A Review of The Girl in The Steel Corset

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:

A fabulous steampunk world you'll want more of filled with characters that are enthralling.

Finley Jayne is a fabulous character- both lovable and realistic in her insecurities about herself. I think we can all relate to the "monster" inside her- even if we aren't as torn between two personalities as she is.

I also really enjoy the little love triangle going on between Finley Jayne, Griffin and Jack Dandy. I am really interested in learning more about Jack Dandy- he is a fascinating character. Both a bad guy and a good guy there's more to him than meets the eye and I look forward to learning more in future books.

The historical aspects of this book combined with the alternate reality of steampunk made for fabulously fun and entertaining reading that kept me turning pages, OK pushing buttons because I read this on my Kindle thanks to receiving a review copy via NetGalley.com.

I think adults and teens alike can really get into this series.

Kathryn Smith writing as Kady Cross has a new and wonderful winning series on her hands.