A charming, quick historical fiction read where I quickly grew to like the main character of Emma and then her love interest Thomas, the hotelier of the place she came to stay at in Ireland to deal with the trauma of losing her best friend and suffragist Martina. I was very unsympathetic to Thomas's wife Alice, despite being able to figure out quite early on that her lover was Aoife, as the way she treated anyone else in her life was quite awful.

I could tell by the cover and time period that the Titanic was going to make an appearance, and as Titanic lore is always very interesting I was quite excited for it. However this part of the book seemed very rushed with low stakes as I never really believed the characters were in any grave danger. The sudden switch up of Alice's personality was quite unexpected, and I think it would have had greater emotional impact to have her unable to escape the Titanic as we expected to happen before Emma called for her last minute.

Emma and Thomas's romance was beautiful and a nice level of slow burn that came to head on the boat, in scenes I wish weren't 'fade to black' but I understand its just not that kind of book. All in all, I enjoyed reading this and I was invested in Emma's story, I just wish the second half was longer, more dramatic and more fleshed out!

After experiencing the devastating loss of her brother, and then her best friend in a workplace tragedy, Emma is sent from America to Ireland to recover. Already an advocate for the suffrage movement that’s been gaining ground in her home country, she hopes to start a similar fight for the vote in the small town she’s landed in. This draws the interest, and ire, of some townsfolk.

One interested person is Thomas, the man who runs the inn Emma is staying in. Given the run of it in exchange for a love-less marriage to the previous owner’s daughter, Thomas is content making the most of his lot in life. That is until Emma walks into it.

The true heart of this book is the relationship between Emma and Thomas, and it kept me turning pages to see how things would start and end for them. Thomas’ wife Alice, a selfish actress who uses him and anyone else to get ahead in her career, is also an interesting character. Certainly, one you love to hate. She takes a surprising turn in both character and arc, which for me, felt like it came out of left field, but it did work by the closing pages. If you’re a fan of historical romance fiction, this book is worth a read.

The courage and convictions of women in history is evident in this book . Emma who believed in equal rights and woman being able to vote ,Alice who was an entrepreneur, actress and a progressive woman in so many ways. Aiofe, the humble servant who knew what she needed to do to rise above her position. So many other women in this book through their volunteering and commitment to causes were contributors to making society more accessible and fair to women. This book shows that life often is complicated ,unfair and tragic events occur but moving forward is the right thing to do.

Maid of Steel, by Katie Baker, is a wonderfully written historical novel. I enjoyed this book from the first page. While I wouldn't say it was a page turner, it was one that I couldn't wait to read until I finished it. It was well researched information about the suffrage movement and the Titanic. The characters were all fascinating, and there really wasn't one that I liked more than the others. Overall, it was a well written book and I can't wait to read others by this author!

It’s 1911 and Emma has suffered a tragic loss and an injury. She moves from New York to Ireland to reset her body and mind. Here, she meets a hotelier and a maid who help heal her heart, mind and body. She also becomes involved in the suffragette movement. But will her heart survive a growing but forbidden love? And what will happen to the women around her?
I really enjoyed the first half of this book. I connected with Emma and Aefie and appreciated their friendship and personal growth. The dialogue was interesting too.
But the last quarter of the book felt rushed. And while tidy, the ending was unsatisfactory. It felt more like telling than showing.

Everything about this was wonderful. from the gorgeous cover to the perfect story inside. I really enjoyed Kate Baker's historic novel debut -the early 20th century is a period of relatively recent history that fascinates me with the implications for women's rights and democracy. Throw in a beautifully scripted romance with star-crossed lovers and I am there.

I know from reading posts that the author has spent years researching the historic background to do her story justice, and it worked brilliantly. The details were deftly sewn in and I felt a real sense of place and time. The tone is perfectly pitched, the pace of the book is ideal, the characters are all real - I wouldn't change a thing.

What a lovely bit of historical fiction! The author does such a good job making sure you immediately feel attached to Emma. Alice is the classic mean girl, only nice to get her way, and very unkind to our Emma! While the Romance between Thomas and Emma/Alice was intriguing, my favorite part was the inclusion of the women’s suffrage movement in the book, and that made this book way more special to me! I’m excited to read more by this author in the future

I was not a huge fan of Maid of Steel, but I was grateful for the opportunity to read and review. The story moved slowly at times and I predicted what would happen easily.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. For a debut novel by a new author, the book is absolutely brilliant.
We got our main character Emma that’s fighting for women’s rights, plagued by a traumatic event, and she’s hopelessly in love with a man that cannot be hers. She falls pregnant, and during a historical time like this, it’s considered a disgrace especially since the father is a married man.
In order to escape her problems, she boards the Titanic, and worst of all she’s on the ship with the baby daddy’s wife Alice.
Alice is an aspiring actress and frankly she’s also a bit of a brat. But in the end she makes the ultimate sacrifice by saving Emma and Emma’s unborn bastard child.
Surprisingly under duress, Emma and Alice become friends when Emma somehow convinces the crew to let them both on a life boat. I absolutely adore seeing women supporting other women. It comes to show that there are more important things in life than to be petty.
Also honestly I didn’t care for Thomas, especially when it came down to two women fighting over him, and heaven only knows what they see in him.
I’m all in favor of the small kinship that Emma and Alice had formed on the Titanic.
If you love historical fiction, I highly recommend this book to my fellow readers.

such a nice and pleasant read! (except for the anxiety it briefly gave me) I love novels taking place in Ireland, even more so with fantastic romances in them.

for the first half of the book I came back more for the characters than the plot and then things took a turn and I was HOOKED.

it's amazing how much tension one can create without any type of smut, the love story was so endearing I'm obsessed. I need a Thomas in my life

Emma is a feminist legend and I loved how she took an interest in soldiers and their mental health, she was such a layered character!

this achieved to interest me in the titanic's story, I'll be watching documentaries on it very soon🫡

Thanks to The Book Guild for the ARC!

Maid Of Steele is a book that instantly draws you in, hooks you and makes you forget the world outside.
This book is about growth, female empowerment, strong friendships, and an even stronger love.
Not only did I thoroughly enjoy the book for what it was - a quite feel-goody romance with some twists and turns - but I absolutely adored how well researched this book was, and how well the author weaved in actual historical events throughout!

Truly a solid piece of historical fiction.

Emma is a young suffragette who tragically loses her best friend in a factory fire that leaves herself scarred and burned forever. Her parents send their stubborn “unladylike” daughter to Ireland to recover, not realizing the scandals in store. Emma meets Thomas, the hotel owner of The Admiral, and doesn’t realize her life is going to change forever.

Thomas is a quiet hotel owner in Queenstown, Ireland who is a ghost in his own life. Eight years ago, Victor, a wealthy hotel owner, bought out his ailing mother’s boarding house and promised his daughter’s hand in marriage. Victor promised that love would come in time, but eight years later, Thomas is less sure of that than ever before. He will do whatever it takes to fulfill his catholic beliefs, to be a husband to Alice (even if she resents him for it), and to look over any discretions she may act upon. Thomas is at a crossroads: accept the fate he knows and despises, or go against everything he believes in for a chance at true love?

Alice is a devoted actress. She seemingly gets what she wants by any means and by any person it takes. She was devastated when her father prearranged a groom her her, ruining her girlhood dreams of wedding for love. She resents Thomas and his quiet ways, mistaking his quiet self depreciating acts of service as a weakness of character. She freely sleeps with whomever will further her career, but her heart is back at the hotel where her true love, her secret lover awaits. Can she have the career AND the love she desires?

****SPOILERS BELOW****

I’ll start by saying I absolutely love that the historical fiction of the suffragette movement and in the end she includes the titanic.

I wanted to like this book a lot but I STRUGGLED with the drearily slow pace for the first 70% of this book. In a literal sense, I’m glad she included that Emma got pregnant from losing her virginity, but in a literary sense it was very “purity pushing” for me. There were multiple chapters that ended on a tenuous note and the next chapter doesn’t address what happened, it just skips over it entirely and goes to days or weeks later.

For example, when Thomas and Emma have sex for the first (and only recorded in this book) time, the description of it was blindingly vague and coy and disjointed. I honestly thought they just made out and got hands until I read that she was pregnant 4 months later. He then says he thought he was careful because he didn’t completely have sex, but she knew they did because she felt him? Helloooo??? I desperately need more explanation than that!!

Little ticks like that littered in this book removed me from the story completely. In the last 30%, things pick up and there is genuine tension to turn the page, but it again ends in anticlimactic disappointment when Thomas won’t leave his wife who is with another woman but he will raise his daughter with an unwed woman and that’s not going to cause more shame and disappointment in the catholic community? Repentance is to turn away from sin, so he couldn’t repent for his affair when he’s living and acting out in it still. There’s a reason why annulments exist and Alice’s affairs their entire relationship gave him just enough reason time over again to have an annulment.

Finally, the preemie baby issue. 32 weekers have just developed the suck swallow reflex and with her being underweight it is unlikely she would’ve been able to avoid failure to thrive. The incubator issue, while I love it was included, frustrated me also. At the time in New York, incubators were used almost exclusively in Couney Island, New York, by Dr.Couney who sold tickets to raise money to keep them operating because hospitals (like the dr in the story) refused. It would’ve been an awesome extra historical nugget to include in the story to make it all the more believable. I am grateful the baby lived in the story though!

For all of those reasons, I wanted to give this book four stars but I just could not. It is a beautiful historical fiction, and with more practice and editing, I cannot wait to see future publications from this author as she continues to grow and hone her genuine talents of storytelling.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this copy for an unbiased review of this intriguing breakthrough novel!

A fabulous debut historical novel
In 1911 against her mother’s wishes, New Yorker Emma, dreams of winning the right to vote.
She is sent away by her parents to Queenstown in Ireland to learn about her family heritage and grandparents, in the hope that distance will wane her desire to join the suffragette movement
Beautifully written, very engaging with fascinating historical facts.
Emma was such a strong charismatic character
Can imagine it been made into a film for the big screen.
Thanks @katefbaker @bookguild & @netgalley for the eARC

I was first drawn in by the cover of this novel but I was even more drawn in while reading it!
Kate Baker did an amazing job describing the setting and the time period. It was easy to picture even as someone who doesn't know much about that time period.
The main character Emma was such a strong wholesome character. Kate Baker gave each character such a rich backstory.
Bravo to Kate Baker for such an intriguing debut!

I love reading stories about women who become independent and Maid of Steel was really good! I love the aspects of the suffrage movement and I learned so much about women getting the right to vote. Overall, I thought this was a really well done and researched book and I highly recommend it!

I loved the cover which is what caught my eye and drew me in - I wasn't disappointed with this historical fiction debut novel.

The story has some major historical events cleverly woven in with the character's stories, these were clearly well researched and used to good effect throughout. Emma is a New Yorker keen to get involved in the women's suffrage movement, but after suffering an accident at work is sent to Ireland to recuperate by her family while exploring her Irish grandmother's history there.

She stays in a hotel in Queenstown where she meets the owner Thomas and his wife Alice, and their lives become irrevocably intertwined.

I really enjoyed this story, I think the author has created a really heartwarming tale and has put all the researched details to very good use. Emma's story is strong and clear and we learn more about Thomas and his wife Alice as the story progresses, although there is a strand in Alice's relating to her personal life which felt a bit tacked on and didnt really add much to the story overall. I also thought the last few chapters felt a bit rushed, but these small niggles did not stop me thoroughly enjoying this story.

A great concept told through some interesting historical facts and fiction. Loved the elements of romance and the characters. Great debut with promise for future publications.

Firstly, thank you, Negalley for this advanced copy

Historical fiction at its best page turner, I loved the story line and the every day life in the era

Maid of Steel is a pretty run-of-the-mill historical fiction. Not overly enthralling, but not super boring either, it kind of hovers the line. The writing itself is very good, and the character development is very easy to visualize.

Emma is a young woman from New York City who after undergoing an intense event retreats to Ireland to find herself again. While she's there, she meets a hotelier named Thomas and finds out who she is really meant to be.

The story of the book is really compelling, and I enjoyed the setting and seeing the characters interact with one another. Although I did like the story itself, the book was a little underbaked. The plot sped along too fast, and the initial event at the beginning's characters lacked the depth necessary to invest us all the way. The love story in the book felt very forced, and I wasn't able to see why it was worth it. The main characters all feel a little bit contrived and one-dimensional; like they're all stereotypes meant to further the story without finding more depth in the individuals. Some of Emma's core values fade in and out when it's convenient, such as her suffragette beliefs. She acts on them and believes them when it's convenient, but when it's not they tend to get forgotten.

The closing act of the book is very rushed, such as when both Alice and Emma are on the Titanic, I think it's the last 20% of the book that the Titanic is even introduced. And then on the boat, Alice just grows a heart and saves Emma's life and wants Thomas to leave her to be with who he loves? I get that they had a near-death experience, but enough to go against what was being preached from the rooftops for the whole book? And we're just supposed to expect that Alice decides to give up her dreams of acting and wants to settle down and be domesticated? I don't buy it. And another thing, I am so irked that Thomas is painted as this righteous wronged man, but he was the one that slept with an unmarried girl while he was married, got her pregnant, and then shirked all responsibility when it came to the consequences of the pregnancy.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk rant. Overall the negatives don't outweigh the positives, and I think that this book would be the perfect show/movie adaptation.

Big thanks to NetGalley and The Book Guild for letting me have an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

Ideal Casting:
⭐️Emma: Olivia Cook
⭐️Thomas: Dan Stevens
⭐️Alice: Eve Hewson
⭐️Aoife: Sophie McShera

I adore historical fiction AND intertwining storylines, so this was a fantastic read for me. I've found the 1910s to be a time period that's relatively neglected compared to the 1920s, Tudors, War of the Roses, WW2 etc. so really appreciated that this was well written and clearly well researched.

I loved the writing style, and the pacing was overall well done - although I did find that there was an element of predictability in certain areas, and it did feel slightly rushed towards the end.
I was super engrossed throughout, and felt invested in the characters and their stories.

This is definitely going to be a re-read for me!

4 stars