Review: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar 
(Steampunk Chronicles #2)
by Kady Cross
Published: May 22, 2012




In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling-or dangerous Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper from the clutches of a devious criminal 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. From the rough streets of lower Manhattan to elegant Fifth Avenue, the motley crew of teens follows Jasper's elusive trail. And they're about to discover how far they'll go for friendship. More than ever, Finley must rely on powerful English duke Griffin King to balance her dark magic with her good side. Yet Griffin is at war with himself over his secret attraction to Finley...and will risk his life and reputation to save her. Now, to help those she's come to care for so deeply, Finley must infiltrate the criminal gang. Only problem is, she might like the dark side a little too much...

So, you know.. the steampunk adventure continues only this time it's in New York! The Girl in the Steel Corset ended with our American guy, Jasper, being taken away to pay for a mistake he left in his homeland. His friends soon followed to know the real story behind their friend's secret and if what he's been accused of is true. Here, they found themselves facing a whole new set of enemies in a much more dangerous turn of events.

The first thing I noticed in The Girl in the Clockwork Collar was the tension, or perhaps you could call it rivalry, between the boys and girls of the group. It was funny, really. Finley and Emily are kind of teaming up against Griffin and Sam. I think it's mostly because of the romantic thing happening between them, jealousy and such. The guys are really protective of them but they would not accept that they are weak, which they aren't. So there they go, saving Jasper while defying each other.

I loved Jasper in the first book so I was excited to know more about his story which made me hurt for him especially in the later parts of book 2. The Girl in the Clockwork Collar is more action-packed. There were a lot of fights but this time it's not against automatons. They faced gangs and evil people the likes of Jack Dandy, just more dangerous. I very much enjoyed reading it. The time frame of the setting surprised me at the mention of great inventors. I mean, it was kind of surreal learning about them in science class and then you read a book about teenagers close to your age who happened to be living in that same era as them, even personally meeting and interacting with them. Pretty cool.

I loved this book, I wasn't disappointed and I'm still looking forward to book 3. I love Griffin, I love Finley and I want them to love each other. Now kiss. lol. It was actually nice to read the parts when they're together. It's just obvious how they feel towards each other and they both know it. There are few, if big, reasons why they can't which I understand but that ending definitely made me scream 'FINALLY!', not because it ended. Bummer because it's in the last part which would make someone like me, who is very much looking forward to this particular part of the story, beat someone bloody just to have the sequel which is thankfully out now.