Book Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset (ARC)

The Girl in the Steel Corset (The Steampunk Chronicles #1)
by Kady Cross
336 Pages - Hardcover (477 Pages - eARC)
Expected publication: May 24th 2011 by Harlequin Teen
Source: ARC from NetGalley

Summary:

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.

Review:

The Girl in the Steel Corset picks up where The Strange Case of Finley Jayne left. After Finley’s departure from the Morton’s, she is offered a position as a lady maid in the August-Raynes’s household. Finley thinks she couldn’t get into much trouble by being a lady maid. So when a lord tried to force himself upon her, she knew then and there that she would be unemployed for the nth time in as many months. After that, Finley finds herself under the care of Griffin King, the Duke of Greythorne, along with others who have superhuman abilities like her.

In the prequel, I didn’t quite catch the difference between Finley’s two personalities. I didn’t give much thought into it either but in TGitSC, her two personalities are given more emphasis and thus, became more distinct. But I'm not sure if I like the shy Finley. Her badass self is definitely more interesting. Though I also don't like how she's so compelled to any kinds of trouble.

Cross's writing is as compelling and twice as witty as in the prequel. TGitSC is action-packed, fascinating and hugely entertaining. The world that Cross created is vivid and imaginative. Her characters are very likable and easy to connect with. They have really interesting back stories that support the present story. The romance, also, is very realistic. There is a love triangle here, but I think everyone could guess who Finley's really going to end up with (I hope).

TGitSC is told in third person POV. Practically all the characters, even some of the minor ones have their own POV so it could be a little confusing when the POV switches from one character to another. This is also a very lengthy read. Goodreads says that this has 336 pages but the eARC has 477. But anyhow, lengthy or not, Kady Cross's The Girl in the Steel Corset is one novel you must not miss.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Disclosure: This e-ARC was provided by the publisher (Harlequin Teen via NetGalley) for free in exchange for an honest review.

Download The Girl in the Steel Corset's prequel, The Strange Case of Finley Jayne, for free!