Description
In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one…except the "thing" inside her.
When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch….
Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.
Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help—and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.
But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on—even if it seems no one believes her. (Goodreads)
Book Details
- Genre: YA; Steampunk
- Hardcover: 480 pages
- Publisher: Harlequin
- Published: Original edition (May 24, 2011)
- ISBN-10: 0373210337
- ISBN-13: 978-0373210336
Author’s Website: http://www.kadycross.com/
Review
Before I even start my review, I know everyone else has already thought or said something about it but, THE COVER! I love it and think it is beautiful. Ok, now on to the review.
This was my introduction into the Steampunk world of Reading and I have to say that as a whole I enjoyed myself. In the back of the book Kady Cross writes “ I wanted to write League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets teen X-Men” and I think she pulls this off with The Girl in the Steel Corset.
What I loved about this book were the characters. Each one has their own special ability, and as a group they play well off of one another (so long as they can all get along). My favorite three characters were Finley, Griffin, and Jack. Most times in books “love triangles” will get on my nerves, but the back and forth between these characters was not overdone it was so much fun to read. As we learned so much about Griffin in this book I hope to learn more about Jack in the future Steampunk Chronicles. I really want to know his back story.
As much as I enjoyed this book, I had two problems with The Girl in the Steel Corset. My first was that you knew who the villain was the moment he came on scene, and you had to wait around for the characters to catch up. That always drives me crazy. The second and bigger problem for me was the reason behind Finley going to live with the group in the first place was to get control over her ability. Then Finley and Griffin only have one session together and suddenly she has all this new control over her power. It was just to easy for me. I wanted more development on that front not just an easy fix.
Overall The Girl in the Steel Corset was a great read. It has definitely turned me on to the Steampunk Genre and I will be looking for more. I will also be reading the next in this series, especially since it left of as a cliff hanger and I can’t wait to read what happens to these characters next.
Happy Reading,
Rebecca
4 moons: I loved it. It's reread worthy.
Recommended For
Teen and up: There is violence, and mention of rape and sexual assault.
*This ARC was provided to me by the publishers via Net Galley.*
Awesome review. Really makes me want to read it now. =]
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