Book Review: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (The Steampunk Chronicles, #2) 

by Kady Cross 

Genre: Historical/Fantasy/Steampunk

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: May 22, 2012

Source: NetGalley eARC

Age Rating: 14+

| Buy from Amazon |

Sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper, hauled off by bounty hunters. But Jasper is in the clutches of a devious former friend 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. 

 

My Review

After reading The Girl in the Steel Corset, I wasn't all that thrilled about reading the sequel, but before I read the first book, I had already obtained an advanced reader's copy of The Girl in the Clockwork Collar. I had to read it and hope it impressed me more than its predecessor.

• Plot: This story begins with the strange band of misfits flying across the Atlantic on an airship—steampunk style, of course—and spending the rest of it in 1897 New York City. They're there to find Jasper, the American cowboy, after he had been arrested for murder and extradited back to the U.S. A new villain is introduced, Reno Dalton, and he's a pretty ruthless killer. He has captured a Chinese girl, Mei, that Jasper is in love with and fitted her with a clockwork collar that he can tighten any time he wants if Jasper does anything he doesn't like. And, he wants Jasper to gather all the pieces of a machine he disassembled and hid all over New York City.
• Characters: There are only a few newcomers to this book, and they are fairly uninteresting, but play their parts just fine. What changes is that the main characters from Book 1 finally become more multidimensional and interesting. In my review of Book 1, I mentioned how boring all of them were. But, in this book, they get the development they much needed before. Finley shows off her darker side better when she does cheeky things during dangerous missions. Griffin is genuinely torn over her: he's in love with her, but fears she will pick a life of crime because her dark side enjoys it so much. He can't resolve it in his heart or mind. Sam is still highly dull and Emily is no different. But, Jasper manages to finally matter to the story and has actual character growth, as life hands his own backside over to him on a silver platter.
• Writing: Same as Book 1—fine, except for a pet-peeve of mine, head-hopping 3rd-person POV. It even seemed to happen more in this book compared to the first one.
• Story: Here's where there is much improvement, or I just liked it better than the first book's. I genuinely liked this story and how all of it came together, including the exciting fight scenes. They weren't long and drawn out, but short and explosive, like how Finley is when she gets hopped up on her own adrenaline before a confrontation. She's not battling with her dark side anymore, meaning she stays conscious now and just draws on its power, but it still thrills her to fight anybody who can give her a challenge. Finally, she's a really fun character, unlike in Book 1 when she just bored me. Also, the romance gets moved up a small notch for all the characters. I like that it didn't jump into the stratosphere just because it's the second book in the series. It's refreshing when historical romance plays out slowly, as it should.
• Overall Quality: All these improvements make me see it in a higher quality light. It's still far from perfect, but this installment, although less engaging, is still more satisfying to read.
• Favorite Moment: Finley had nearly been assassinated in her hotel room, but she got away. Then, she had to go rescue Jasper from another assassin in his hotel room right after. Griffin and the others woke up and ran into Jasper's room after his assassin was taken out, Griffin only wearing PJ bottoms. Because he was so afraid for Finley, he pulled her into a sexy hug and looked into her eyes and... didn't kiss her because there were all these other people in the room. I love that she knew he would have done it had the others not been in there with them.
• My Score: 3.5 stars out of 5.
  
  
  
  
  

*I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Steel Corset (The Steampunk Chronicles, #1)

by Kady Cross

Genre: Historical/Fantasy/Steampunk

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: May 24, 2011

Source: Hardcover purchase

Age Rating: 14+

| Buy from Amazon |

In 1897 England, 16-year-old Finley Jayne is convinced she's a freak. 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 . . . that she's one of "them." 

 

My Review

I finally read The Girl in the Steel Corset after having it on my shelf for almost a full year! I'd been wanting to read it, but for some stupid reason (too many other books tbr) I waited until now to do it. How's that for procrastination?

• Plot: Finley Jayne is a servant in a big manor and has to fend off an unwelcome advance by a young, rakish lord, which she does easily because she has this “Mr. Hyde” alternate ego that takes over when she's in danger. She's very strong in that state. After escaping, she literally crashes into Griffin King, Duke of Greythorne's carriage and he decides to take her into his home because he recognizes that she's unusual, like how he and his merry band of misfit friends all are. Griffin becomes like a “Professor X” to all his friends and they have to stop a madman called The Machinist from his evil ploy against Queen Victoria.
• Characters: Finley has a ton of potential to be a really intriguing, if not fascinating character, but she falls totally flat. She was born with a split personality, her normal self and her bad self. The bad side scares her and she can't control it at first. But, even in that state, she's so uninteresting. She's too cardboard. Griffin is just as cardboard and uninteresting. All I can think to say is that both of them felt underdeveloped, and in fact, this applies to all the characters. Some characters feel out of place, like Jasper the American cowboy. His presence was so insignificant, it felt like he could have easily not been in it at all and it wouldn't have mattered. Jack Dandy seemed like an insert just to create a love triangle between himself, Finley and Griffin. What made Dandy so dangerous was never illustrated or specified, but he supposedly was a super bad boy. Why not show us how? And, why did he fake a Cockney accent?
• Writing: The writing is fine, but my gripes with it are that it switches from limited 3^rd person POV to head-hopping 3^rd person POV from time to time. Thankfully, it doesn't happen very often. Also, I don't like the dialogue very much because it seems too modern. It's set in the year 1897 and they occasionally used modern slang. Really off-putting.
• Story: For the most part, I like the steampunk elements used because they are so plentiful. I feel like most steampunk I read is too scant on the actual technology that makes it steampunk. Although, some gadgets and do-dads seem pointless. I'd rather be informed on just the things that matter to the plot. The clothes everyone wears is just modern steampunk attire, not actual Victorian-era attire, which feels odd. I don't understand Emily's “ropey” hair. What does that mean? Also, it may as well have been set in 2012 because they have all of our technology in steampunk form. Why bother to set it in 1897, then?
• Overall Quality: The story is meant to be a pairing of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with X-Men, but it comes off a bit too superficial and shallow, and I had a hard time feeling satisfied while reading it. It is a good story and keeps you turning the pages, though. The Organites are very interesting insofar as what they do, and the back-story on Griffin and Finley's parents adds layers of dimensionality. So, not all is lost, but I would have liked it better with multi-dimensional characters, less meaningless descriptions of the style of the clothes (style over substance problem), and more dramatic tension between the characters. I had such high hopes that this book would be amazing, but it fell so short of them. What a bummer....
• Favorite Moment: When Sam (Griffin's best friend who is half-man, half-machine), tries to kill Finley and Finley nearly dies, but her 'Hyde' ego kicks into gear at the last second, and she nearly kills him, instead. A kick-butt, dramatic scene—I just wish there were more like it.
• My Score: 3 stars out of 5.
  
  
  
  
  

Book Haul #9 (8/1/11)

Check out what I got this week!

PURCHASED

The Girl in the Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles, #1)

by Kady Cross

Source: purchased the hardcover

Genres: steampunk, paranormal, romance (YA)

I'm so excited I finally got this! I bought it with Wildefire, and because that only came out last week, I had to wait about 2 months to get this book along with it in my order. The ebook prequel made me salivate for this one...

Wildfire (Wildefire, #1) 

by Karsten Knight

Source: purchased the hardcover

Genres: fantasy, mythology (YA)

I've been waiting to buy this book for the past year, since I first discovered Karsten on YouTube. He is so hilarious, I've been trying to keep up with his wacky antics ever since. It's exciting just to finally have this finished novel after all this time...

OBTAINED BY OTHER MEANS

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)

by Cassandra Clare

Source: won paperback in a giveaway

Genres: paranormal romance, urban fantasy (YA)

*laughs* I realize I already mentioned getting this book last week in my "Book Haul" post, but that was a library copy. This week, I suddenly won a giveaway hosted by a book blogger, and I got my own copy of this book, too! I hope I do like this series, after all...

Cicada 

by Belle Whittington

Source: BookRooster.com review copy

Genres: paranormal, fantasy, romance (YA)

I got this after being invited to review it from BookRooster.com, and it looks really interesting. What few reviews are out there for this little self-published title, they are all singing its praises. I also enjoyed the sample I read before accepting the RC, so I look forward to this one, too.

That's what I hauled in this week. What about you all...?

Book Blogger Hop #4 (7/29/11)

"Book Blogger Hop" is a weekly social book blogger meme hosted by 

Jennifer @ Crazy-For-Books.

This week's question is:

“Highlight one book you have received this week (for review, from the library, purchased at the store, etc.) that you can’t wait to dig into!”

This week I finally got the three books I ordered nearly two months ago from Amazon.com! I had ordered a book that wasn't getting released until last Tuesday, so I had to wait for other two so they could all get shipped together.

The one book out of that group that I just can't wait to read is The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross. I read the first scene already (too excited), and I know I'm going to like this book... Yay! It's a steampunk novel set in late Victorian England about a girl with a sort of paranormal dark side to her that she can't control when it takes over her.... I'm loving steampunk these days and I've always loved historicals, not to mention characters with duality issues.

 *****

The Girl in the Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles, #1)

by Kady Cross

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.

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

I am doing a regular feature on my blog every Thursday (or just about every Thursday) where I will review short stories, mangas, or graphic novels that make for very brief reading.

"The Strange Case of Finley Jayne" (Steampunk Chronicles, #0.5)

by Kady Cross

Genre: Steampunk, Paranormal

Reading Grade: YA

Publishing Type: traditional

Publication Date: May 1, 2011

Source: Kindle Store (freebie)

Rated: Teen (13+)

Amazon.com

Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined… 

My Review

I'll just say, I wasn't expecting this short story to be quite as engaging and exciting as it turned out to be. This is a prequel to the Steampunk Chronicles series, which starts with, technically this book, and then on to The Girl in the Steel Corset, which is Book 1. The reason a 'steampunk' novella ended up getting a review on this blog is because it nicely weaves in some “paranormalcy” into its main character, Finley Jayne.

Finley Jayne doesn't know what she is and why she's so dang strong, stronger than any human ought to be. She's very durable and can leap over walls like they were short hedges. She can take out grown men like whacking weeds, for cryin' out loud. Freaking awesome! All the while, she has a great head on her shoulders, being of the working class in late 19^th century London. She even gets to attend a fancy ball, and wear luscious Victorian gowns. We readers get to see all the steampunk technology, like mechanical horses and metal automatons, all invented by an unscrupulous scientist. It has so many elements I want in a story (I have a major weakness for mad scientists!).

Finley gets treated very horribly by her employer at the beginning, then it all turns around after that when her strange and terrifying gifts are actually sought after and appreciated by others, rather than scorned. I enjoyed her as a very likable heroine. I found myself wanting to be like her, have her incredible physical abilities. I only wish the main villain character had been a bit more interesting, but he did suffice. (I always want my villains to be more interesting!)

The events in this story apparently have no bearing on the future plot of the novels that come afterward, so the fact that all the ties Finley has to the other characters get lopped off in the end was appropriate. Read this if you want a very inexpensive taste of what the author has to offer in this series. Even if the plot doesn't continue beyond this little e-book, you'll know whether or not you'll want to invest in this novel series. I know definitely I do ….

My score: 5 out of 5 stars

Book Haul #6

What did I get this past week this time?

The Goddess Test (Goddess Test, #1)
by Aimee Carter

Amazon.com

Source: purchased paperback

It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall. Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

I found this super cheap on Walmart.com, so I snatched it up real quick. This was getting a lot of hype prior to its release, so I hope it lives up to it somewhat when I dive into it.

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne (Steampunk Chronicles, #0.5)
by Kady Cross

Amazon.com

Source: purchase on Kindle

Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined…

An ebook exclusive prequel to The Steampunk Chronicles.

I've already read this short story prequel and didn't expect much, but totally loved it! I've got the first book in the Steampunk Chronicles on the way and can't wait to read that, too...

Imperium: A Caulborn Novel 
by Nicholas Olivo

Amazon.com

Source: review copy from author

Vincent Corinthos leads a triple life. As a secret agent, he handles paranormal threats; as a god, he protects his followers from evil forces; as a stock clerk, he keeps the back room of an antique store tidy.

When one of his fellow agents goes missing, Vincent begins with the usual suspects. His investigation takes him to vampire lairs, golem laboratories, and the realm of the fae. Along the way he squares off against genetically modified gremlins, virus-spawned zombies and a horseman of the Apocalypse.

But it's only when he infiltrates a private medical lab that he realizes just how big of a threat he's facing, and even being a god might not be enough of an edge...

I received this from the author when he requested that I review it. I had no knowledge of this title beforehand, but I'm glad I know now because it sounds really interesting. And, this cover... I love it!