Immerse In The Girl In The Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles, #1) Created By Kady Cross Delivered In Digital Edition

the acknowledgments at the end of her book, Kady Cross describes her original desire to write The Girl in the Steel Corset as "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets teen XMen.
" There's really no better way to describe this novel than that for Kady Cross did obviously want to write that novel, Her talent seems to rest in creating an interesting world and atmosphere where those kinds of elements can come together, The problem, though, is that a great number of other things seemed to fall by the wayside in order to craft such a world, including a clear narrative, character investment, and a large amount of tension within the story arc.


Steampunk and packed with adventure, The Girl in the Steel Corset opens upon a young serving maid named Finley Jayne who believes she's struggling with a darker side within, a side that unleashes when she's frightened or angry.
Incidentally, we're treated to a display of this when the master's son decides he'd like to take advantage of the new serving girl, and he winds up beaten unconscious.
As Finley is aware that she'll be lucky if she only winds up dismissed from her position and not arrested, the voice in her head offers some solid advice flee before either can happen.
Dashing into the street as she escapes, Finley is nearly run down conveniently, by the only young man in all of London who can truly help her, Within his circle of friends, she finds even more frightening prospects than dealing with her own internal struggles the possibility of understanding, a useful place, and true friends.


The Girl in the Steel Corset gets major points based on cover and book design alone I loved the dips and curls of the script combined with the cogs on chapter pages and the lush cover is quite vibrant.
My experience with steampunk literature is rather limited aka Gordon Dahlquist and Gail Carriger, so perhaps staunch supporters of the genre would be able to really enjoy the detail that Cross goes in to.
The world that Cross paints has the benefit of luxury as one of the main characters and leader of the group, Griffin King, is a wealthy young Duke being contrasted with the gritty world outside.
There are still all kinds of crazy mechanical contraptions including a whole lot of robots and fashions that work in a good deal of body piercings, Introducing a unique element or at least making it something I haven't yet seen before, Cross features a new form of ore that seems to function as a blended mechanical/organic composite and keeping this substance away from those who would use its powers for evil will obviously occupy a lot of time in the series.
. . well, that and trying to figure out just how it works and how it has affected those who come in contact with it, Oh, and there's also this thing called the aether, which seems to encompass all living livings and dead ones, as it seems spirits exist in the aether, Are you smirking yet I'll admit, I smirked quite often, and yet I think steampunk enthusiasts are willing to accept a lot of crazy things for the sake of fun, even if this seemed more scifi at times.


I would try to explain the plotline in greater detail, but truth be told, I still haven't managed to shake the feeling that I was tossed into a series midway through, and so I find it hard to summarize in anything vaguely resembling a linear trajectory.
Even when you know the book says "Steampunk Chronicles," I still felt the compulsive need to do some internet research and see if there weren't, perhaps, other series somehow linked to this one.
. . and even when I came up with nothing under this same author name, I still remain somewhat unconvinced that there isn't a manuscript floating around out there with earlier story installments for these characters.
Without proof of that, though, my only explanation is that Cross seeks to put the reader on par with Finley, who is entering a group of friends rather late in the game, as they have a whole history of collaboration to their credit.
There are, however, much better ways to suggest this than leaving your reader with the nearconstant distracting feeling that she's missing something, It's downright frustrating to have lots of complications right at the start and a large cast of characters that obviously have convoluted emotions towards each other, The romantic tangles seemed to be more fitting for a second or third series installment, as triangles seemed already in place, and the characters themselves were never developed enough to the point where I felt like I sincerely cared for them.
The story seemed to expect I would care about the good guys simply because I was told to though some effort is put in to painting a

"bad guy" as still being interesting and alluring.
Finley herself is rather lacking in personality which almost seems hard to imagine, given that she's supposed to have two distinctly different sides, so you'd think at least one would jump out at you.
Two strong male characters are drawn to her and yet I see no reason for them to feel this pull, And the villain Well, I kept picturing "The Machinist" as Dr, Claw from Inspector Gadget and that's just not a good sign, His motivations once we get to know them seem flimsy and evilvillainy where one might otherwise hope for some nuance or at least solid reasoning,

In the end, I was rather disappointed in The Girl in the Steel Corset as a trailblazer for YA steampunk, The only thing that seemed to make it YA appeared to be the ages of the main characters and the PG romance, There are romantic storylines in play, but nothing that ever takes us beyond an impassioned kiss, Even the title ultimately proved misleading, as the steel corset really isn't an integral element to the story, beyond its notsosubtle fusion of the time period's costume with industrial steelwork.
Hopefully Cross will be able to hit her stride with later books and develop her writing abilities, but I'm rather doubtful that I'll pick up future installments in this series.


Please note that I received an advanced review copy of this novel courtesy of NetGalley for the purpose of review, A really interesting read, but i'm anxious to continue reading more books, InEngland, sixteenyearold 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 fullgrown 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, This book is the first part in a new series called The Steampunk Chronicles, and there is some measure of success in some of the devices used here.
The Organites in particular are pretty cool if borrowing somewhat from Star Trek, as they are tiny lifegiving creatures that can heal scars and mend bones, Many of the other steampunk elements are also fun, including the decorative but useful steel corset designed for Finley by her friend Emily,

But after awhile, there's almost too much technology on show, particularly when random devices make appearances for no apparent reason, There is an instant camera, rebuilding of hearts, and numerous other scientific discoveries that just aren't very convincing, Further straining credibility is the notion that Emily, a teenaged girl, would be so proficient in medicine, surgery, and the use of aforementioned technology, despite any back story to indicate her training or education.
There's also a disturbing lack of adult presence in this book, and the few that make appearances seem merely there for show, On top of this, the plot itself is pretty thin, there's very little character development, and the attempts to mimic the language of the time is awkward at best.


This book starts out with a bang as Finley flees the household where she's been mistreated and then encounters the selfsame lord in a dark alley.
Unfortunately, it quickly loses momentum as it becomes apparent that this is essentially a romance novel with a gorgeous cover and some great action scenes, The steampunk genre certainly invites a certain suspension of disbelief, but Victorian Englandand its manners and moresshould be more than just a set decoration for a story that is placed in that era.
Readers who crave fun, wellwritten steampunk would do better to find Cassandra Clare's sitelinkClockwork Angel, which skillfully blends mystery, magic, and strong characters and plot in with the distinct language and customs of the day.


This review also appears in sitelink
The Midnight Garden a review copy was provided by the publisher, OhthankyouGodJesusit'sfinallyover!!!! Phew! Reading this book was a constant battle against narcolepsy,

sitelink image error I loved it
Quick Summary: Finley has tried to ignore the darkness that takes over her body whenever she's mad, The problem is, it's getting stronger and her situations keep leading her toward people that deserve to see her other side, After a particularly bad experience followed by almost being killed, she finds herself with strangers who may just hold the answer to what's wrong with her, The more she learns about them, the clearer it becomes that not only do they hold the answers, but they also hold secrets about her past that she never thought was possible.


My Thoughts: The POV switches between Finley, a servant girl Griffin King, the Duke of Graythorne and Sam, a humanrobot hybrid, Each is on their own journey to discover what makes them the way they are and the truth to their past, The Girl With The Steel Corset one of those books that grabs your attention from the first sentence, Straight up we're given a strange situation that makes you question whether the heroine is someone who deserves our sympathy or not, As it becomes clear that Finley really doesn't mean or understand her actions, we're taken into her world to discover who exactly she is, As she is basically split into two people, each side of her attracts a different man, each with attractive qualities and secrets, And if you're like me and Finley, it's a hard decision who to choose,

Final Opinion: It didn't take me long to decide I loved The Girl in the Steel Corset, The setting was equal parts mysterious and interesting as were the characters, One particular character, Jack Dandy, really grabbed my attention and I believe there'll be more of him in the future, The only thing that let TGITSC down was that is was clear what the villain, The Machinist, was up to and who he was, Other than that, I never wanted to close this book for any reason at all, I loved seeing the personal growth that each character went through from their own POV, It was also clear who was telling the story at each time, something authors can fail spectacularly at, Kady is very talented. If you are so inclined to read dystopian romance, make sure you add TGITSC to your list,

Favourite Quote:

"Don't mistake me, Treasure, I can offer you many things, but friendship ain't one of them, Now, for once in your life, be a sensible girl and run away, "
Jack to Finley, Chapter Five

Cover: It strikes me more of an adult cover than young adult, I love it all the same though mostly because of the small details like the steel on the back of her dress, her jewellery and the clockwork on the wall that give it a real steampunk feel.


The Steampunk Chronicles

, The Girl in the Steel Corset
, Untitled.