Her life was going smoothly until love threw a wrench into it.Her uncle’s pet and her mother’s trial, Elizabeth Bennet has always been… different. Blessed with a quick mind and a knack for all things mechanical, sometimes the simplest things—like love—are harder for her to fix. Fitzwilliam Darcy is anything but simple. A gentleman by birth but an engineer at heart, he wastes no time in … time in dismantling Elizabeth’s secret. The gentleman, however, has secrets of his own that cause him to linger, to falter, and then to risk everything.
A chance journey with Elizabeth’s uncle to Mr Bingley’s factory in Birmingham had seemed the ideal opportunity to indulge her fascination without risk to her reputation. But a lady of gentle birth and modest means must never tinker with machinery, and most certainly should not have grease on her cheek.
What began as a mechanical challenge becomes a personal test when rioters and old enemies turn the tables. Can Elizabeth and Darcy work together, or will the gears spin out of control?
Love and Other Machines is a clean Regency novella of 20,000 words.
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A charming book that grabbed me from the first sentence all the way to the end! I didn’t intend to read it in one sitting, but I simply couldn’t put it down.
“Odd pieces and parts fell together to make one functioning whole.” (quote from the book)
The wheels are turning quickly in this fun, fast-paced novella that takes us on a journey to Birmingham. The equipment Mr. Bingley has bought from Mr. Gardiner for his button making factory is causing problems. Mr. Gardiner suggests a quick trip to investigate the issues bringing along Jane, who is betrothed to Mr. Bingley, and Elizabeth. Mr. Gardiner has an ulterior motive in bringing Jane and Elizabeth. One is for distraction and the other is for her unique capabilities…Lizzy loves machinery and how it works.
This ‘what if’ deviates from canon. Mr. Darcy did not come to Meryton with Mr. Bingley when he let Netherfield Park. So when he agrees to meet Mr. Bingley in Birmingham to help him, that is when he first meets the Bennet sisters. Mr. Darcy’s mathematical and engineering interests are soon put to the test. When Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are required to partner together, a little grease, a bit of tinkering, and a lot of sparks are soon flying!
“When a machine does a mistake, it’s not a mistake, something is wrong. When human do mistakes, it is a mistake, but nothing wrong.” –Zisha Schnitzler, Rong Type: 66 Creative Typography Words by Zisha Schnitzler
Darcy: “That was what drew him to machines. They followed algorithms, not emotion—” –Marie Lu, Batman: Nightwalker
Machines made sense to Darcy and he was naturally drawn to how they worked. He was fascinated and intrigued by the mathematical equations, calculations, and drawings [schematics] that went with them. When Bingley’s machines started causing trouble, he called on his friend to accompany him to his factory in the north to see what might be causing the problem.
Elizabeth: “Men made machines.” –Lailah Gifty Akita
As the quote indicates, men may make machines; however, some women are naturally mechanically inclined and Elizabeth Bennet was one of them. Uncle Gardiner had encouraged her fascination since she was a child. Her mother’s disappointment, that she wasn’t born the expected son, made her the least favorite in her gaggle of girls. She didn’t appreciate her brother nor Mr. Bennet encouraging Elizabeth in such an unfeminine pursuit. Our story was away from Longbourn so we didn’t have to deal with her or the other girls.
Gardiner had sold Bingley his equipment and when problems arose, he needed his niece Elizabeth to go with him to investigate the problem. She had secretly helped him with his endeavors and knew the workings of his machines as well as or better than he. Since Jane and Elizabeth were already in London with the Gardiners, it was only natural for both girls to accompany him to the north with Bingley and Darcy.
This was a clean ‘alternate universe’ for Austen’s P&P. Alix James created a believable story for our dear couple to meet and find the perfect mate in each other. For ODC it was like two cogs falling into place. They simply fit [**snicker** pub intended]. It was so natural for Darcy to see into the workings of machines better than the workings of men or women.
Our story was set during the Luddite conflicts where men were smashing frames and Bingley feared for his equipment and factory. The militia had been called into the area and Jane and Elizabeth met one militia officer trying to maintain calm in the area. Oh, yea, he was our usual SBRB [scum-bag-rat-bastard], Lieutenant Wickham. Maybe I shouldn’t call him that. Oh, what the heck. He was bad enough in this story to nearly get ODC and several other people killed. I’d say that was a ‘you-know-what’ kind of thing to do. The SBRB.
Darcy and Elizabeth were both trying to figure out why the machines weren’t performing according to their function and design. This was so interesting. I don’t know a thing about steam engines, gears, belts and what makes them work, yet, James made me interested. I was fascinated. Hey, maybe I’m mechanically inclined. It could happen. Since this was novella length, we moved fairly quickly and used a limited cast of characters that didn’t clog up the works. OK… I’ll quit with the puns.
I will certainly add Alix James to my list of authors to watch. I received an ARC with no expectations of a review positive or otherwise. The views expressed are my own. I highly recommend this delightful story. I also pre-ordered this novella when it launched and will read it again.