The Girl In The Steel Corset (The Steampunk Chronicles, #2)

by Kady Cross

[rakesandrogues]

Review Overview:

- Vibrant characters; I love the secondary characters more than Finley and Griffin!
- No passionate romance in this one, but there are two love triangles!
- Fantastic world-building

First of all, can you say cover love?! I absolutely love the cover for THE GIRL IN THE STEEL CORSET. It truly captures the feel of the book: great outfits, a kick-ass main character, and of course the steel corset.

In THE GIRL IN THE STEEL CORSET, the Machinist, an – of course – evil villain, has been committing random crimes throughout London. Main character Finley and gang are trying to uncover the mastermind while juggling control over their supernatural powers. Finley is struggling with her alter ego: a violent girl with brute strength. Cross describes this book as a mix between The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and X-Men. A mix of steampunk with a blend of superpowers, you get THE GIRL IN THE STEEL CORSET.

The plot was intriguing, but did not really captivate me while I read. To be honest, I did see where the plot was going and I guessed who the bad guy was way before the Finley and friends did. While this gets me bothered sometimes, I didn’t mind at all when I read STEEL CORSET because getting to the end was just so fun. Despite its predictability, Cross had me hooked with her fantastic characters and beautiful world-building.

STEEL CORSET is just so full of vibrant characters. While Finley has some charm to her, I have to admit that I absolutely love the secondary characters more than Finley and love interest, Griffin. Emily and Sam top my list of favorites. I love that Emily is the mastermind behind all the operations. She is the one who deals with the machines and comes up with the inventions. I love reading about such an intelligent and compassionate girl. She is so well-respected by the other characters because of her brains. On the other hand, I was immediately drawn to Sam when I heard about his predicament. I guess I’m just a sucker for tortured souls. I find myself constantly cheering for him, despite the fact that he’s full of self-hate.

The romance in the STEEL CORSET is unfortunately very subtle. It’s there, but it’s not the main focus. Well, there is an evil Machinist roaming through the streets of London so I guess it’s alright. If you’re looking for some passionate confessions of love, move on and come back to STEEL CORSET when you’re more in the mood for butt-kicking action. Despite the fact that romance takes the backseat in this novel, there are two love triangles going on! The first is between Finely, Griffin, and the notorious Jack Dandy, and the other is between Emily, Sam, and Jasper. While the book ends with the girl choosing one guy over the other, I’m curious to see how the character dynamics play out in the later novels.

Kady Cross is now one of my favorite world-builders because her version of Victorian England is just fantastic. I’ve read a handful of steampunks and I have to say that Cross’s version is just so much fun to read. She really takes the time to explain these gadgets and the science behind them. Not too much that they are boring, but enough that I get an understanding of how they work. The Organites, or the “wee beasties”, that play such a crucial role in this world are just fascinating.

Overall, THE GIRL IN THE STEEL CORSET is a fantastic YA debut from author Kady Cross. I am so looking forward to the next books in the series! If you are a fan of steampunk, definitely pick this one up. I look forward to reading more of Cross’s work, and I may even check out the adult novels she’s written.