Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Steel Corset 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.

My Review:

This novel was such a breath of fresh air! There wasn't a whiny girl who fell in love with this perfectly perfect guy who magically made her life ten times more difficult than it previously was. Instead there was a girl who already had some major problems and who found a boy that could solve them.

Finley Jane at first seemed too "Eh" for me. I just didn't connect with her character, but then she started kicking butt. It immediately felt like this story had punched its way into my mind just like Finley punched the nasty bad guys. My thoughts were consumed by these awesome characters Cross had put together. To me, the characters who weren't front and center in the book all the time were the ones that captivated me even more than Finley and Griffin King. Emily, Sam, Jasper and Jack Dandy were hilarious and suprisingly lovable (especially Sam, I love me some Sam).

The plot was everywhere! And I ADORED it! You hardly ever knew what was going to happen. (I say hardly because at one point there is a very predictable twist.) I tried putting down this book a few times and a good majority of the time my hands wouldn't let go.

This is the first Steampunk novel I've read, besides Clockwork Angel, and I am gaga over this genre now. I look forward to reading the sequel.

*I received a copy of this to review via Netgalley. This in no way altered my opinion/review.