Synopsis (Goodreads):
In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one…except the "thing" inside her.My Thoughts: I LIKED THIS ONE! (Guys, you know I'm serious when I use all caps.) I always figure that a good book needs to do one of two things: it either needs to create such a compelling world that you, as the reader, can imagine yourself in it or you need to care so deeply for the characters that you're on the edge of your seat to see how they're going to work their way out of whatever mess they're in.
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.
I loved the world created here. Loved it. Steampunk is so complex and evocative to me that a well-written steampunk setting grabs me from the get-go. Here, the gadgets were fabulous, the setting was gorgeous and the characters were pretty darn fun. I have to admit that I found Jack Dandy to be completely fascinating. I hope that that devilish rogue gets plenty of face time in later books. I won't say that he's my favorite (because all of them caught my attention in one way or another) but he's the one who stood out for me with his equal parts flamboyant and educated personality.
I enjoyed the familial aspects of the story a lot. Seeing unconnected individuals come together and begin to form a group and then to see it evolve into a family is one of those things that makes me smile. I did have a bit of a puzzling moment in the beginning-ish were I kept wondering why Griffin was on his own without any adult supervision as an 18 year old, but that was explained and I was able to move on.
All in all, this was a fun read that left me wanting to see the next mess this unorthodox family would be getting into and the crazy stuff they'll do to get out of it.
More books by Kady Cross
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Great review. I have just been really getting into steampunk an I have been anxious to read this one. Good to know that it read as good as the cover looks.
ReplyDeleteGreat review. I love Steampunk, although Clockwork Angel is my only foray so ar. I am reading this now:D
ReplyDeleteMichelle