Book Review: The Steampunk Chronicles - The Girl In The Steel Corset

In 1897 England, 16-year-old Finley Jayne has no one expect 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 and 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.

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.

But The machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of stray's appart, 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.

The Girl With The Steel Corset
Publication Date: May 24th 2011
Pages: 304 (ebook)
Part of Series: Book #1
Purchased: Bought
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Buy: Amazon (UK) || Amazon (US) || BookDepository

REVIEW:

What I first noticed on the book was the title, it caught my attention, and then the cover which is identical to the title and so beautiful, that I didn't need more persuation into reading the book. Last time I saw my Boss, aka Yiota, she asked my opinion about the book, but her question was out of the blue and I didn't have the time to prepare myself and answer her correctly. So here's my answer. I'd like, also to say that this was the first Steampunk novel I've ever read.

There are many things that I liked. Firstly, I liked the whole world, it wasn't something entirely different. It felt like I was watching a movie about old London, with the difference than there are some automatons or robots, and that there are some technological achievements that are newer in years.

Secondly, I liked the story and the characters. The story was a simple mystery that mixes both historical -real- figures, with the fictional characters. It also has some magic in, but nothing too fancy. The characters were different. They were acting different, they were thinking different. And that was good, because you had the opportunity to see many reactions in the same situation.

And lastly, I liked the writing. It was simple and understanding. We are able to see both lives in high society and the simpler one. The author doesn't write in point of views, which was good, because we are able to see all of the characters in equal parts and learn about their stories. Also, she doesn't stay too long in scenes, as a result the book is balanced, she cares about the romance as she cares about the action scenes, not more, not less.

Among the things I liked was the way the story flows, and how she manages to make all of her characters interesting. Sure there were some moments that I wanted to hit Sam for being so foulish, the fact that I knew who was The Machinist long before the characters find out and the cliche love triangle, that made it little boring, but other than that, it wasn't tiring at all.

Bottom line, the book was really good, I liked it and enjoyed it a lot, so I guess it's 4.5/5, it just misses the half point for the boring and already seen stuff.

P.S.: This is my first review for the new year. I don't think it counts for you, but it matters to me. So in case I forgot to already said it, Happy 2012 with many books, movies, games, etc to fill your life!!