Date of Publication: May 22, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling-or dangerous Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper from the clutches of a devious criminal demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him...for the life of the girl Jasper loves. One false move from Jasper, and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens and tightens. From the rough streets of lower Manhattan to elegant Fifth Avenue, the motley crew of teens follows Jasper's elusive trail. And they're about to discover how far they'll go for friendship. More than ever, Finley must rely on powerful English duke Griffin King to balance her dark magic with her good side. Yet Griffin is at war with himself over his secret attraction to Finley...and will risk his life and reputation to save her. Now, to help those she's come to care for so deeply, Finley must infiltrate the criminal gang. Only problem is, she might like the dark side a little too much....
Review:
If there were any doubts they were throughly dispelled
after reading The Girl in the Clockwork Collar. The Girl in the Steel
Corset was one of my favorite debuts and I was curious to see if this
series was legit. It is. There's this wonderful mix of exhilarating and
fun.
This book was fun to read. That's its biggest strength: the
way every lines drew me in. There was such a great blend of so many
elements; likable characters, thoughtfulness, action, and a really cool
world. There's also so much creativity. Kady Cross does not bite off
more than she can chew. It's fascinating how this is only the second
book but it doesn't feel that way because everything is clearly written.
There's depth and detail and I adore it.
Once again I have to praise Finley. I adore her. She's not a
total badass because she has a conscience and insecurities. She has
this steady confidence about her and her abilities that I couldn't help
but admire. Finley is a character I like to read about and respect too.
The story alternates POVs with Finley, Jasper, and Griffin
all having an opportunity to tell it and I loved that. Griffin is a
fantastic character that I totally literary crush on. He feels so
different from most other love interests in YA because he's responsible
and over thinks. He's bossy but in general just decent. Someone you can
pull full. Jasper I like a little less than Finley and Griffin (and
Emily for this matter) but that says more about them than him.
Jasper has dealt with a lot and it's him that drags
everyone into this mess (although it really isn't his fault). Jasper is
brought to New York due to some bogus murder charges in an elaborate
plan by Dalton, a guy from Jasper's past, who's looking for something
Jasper once took. Dalton is prepared to do whatever it takes to get what
he wants, even if that means hurting others, including some pretty girl
Jasper seems to like a lot. Jasper is charming and you end up feeling
for him and liking him but when compared to the awesomeness of Finley
and Griffin, he was a second (third?) choice.
The characters are fantastic; I hope that has been
established. There is just a really great crew and what I love is their
loyalty for one another. There are trust and control issues but at the
end of the day, everybody loves one another. They all need each other
and as individuals they're fascinating and collectively they're
unstoppable.
The plot centres around saving Jasper and I thought it was
well done. I love that the story wraps up by the end of the book; it's
very satisfying and refreshing after the constant cliffhangers. The
world is pretty cool with automatons somehow being natural. At some
point I got used to the crazy machines which lead to some awesome mental
images of scenery. The Aether was a really cool dimension that I hope
is further explored.
I've tried my best to explain why I love this book and this
series so much. I think it's a bit of a YA gem and it has a little bit
of everything for everybody.
Hmm, I found this one predictable. :/ The writing also bothered me, from what I remember (I read this a while ago), and I think the multiple POVs really kept me from feeling the group dynamic, because it would change every time I moved on to the next chapter. Still, great job explaining what you loved about it!
ReplyDeleteThe multiple POV thing has never bothered me. I've actually always been a huge fan of it for some reason. Sucks that you didn't like it but I think we've already established that we have some very different tastes :)
Delete-P.E.
The Girl in the Steel Corset is on my bookshelf waiting to be ready, because although I have yet to have a good experience with steampunk I've heard too many good things about that book not to risk it! :-) Great review.
ReplyDeleteThanks! And I think the appeal of this book is that it's an action read with fun characters. I've always enjoyed the series so far and I hope you do too!
DeleteI have a crush on Griffin too-I think he's so honorable and dreamy. I really enjoy the steampunk and action in this series.
ReplyDelete