The Arcane Engineer

What risk would you take to fulfil your dreams? Your identity, your friends and family? Or even… an existential threat to humanity itself?Adelaide Montague dreams of becoming an engineer like her famous father. When faced with the imminent threat of being sent off to a finishing academy by her overbearing mother, she devises a way to escape.What if, she never has to attend another dreary lesson on deportment?Disguised as a boy, she discovers that her talent opens a dark and foreboding future. Ada must overcome her self-doubt to face the encroaching enemy that is creeping around the edges of society, threatening her life, future and family.The cloud-strewn skies of Molgate have been overcome by a race of mechanical flying pterosaurs that swoop down on unsuspecting citizens. A menace to society, they scatter bits of metal cogs on the city. No-one knows where they came from or where they live. Set in a technocratic world where machines are powered by aetheric energy and engineers hold the keys to the future.With her gun-toting mechanical cat, adopted pterosaur, and growing love for the young man who shares her aspirations, Ada sets out to restore balance to the world.What readers are saying:'I was blown away by how much imagination went into this story.''The magical/mechanical element added a whimsical and mysterious layer to the story.''The steampunk worldbuilding is excellent and totally immersive. The characters are three-dimensional, flawed, and credible. The aether-animated 'mechanical' characters are simply awesome.''I found the concept fascinating: a juxtaposition of outdated gender roles and futuristic technology. The setting is fascinating and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about how the characters navigated it. The story critiques class, gender and identity in a clever yet entertaining way.''I loved the worldbuilding that went into this and how well it was described, to allow the reader to escape into the world right alongside the characters. The little details were great, for example the cogs that the pterosaurs would drop and the street urchins collecting them.''I liked the juxtaposition of seeming Victorian type clothing, corsets and bustles, monocles, top hats, with the mechanical creatures such as Perceval that Ada has created. You have street urchins like in a Dickens book paired with automatons.'