The Girl in the Steel Corset

June 8, 2011 Uncategorized 8



The Girl in the Steel Corset

Author: Kady Cross
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: May 24, 2011
Pages: 477
Series: The Steampunk Chronicles
Source: Requested from Netgalley


About the Book: 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. (from www.goodreads.com)

My Thoughts: I’m still relatively new to the steampunk genre so I was interested to see what I would think about this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The story, the characters, the steampunkery, the design, the physical feel of the book… I loved it all! 


My reading experience with this book was different than usual. I didn’t race through it nor did it seem to plod. It was a journey that I savored! I think this was mainly due to the descriptions of the machines, fashion, and places. The fact that each chapter is started off with a page that only includes the chapter number and a graphic breaks it up as well. Personally, I enjoyed this. I felt like it gave me more time to process the action but didn’t interrupt the flow of the story. Don’t get me wrong… there is action and you’ll be dying to know what is going to happen next!


Another aspect that I enjoyed was the way Ms. Cross ended the book. Don’t worry! I’m not going to spoil it. I just want to point out that this is the first book in a series and sometimes I HATE the way first books end. Not the case here. The story wraps up nicely and leaves the reader with some resolution. That doesn’t mean you won’t be dying for book two! There are still some very important unanswered questions! I know I’ll be pre-ordering the next installment! 


Random Things I Loved:
– The fashion! 
– Finley’s name
– The size and feel of the book. I really just enjoyed holding it in my hands to read! I started on my nook but changed to the real deal when I got it at BEA šŸ™‚
– The fun steampunky chapter pages. They looked so cool!
– Emily, the petite girl, is the master mechanic.
– “Dark” Finley’s sass!
– Getting the story from multiple points of view
– Griffin, Sam, Jasper, Jack Dandy… all the lovely boys šŸ™‚


Learn more about Kady Cross and her books at her blog and on twitter!

8 Responses to “The Girl in the Steel Corset”

  1. Two Readers Reviews

    I have yet to read anything steampunk, but this sounds like it would be a good start. Whenever I read a new genre of book I worry whether I will like it much or not. I’m really glad to hear that you enjoyed this one!

  2. Alison

    Love books with great fashion. I especially like books where you don’t plod or steam through the book – you journey. Great review!

  3. Jillian

    I really appreciate books that show fashion styles and such – I feel like it adds some much needed depth to the background! Great review. And I have been wanting to read this one.

  4. Aleeza

    THE COVERRR! i love it. and the book sounds pretty dang amazing, so i’m glad i haz it on netgalley. can’t wait to read it! šŸ™‚

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