Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Girl with the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

Thanks to netgalley.com and Harlequin Teen for the look at this book.

My Summary:

Finley lives in London in 1897. She’s sixteen years old and is having a problem keeping a job as a maid. Every time she finds one, she finds her personality getting her in trouble. Or rather her dark side is getting her in trouble. Her father’s dead so she had lived with her mother and step-father until she left to try and support herself. She had taken a job as a maid but something always happens to get her dismissed. Now, as a young lord tries to take advantage of her, her dark side saves her from his advances but it also costs her the job. And Victorian young women shouldn’t have a dark side. Is she insane? What’s wrong with her? Then she meets Griffin King. He recognizes something about her, something that makes her like him. He takes her in and helps her. Joining his group, Finley is surprised to discover just how much she is involved with the crimes by automatons that were happening in London. Can Finley trust Griffin and his group? Can they trust her? Will they solve the puzzle of what’s happening in London or will they die trying?

My Thoughts:

5 Stars – A must read

I love this book. The world that Kady creates is brilliant. It’s a mix of the grace and charm of the Victorian age mixed with the technology of the modern world. An ore has been discovered that allows for the development of all kinds of little gadgets. Those gadgets include the automatons that seem to be developing a mind of their own and are attacking people. Proximity to that ore has caused changes in some of our main characters to give them more than human abilities. It all fits nicely into the beautiful London city complete with a Queen.

The characters in this book are full and well developed. Finley is split between what she thinks of as herself and her darker side. She struggles with the idea of being different than what is socially acceptable at the time. Any modern girl could relate. Griffin in a young man put in a difficult situation where he is expected to behave in a certain way. He cares for Finley and is drawn to her but it’s not proper for them to be anything but friends. It’s clear that everyone else’s expectations of him are a heavy burden for Griff. I love Sam. He is strong and feels misunderstood by his friends. He has recently gone through some changes that have shaken his self identity. All he wants is to be understood but the girl he cares about is really the cause of the problem. His unresolved anger is a constant struggle. Emily is a genius, which I love to see in a female character. She doesn’t fight with her fists but with her brains. Completely in love with Sam, she is worried about his anger. Jasper is this great cowboy from America that we don’t get to know as much but he is strong and typically a cowboy. All of these characters got under my skin. I care about them. I worried about them as I read. I can’t wait to see what happens with them in book two.

I love paranormal but I don’t think I have read anything that is quite like this book. It is fabulous and you should definitely read it.

Make sure you stop by my giveaway and enter to win a copy of this book.

9 comments:

  1. This one looks really good. I'll have to get it soon :)
    Great review!

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  2. I'm a sucker for a diverse & unique cast of well-rounded characters. And the steampunk theme is definitely a plus. This sounds like a fun & interesting read; I'm definitely gonna have to check it out for myself. Thanks for the review!

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  3. This really sounds like a great book, after reading your review you make me want to go out and buy my own copy right away!
    I really enjoy historical fiction, so I might as well get a copy(:

    Again great review and happy reading!
    Lisa
    Make sure to check out my 50 follower Giveaway!:D
    http://turningpages94.blogspot.com/2011/05/50-follower-giveaway.html

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  4. Thanks for the great review. This book caught my attention and sounds like a really good book.

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  5. I loved this one too. Isn't it awesome that Emily, a female, was the smartest among a bunch of boys?

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  6. This book sounds great, I'm not sure why I have believed that it wasn't for me. Great and honest review.

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  7. I have been seeing this cover and it's striking and after reading your review I think it's something I might really like!

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  8. Awesome review!

    I recently got into steampunk, so I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy.

    Thanks for sharing with us!

    On The Blog: Early Review of Half-Blood (Covenant #1)

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  9. Great you liked it so much! Thanks for the review. I want to read more steampunk and my Girl in the Steel Corset egalley with be next:)

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