious stains in lurid colors. Not bad looking in an academic way, he wore his dark hair a bit longer than was fashionable and had the most brilliant blue eyes I’d ever seen behind round wire spectacles."

It was really hard to pick out one particular quote from the first chapter that I loved but I wanted to share this one because I wanted you to see how the author handled describing the character when we first meet him. The author has an excellent way with words...everything just flowed together nicely without having to go back and reread to get a gist of what's going on.


BOOK COVER:

Beautiful cover. Just screams steampunk and that's the point - it gives the reader a visual of what's inside. My kudos!

FIRST CHAPTER REVIEW:

First of all, I loved Kate. She's a really gutsy yet very likable character. It begins with Kate trying to get a job as a copy reader as she's really really low on money. The guy at the newspaper office wouldn't hire her because she was a woman. You have to remember - this was way back when men were the preferred copy readers at a newspaper office. She storms out, falls, and a handsome gentleman picks her up. As it turns out, he was heading to the newspaper office to find an assistant. The pay was more than Kate would ever imagine - so she kinda pushed her way into the position. That's the way Kate was. You'll do anything if the rent is due. 

This first chapter was a great way to introduce Kate. Already we're seeing she's a gutsy woman. Not sure at this point where the marvelous mechanical man comes into the whole scheme of things, but I'm sure that'll come later. Too early for this...we need to get to know the characters first. Rie does a great job at 'showing' Kate and not just simply talking about her physical features which a lot of authors do to get us acquainted with the character. I'd rather it be done like this and not throw a bunch of physical appearances at me.

KEEP READING?

Good Lord that is an understatement. I need to know more. I need to know if Kate indeed falls in love with the handsome stranger who she is going to work for and how the marvelous mechanical man comes into the picture. Yes, I would keep reading!

Pick up your copy!

Amazon → https://amzn.to/3bfoz55

Rie Sheridan Rose multitasks. A lot. Her short stories appear in numerous anthologies, including Nightmare Stalkers and Dream Walkers Vols. 1 and 2, and Killing It Softly Vols. 1 and 2. She has authored twelve novels, six poetry chapbooks, and lyrics for dozens of songs. These were mostly written in conjunction with Marc Gunn, and can be found on “Don’t Go Drinking with Hobbits” and “Pirates vs. Dragons” for the most part–with a few scattered exceptions.

Her favorite work to date is The Conn-Mann Chronicles Steampunk series with five books released so far: The Marvelous Mechanical Man, The Nearly Notorious Nun, The Incredibly Irritating Irishman, The Fiercely Formidable Fugitive, and The Elderly Earl’s Estate.

Rie lives in Texas with her wonderful husband and several spoiled cat-children.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: https://riewriter.com/  and https://theconnmannchronicles.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RieSheridanRose
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheConnMannChronicles/