Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Steel Corset
(Steampunk Chronicles #1)
by Kady Cross
Published: May 24, 2011




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.

I've only picked up very few steampunk novels, maybe 5 or so, and most of them, if not all, I loved.  It's not a genre I am very familiar with but I find it really interesting. And now I can add another steampunk book I loved to that very short list of mine.

The Girl in the Steel Corset reminds me of The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare but not in so many ways. The story is, of course, a lot different but at the mention of automatons and The Machinist, that's what came to mind. First of all, I loved the surprise it gave me when I started reading the book. Finley.. is bipolar?! Seriously, that was my first reaction when I met her and she was talking about her 'dark side' she can't control. But then I've momentarily forgotten about it since the action started and wow, that girl kick's ass. From then on, I can't stop reading.

The strongest point in this book for me is the characters. They each have their own qualities that I wanted to know all of their stories, even the dark and dangerous Jack Dandy. There was actually more to it than I initially expected. Not only does Finley had this special ability within her but Griffin, Emily, Jasper and Sam as well. They are an awesome bunch. Funny and sarcastic but can be overly brutal at the same time when a fight breaks out. I loved the mystery. In some parts I would think about what the outcome would be, or what secret would be revealed but I still ended up surprised. I even thought about what the steel corset's role in the story would be but when I read the part where it was mentioned, it was an 'Oh' moment for me. So see? Even that was a surprise. Although at the start of the story a lot of doubt and suspicion was directed towards Finley, I really enjoyed how they eventually accepted her to their group.

I loved The Girl in the Corset. Loved it a lot that I did not hesitate and picked up the second book. I really really enjoyed reading it and I'm also dying to see a little progress in Finley and Griffin's relationship. Or even Finley and Jack Dandy's. Whatever. Just.. give me the next book :)