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Silk, Steel and Steam #3
Bluebeard's Machine
Love, science, death. She is all three.
A Silk, Steel and Steam story.
Determined to discover what new experiment is stealing her husband’s attentions, Annette Parker ventures into forbidden territory—his study—only to discover a secret he would kill to keep. She is his fifth attempt to clone the original Annette and, according to his journal, he’s planning a sixth…after he dissects her dead body.
Unsure of who or what she is, she assumes a new identity and flees to the Orkney Islands and her last hope. The man she once rejected.
Isaac Ward’s first instinct is to get this mysterious “Miss Ada” out of his undersea laboratory—and out of his life—before he repeats the mistakes that drove him there in the first place. Her wild stories and stubborn insistence that they’re true wear his patience thin, but it doesn’t matter. She is as irresistible as the tide.
Then the truth appears right outside the portholes of his lab, stripping away her dubious disguise. Exposing a secret that could kill them both…unless Isaac abandons the science he knows for a second chance with the woman who broke his heart.
Product Warnings
Contains mad scientists, wanton murder, identity crises, and boiling hot underwater sex. Submersible instructions not included.
A Silk, Steel and Steam story.
Determined to discover what new experiment is stealing her husband’s attentions, Annette Parker ventures into forbidden territory—his study—only to discover a secret he would kill to keep. She is his fifth attempt to clone the original Annette and, according to his journal, he’s planning a sixth…after he dissects her dead body.
Unsure of who or what she is, she assumes a new identity and flees to the Orkney Islands and her last hope. The man she once rejected.
Isaac Ward’s first instinct is to get this mysterious “Miss Ada” out of his undersea laboratory—and out of his life—before he repeats the mistakes that drove him there in the first place. Her wild stories and stubborn insistence that they’re true wear his patience thin, but it doesn’t matter. She is as irresistible as the tide.
Then the truth appears right outside the portholes of his lab, stripping away her dubious disguise. Exposing a secret that could kill them both…unless Isaac abandons the science he knows for a second chance with the woman who broke his heart.
Product Warnings
Contains mad scientists, wanton murder, identity crises, and boiling hot underwater sex. Submersible instructions not included.
85 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 9, 2010
1 person is currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Mari Fee
3 books4 followersFrom the author's website:
Mari Fee is a tea-swilling former archaeologist and heritage conservation consultant currently earning a Masters at the University of Calgary. Other interests include adventuresome cookery, growing tomatoes, exploring, and indie music. Interesting anecdotes include that one time Mari dug up a skeleton, and that other time she watched a black bear eat a box of Hot Tamales.
As Yvonne Pronovost, Ms. Fee has published several science fiction, horror, and fantasy short stories in a handful of magazines and anthologies.
Mari Fee is a tea-swilling former archaeologist and heritage conservation consultant currently earning a Masters at the University of Calgary. Other interests include adventuresome cookery, growing tomatoes, exploring, and indie music. Interesting anecdotes include that one time Mari dug up a skeleton, and that other time she watched a black bear eat a box of Hot Tamales.
As Yvonne Pronovost, Ms. Fee has published several science fiction, horror, and fantasy short stories in a handful of magazines and anthologies.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 27, 2010
Very imaginative story, but I think it suffered from its limited page count and needed a bit more weight to the story--although it could be that I'm unfairly comparing this novella to some recent fantasy/steampunk reads that were novel-length and therefore had room to really layer in the world building and give more complexity to the characters and their relationship/personal growth arcs.
Also, while two of my top five romance novel heroes are betas, on the whole I'm not a huge fan of the beta dude, and this guy is definitely beta.
Given the originality/creativity of the story concept I'd be willing to try another book by the author.
Also, while two of my top five romance novel heroes are betas, on the whole I'm not a huge fan of the beta dude, and this guy is definitely beta.
Given the originality/creativity of the story concept I'd be willing to try another book by the author.
February 22, 2017
I love this novel for its subtly within the steampunk genre. It has left me with a desire to read more steampunk with sci fi that is not entirely farfetched. I was honestly hoping to find more books by Mari Fee in this time period. I hope she revisits this setting, or some time similar. I'd buy that book in a heartbeat.
As for the specifics of the book, the prologue is great. I think an opportunity was missed to embrace a more Gothic horror element. With a title evoking Bluebeard, in steampunk, I expected a bit more melodrama, but maybe that is just me.
There are several points that are repeated in the dialog so often, they lose meaning, especially several of Ada's concerns about her identity. While I understand that is the crisis at hand, the repetition does not add suspense or development.
However, it is a sweet and loving romance, with appropriate hints of hesitation and doubts. I became very attached to Ada, wishing her the best like an old friend. The story was a good swift read, but would have been better at novel length, expanding the world and preferably Ambrose more.
As for the specifics of the book, the prologue is great. I think an opportunity was missed to embrace a more Gothic horror element. With a title evoking Bluebeard, in steampunk, I expected a bit more melodrama, but maybe that is just me.
There are several points that are repeated in the dialog so often, they lose meaning, especially several of Ada's concerns about her identity. While I understand that is the crisis at hand, the repetition does not add suspense or development.
However, it is a sweet and loving romance, with appropriate hints of hesitation and doubts. I became very attached to Ada, wishing her the best like an old friend. The story was a good swift read, but would have been better at novel length, expanding the world and preferably Ambrose more.
November 11, 2010
There was plenty of heartbreaking creepiness in this book. Let's be honest, that's not always easy to do. Yet, Mari Fee manages it and she does it well enough that you can feel the cold metal pipes beneath our heroine's fingers and feel her horror at what she finds.
Ada was a character I could get behind. When she finds what her husband has been experimenting on in his secret lab, she doesn't fall apart. She rallies and sets out to free herself from his grasp. Since her story is so unbelievable, I can understand why she lies so easily to Isaac. When the truth does come out, Isaac sets aside his disbelief and looks at things from a scientific standpoint: Is this possible? Working through what Ada knows of her husband's work and what he knows of her husband, he makes the decision to help her.
I loved the descriptions of the underwater lab. I loved how Ada's confusion over who and what she is felt so real. I liked that Isaac wasn't the typical hero- he's reclusive, brilliant, loves his work and gets easily lost in explaining what he's working on.
All in all, Mari Fee created a richly detailed world with characters that were equal parts creepy and brave. I am definitely looking forward to reading more books by her.
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
Ada was a character I could get behind. When she finds what her husband has been experimenting on in his secret lab, she doesn't fall apart. She rallies and sets out to free herself from his grasp. Since her story is so unbelievable, I can understand why she lies so easily to Isaac. When the truth does come out, Isaac sets aside his disbelief and looks at things from a scientific standpoint: Is this possible? Working through what Ada knows of her husband's work and what he knows of her husband, he makes the decision to help her.
I loved the descriptions of the underwater lab. I loved how Ada's confusion over who and what she is felt so real. I liked that Isaac wasn't the typical hero- he's reclusive, brilliant, loves his work and gets easily lost in explaining what he's working on.
All in all, Mari Fee created a richly detailed world with characters that were equal parts creepy and brave. I am definitely looking forward to reading more books by her.
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
November 9, 2010
A creepy thrilling awesome steampunk romance about which I am obviously biased because I <3 Mari Fee.
November 12, 2010
After being mostly disappointed in the books I've read from Samhain so far, I was pleasantly surprised in this steampunk/fairy tale novella. Other than wishing for a longer, more fleshed-out story, I really enjoyed this Bluebeard-inspired tale.
First, Bluebeard is a creepy fairy tale, and the prologue of this book captured that creepiness perfectly. Annette finds the key to her husband's study. Determined to find out what occupies so much of her husband's time in there, she investigates, only to discover she's not who she thinks she is. Annette Parker died years ago and her husband has been trying to bring her back since through cloning. On a shelf she finds the skulls of her four predecessors. In her husband's diary she discovers that he considers her a failed experiment, and he plans to try again soon, which means he plans to get rid of her soon as well.
Determined to not share the same fate as the previous four "specimens," she leaves, intent on making her way to Australia, somewhere she believes her "husband" will never find her. However, she needs help, mostly money, to get there. She chooses the name Ada, poses as Annette Parker's cousin, and goes to Isaac Ward for help, a naturalist who once asked for Annette's hand in marriage.
Being a novella, the relationship between Isaac and Ada is a bit rushed for my taste, but I liked both of them, and I cared about whether they ended up together or not. (Which, of course, they do...but not until they defeat her "husband" who comes after Ada after she ran away).
Technical notes: I purchased this e-book from MyBookstoreAndMore and downloaded the .epub version on to my Nook. For some reason the font was super tiny, and I had to increase font size on my Nook to Extra Large in order to bring it up to a readable size. I'm not really sure why because Medium is my normal setting for all other e-books I read on there. Annoying, but not the end of the world since the Nook does let me resize fonts, but it was strange.
First, Bluebeard is a creepy fairy tale, and the prologue of this book captured that creepiness perfectly. Annette finds the key to her husband's study. Determined to find out what occupies so much of her husband's time in there, she investigates, only to discover she's not who she thinks she is. Annette Parker died years ago and her husband has been trying to bring her back since through cloning. On a shelf she finds the skulls of her four predecessors. In her husband's diary she discovers that he considers her a failed experiment, and he plans to try again soon, which means he plans to get rid of her soon as well.
Determined to not share the same fate as the previous four "specimens," she leaves, intent on making her way to Australia, somewhere she believes her "husband" will never find her. However, she needs help, mostly money, to get there. She chooses the name Ada, poses as Annette Parker's cousin, and goes to Isaac Ward for help, a naturalist who once asked for Annette's hand in marriage.
Being a novella, the relationship between Isaac and Ada is a bit rushed for my taste, but I liked both of them, and I cared about whether they ended up together or not. (Which, of course, they do...but not until they defeat her "husband" who comes after Ada after she ran away).
Technical notes: I purchased this e-book from MyBookstoreAndMore and downloaded the .epub version on to my Nook. For some reason the font was super tiny, and I had to increase font size on my Nook to Extra Large in order to bring it up to a readable size. I'm not really sure why because Medium is my normal setting for all other e-books I read on there. Annoying, but not the end of the world since the Nook does let me resize fonts, but it was strange.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2010
After searching out her husband's secret Annette Parker isn't feeling much like herself anymore and now wonders if she is actually `anyone' at all - and if her husband has his way she won't `be' for much longer.
One of three steampunk romance novellas published under the Silk, Steam and Steam banner, the steampunk element in Bluebeard's machine was the science behind Annette's predicament and the leading man, oceanographer Isaac Ward's undersea lab and submersible.
Bluebeard's Machine starts out with a real grabber of a prologue and then the story becomes almost a melodrama. Annette's husband is the perfect deranged villain - when he is in the scene I just wanted to boo and hiss - all he needed was to start twirling his mustache. Ada is the damsel in distress, and Isaac, had he been a bit larger than life - his reactions are just a bit too human when his attempt to rescue the damsel wrecks havoc with his life - the hero.
Since this is a short story the romance was a bit rushed, the physical attraction was obvious, but the love connection less so for me. For those concerned with sensuality level - since I know I haven't figured out the secret code to those `warning's that come on all of the Samhain books - the love scene in Bluebeard's Machine is pretty much in line with what you find in most mainstream romance being published now.
Overall Bluebeard's ghost was a quick light romance with a pretty good balance between romantic steam and steampunk and it has me all fired-up about reading the other two companion novellas: Sahara Kelly's Flavia's Flying Corset and Tilda Booth's Stealing Utopia.
One of three steampunk romance novellas published under the Silk, Steam and Steam banner, the steampunk element in Bluebeard's machine was the science behind Annette's predicament and the leading man, oceanographer Isaac Ward's undersea lab and submersible.
Bluebeard's Machine starts out with a real grabber of a prologue and then the story becomes almost a melodrama. Annette's husband is the perfect deranged villain - when he is in the scene I just wanted to boo and hiss - all he needed was to start twirling his mustache. Ada is the damsel in distress, and Isaac, had he been a bit larger than life - his reactions are just a bit too human when his attempt to rescue the damsel wrecks havoc with his life - the hero.
Since this is a short story the romance was a bit rushed, the physical attraction was obvious, but the love connection less so for me. For those concerned with sensuality level - since I know I haven't figured out the secret code to those `warning's that come on all of the Samhain books - the love scene in Bluebeard's Machine is pretty much in line with what you find in most mainstream romance being published now.
Overall Bluebeard's ghost was a quick light romance with a pretty good balance between romantic steam and steampunk and it has me all fired-up about reading the other two companion novellas: Sahara Kelly's Flavia's Flying Corset and Tilda Booth's Stealing Utopia.
June 13, 2011
I'm new to Steampunk romance and so glad I'm reading it! I so hope this author writes more SOON!
I didn't know what 'Bluebeard' meant but I did check and so see how it fitted with the story! And went on to look up more about Bluebeard! I thought this was so well written that I could so visualize Isaac Ward undersea laboratory and all that happening around it in the water (just as I could picture her mad scientist husband's dungeon! As I love reading historical romances, especially Victorian as this one is set as, I loved the details on the clothing, the ships and the like that so gave the feel of that time. As the blurb and reviews indicate, Annette, Ada is on the adventure to escape and enlists Issac's help. He's so much more a beta hero, that I though fit for him with him being the scientist he is an his high intelligence. Since it was novella length, it didn't go in as deep as some stories do and for me, that worked so well since I'm new to this genre. I have tried others that were way too complicated and in depth that it took away the enjoyment when I had to figure everything out. With this I didn't. The romance is short but that was to be expected with the length and theme. But I would have loved more of them, such as longer in the undersea laboratory where maybe they would develop more of the relationship. Hence, the 4 stars instead of 5. But it did work very well for a novella! So here's hoping the author does more. So I need to find more that has a strong romance (and sizzle) in the Steampunk.
I didn't know what 'Bluebeard' meant but I did check and so see how it fitted with the story! And went on to look up more about Bluebeard! I thought this was so well written that I could so visualize Isaac Ward undersea laboratory and all that happening around it in the water (just as I could picture her mad scientist husband's dungeon! As I love reading historical romances, especially Victorian as this one is set as, I loved the details on the clothing, the ships and the like that so gave the feel of that time. As the blurb and reviews indicate, Annette, Ada is on the adventure to escape and enlists Issac's help. He's so much more a beta hero, that I though fit for him with him being the scientist he is an his high intelligence. Since it was novella length, it didn't go in as deep as some stories do and for me, that worked so well since I'm new to this genre. I have tried others that were way too complicated and in depth that it took away the enjoyment when I had to figure everything out. With this I didn't. The romance is short but that was to be expected with the length and theme. But I would have loved more of them, such as longer in the undersea laboratory where maybe they would develop more of the relationship. Hence, the 4 stars instead of 5. But it did work very well for a novella! So here's hoping the author does more. So I need to find more that has a strong romance (and sizzle) in the Steampunk.
October 17, 2011
I was most impressed by the prologue, and as I read further into the story I grew more intrigued by Fee's exploration of a droid coming to terms with a sense of self, identity, purpose, and her "creator", in this case her mad scientist husband (got to love them). I love this concept – I have not encountered anything like it in a romance, and I wish this could have been further fleshed out, as it were. The rekindled romance with Isaac was still sweet, but seemed contrived by comparison.
November 9, 2010
3.5 stars
The beginning totally sucked me in. On the short side, but a good read.
The beginning totally sucked me in. On the short side, but a good read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews