I wanted to love "The Inventors at No. 8." I wanted to enjoy this adventure the characters went on in their fun, quirky world. The book made it difficult at times, though. The main issue I had with this book was the pacing. At times, it just seemed to drag on and on, making me lose interest and making it difficult to finish the book. If you are a fan of exposition and enjoy extra depth in your stories, check this out. If you prefer a faster paced book, you might look somewhere else.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion of the book.

This book was really quite adorable. It had unique and fun characters whose story I found myself very invested in. The characters were so much fun and Ruthie the orangutan was for sure my favorite. But each character was so relatable and have their own individual personalities that are not cookie cutter at all. I couldn’t help but laugh and smile and find myself delighted at each random seeming turn.

As George tries to get his life together (such an oblivious cinnamon roll), Ada sails in (literally) and flips his boring life into one of adventure and craziness that George never dreamed of. Bringing along her friends, Ruthie the orangutan and Oscar the aspiring artist and geologist. This story really talks about what makes a family and what makes a true friend.

I highly recommend this book and really think that it’s a great one for all ages. It’s a cute, quick, and fun read and I didn’t even mention that Darwin shows up! It’s crazy! Four out of five beans from me!

Now this middle grades book I found delightful. George, the third Lord of Devonshire, is the unluckiest boy in London — but that may be about to change, thanks to his new neighbor, the young Ada Lovelace. (This is a digression, but I love how the world has rediscovered the awesomeness of Ada Lovelace over the past five years. Yay for feminist historians!) George and Ada set off in Ada’s flying machine — along with the son of an infamous pirate and a pet orangutan — to change George’s luck and — maybe — the world. Think of it as a steampunk-y Lemony Snicket-y quest story, and settle in for a fun ride.

Overall, I find this book fairly forgettable. Its a pretty standard "unlikely team" adventure. THe historical setting may be a barrier to entry for some. Really, its the historical figures I found most compelling. I liked the bits about Ada Lovelace and the influence of her father's identity on her life path. The rest was a bit tiresome.

Great middle great read full of adventure, conspiracies, inventions, friendship and much, much more. A great book to recommend this summer to my patrons.

My girls and I read this slowly throughout our homeschool days. Well, we tried to read it slowly, but it was so captivating it was hard not to put our other work aside and just read this. What an awesome story! It was quirky and different and full of excitement and adventure. The perfect middle grade book to keep young readers engaged. We will definitely be following the works of this author!

I think this was one of those cases of “It’s not you, it’s me.” Because, here’s the thing: there was nothing wrong with this book. It should have been a cute and clever read. But I just couldn’t get into it. Something about the style of writing (and the old-fashioned steampunk feel?) threw me off and kept me from caring about these characters. I think it might have been because the MC himself didn’t seem to really feel very much. Lots of bad things happen to him, but none of them seem to actually affect him all that much. I forced myself to read the first 40% and then I skim-read the rest of the book. I kept thinking it might get better—the action would pick up, and I’d think, surely I’ll start to really enjoy the book now. But I just never really did, and I can’t explain why. I think the book might be similar in style to the Lemony Snicket books? (I never actually got through those either, so I can’t say for absolute sure.) So, if you appreciate that style, you’ll probably adore this book. It just wasn’t for me. I give it 2.5/5 stars.

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

Just how far would you ride on a mechanical bird that can really fly? George is still trying to decide that...

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published on May 8th.

This story is great fun. The girl across the street is a great inventor, has lots of imagination and tells good tales. She says she's telling the truth but not everything is the true. When a man tries to rob George of his last asset in life, a map from his grandfather, her mechanical raven saves him. The raven also takes the map and that's how he meets Ada. He likes her but he's not sure he trusts her. And then there are her companions. She has a small boy named Oscar who has been separated from his father and an orangutan. They are strange and act that way.

He just wants to stay home in his house because he feels like he owns bad luck. Everyone in his life has died except his servant and he's afraid to venture out. Ada doesn't care. She need his map and his help to find her own father and the Star of Victory that George's grandfather had hidden.

They travel to foreign lands, run into police and pirates and still can't find the star. This is a great adventure with lots of antics that make you laugh (a police man who sniffs out his prey), a jail that blows up, a pirate looking for a lost son, and more. It's a great adventure and really fun to read. The best part is that Ada is thinking about another adventure even if George is still trying to get over the last one...

George, also known as Lord Devonshire, is living in a crumbling house with only an old manservant for company, after the unlucky deaths of both his parents. When he reluctantly tries to sell his grandfather’s map, he meets up with Ada (a young Ada Lovelace) and Oscar, who loves painting and adventuring with his orangutan. They go on a wild adventure across Europe in order to find George’s lost family treasure, find Oscar’s pirate father, and save Ada from the organization who wishes her harm.

I liked Ada and her flying machine, but I found both orangutan-owning Oscar and curmudgeonly George to be irritating. Still, the group’s adventure was fun, and their friendship despite the frequently insensitive or hurtful comments they made to each other was a lot more realistic than most friendships in MG books.

The Inventors at No. 8 follows an unfortunate young boy by the name of George who has been totally and uttely orphaned except for his man Frobisher. He believes himself to have a supernatural case of bad luck, which makes him rather useless and annoying for a while as it is quite obvious that it is false. He's rather underdeveloped and spends a large part of the story being naive and missing hints. The book also has a small bit of factual error: George's father would not have been a Lord of Devonshire if his father were still alive, as the father died last, and there is not such thing as a Lord of..., only a Lord .../Baron... Additionally, the word ego would not have been in common usage at this time, being popularised by Sigmund Freud. It doesn't really detract, but once you notice, it begins to feel sloppy. Additionally, the surprises contained in Ada Byron don't balance against her omniscience and overconfidence, which is completely unendearing. The twists, which should have been one worthy of the name, were quite obvious due to the complete lack of smokescreens and lack of guile in the book. This is honestly just a book of trope.

A digital copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I adored this book!! I couldn’t put it down from the minute I started and I stayed up waaaay too late devouring it. Utterly page turner. From the world-building to the nuances of the characters, The Inventors at No. 8 was able to hold me tight. Upon turning the last page and my mind filled with revelations and magic, I keep wishing that there's more. More. Moooore. The language here is rich and absorbing, every line used to develop each character fully and further storylines to such an extent that they could have their own stories. Morgen has developed a wonderfully believable world. The pace is perfect and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. This is accompanied by some of the best described locations ever, some of which are very dark indeed. There's cool gear, puzzles, and mechanical workings that I had fun wrapping my brain around.

This steampunk middle grade novel is a book everyone needs to look out for.

Poor George, Lord Devonshire. Poor in the sense that he's reduced to selling his grandfather's clothing, and poor in the sense that he is, in fact, the unluckiest person in the world. Down to an unpaid manservant, Frobisher, and one thing he might be able to sell for money (a map), he's trying to figure out what to do to survive and then... someone tries to steal the map. And thus starts his trek to rescue Frobisher, find the Star of Victory and restore his fortunes. Alone? No, he's got inventress Ada Byron (daughter of the mad, bad, dangerous to know Baron), abandoned-by-his-pirate-father artist Oscar, and Oscar's friend, chimpanzee Ruthie on his side.

If you know Byron's life, you'll recognize several locations and set pieces. But beyond that, and more importantly for MG readers, there's a great sense of mystery and fun here.

ARC provided by publisher.

Can George change his luck?

The first few paragraphs of The Inventors at No. 8 sweeps aside a family – and several servants – in a one-day streak of bad luck that spares only the third Lord Devonshire (George to his friends) and one elderly manservant. The storyline feels like a mashup of A Series of Unfortunate Events and Artemis Fowl in some ways. It’s a quirky bad-luck-strewn steampunk romp through a bygone era, as George teams up with Ada, the daughter of Lord Byron, and Oscar, the son of a famous pirate, to recover his family’s stolen treasure. It’s a huge step for George as he’s pretty much agoraphobic trying to keep his bad luck from sucking in any more victims. In addition to finding his family’s missing treasure, the trio are also searching for Ada’s and Oscar’s fathers.

Despite all the bad things that keep happening, underneath it all, George is hopeful and struggles to keep trying. George has to overcome his fears and not inconsiderable bad luck as he, Ada, Oscar, and an orangutan adventure across Europe meeting both inspiring and threatening characters along the way. Ada uses her inventions, which include a flying machine, to help them on their journey. Her character, and that of Oscar, are integral to George’s success . The Inventors at No. 8 is an exciting story that celebrates intelligence, independence, science, and perseverance. Incredibly, some of the most interesting aspects are borrowed from real life. I think it’d be a plus if that info was in the front material, rather than an author’s note after the book. I think it’d be fun to guess which inventions and events were real versus those the author imagined.

A fun enjoyable read, The Inventors at No. 8 is a tale about being brave, taking chances, friendship, family, and much more. Lots of pondering material and good conversation starters here in addition to just being quirky and fun! Highly recommended.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Quirky. That's the word that comes to mind when thinking about the story, the characters, the steampunk vibes, and A.M Morgen's literary voice. This novel has it all: espionage-like conspiracies, inventions galore, heart and heartache, adventures, foreign countries, fancy clothes, lovable old servants, young and spirited daredevils, and, why not, pirates.

We meet George, 12-year-old Lord of Devonshire. He is out of money. His trusty butler, and only friend, is steadily selling off everything they own, so they can survive. George has one prized possession though - a map to the Star of Victory - which promises bountiful success to the owner. We also meet Ada Byron, the future Countess of Lovelace (yes, that countess!), and more importantly, accomplished adventurer and inventor. Together with Ada and two other friends, one of them being an orangutan, George begins the search for the Star of Victory since The Organization has kidnapped his butler and demands the gem as ransom. Traveling across Europe, the team faces many riddles and overcomes many risky situations.

This story is fast and interesting and relatable and fantastical; just what anyone in middle grade (or really any other age) needs. I truly enjoyed reading this book. I wanted to get to know the characters better with every page I turned. I loved the journey they were on and kept crossing my fingers that they would find what they were looking for. Truly a magical book that takes you on an exciting quest to find a gem and to find yourself. Readers of all ages will want to be a part of this world.

I have to give the author a special shout-out for finding inspiration in Ada Lovelace and making her one heroine of this book. I greatly appreciate the recognition the real Ada Lovelace received with this story.