The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Steel Corset

Kady Cross

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: May 24, 2011

Series or Standalone: Series: Steampunk Chronicles #1

ISBN: 0373210337

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 477

Source: BEA

Websites:

Kady Cross – Author Site

Kady Cross – Blog

Kady Cross – Twitter

Rating: 4 Stars

The Girl in the Steel Corset has solidified my love for the steampunk genre. Before this book, I had only read a few books that could be classified as Steampunk and I really loved them, but it might have been just because of the authors. But this book proved to me how  AWESOME, steampunk really is.

I have to say that this book was one of the books I read instead of studying for finals. I couldn’t put it down once I started it. I really loved how the steampunk element of the book wasn’t overbearing, like it sometimes can be. Instead, the use of machines and science gave the book a bit of a paranormal air, but it still felt realistic.

The characters in this book were pretty awesome. Lets start with Finley for example. She can kick some serious butt, but the butt kicking brings out her dark side, a huge problem for Finley. I also want to say the English major nerd in me loved the comparison of Finely to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and love how she and her father might have been the inspiration for that story in the book. One of my favorite characters though has to be Jack Dandy. He is a mystery and a bit of a bad boy. I cannot wait to find out more about him in the next book in the series. The band of characters in this book really made me think of a Victorian type of X-Men. Each character had some unique quality that made them different from normal people. They have banned together to try to figure out who the Machinist is. Each character had their own powers and their own flaws, which I really liked.

I do have to say, I felt a bit confused by the plot at times. It kind of felt like we were in the middle of a series instead the first book of the series, because sometimes I thought I was missing things. But as the book went on, I became more settled into the plot. I did really enjoy reading this book though and wanted to find out what happened next. My one wish for this book was that their was more romance! There were inklings of it but not enough for my taste. I really would have liked more on that front, but it is the first in a series, so hopefully a lot more will come.

This book was a great mixture of Victorian England, adventure, mystery, suspense and action. This book is also gorgeous! I love that cover!! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read the next book to see what happens next.