Mechanica

by Betsy Cornwell

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

I'm sure there's going to be a lot of comparisons to Cinder, but other than Cinderella being a mechanic, Mechanica is actually quite different. On Nicollete's 16th birthday, she receives a letter from her long dead mother, leading her to a skeleton key. This key opens up her secret workshop where Nick is surrounded by automaton insects and a horse. It's here where she creates machines to make her chores simpler, and where she dreams of owning her own workshop to get away from her evil stepmother and stepsisters. If only she could think of a great invention for the upcoming Exposition.

Mechanica is a great Steampunk retelling with a pinch of magic. I loved how fey existed and had lived in harmony with humans for awhile, but after they were banished, the humans were on their own. Now it's machines that are needed to do what magic once did. Nicolette happens to have access to both, even if she isn't quite sure how to use the magic. I really loved the descriptions of her and her mother's inventions. They're very imaginative.

There is a romance in Mechanica, of course, but it's very different. It really did not go the way I was expecting at all. Nick meets Caroline and Finn when she goes to the market to sell her inventions and she becomes quick friends with the pair. Obviously she has to fall for Finn, even though she rarely sees him after that initial meeting. I wasn't feeling the romance between Finn and Nick. She had sooo much more chemistry with Caro, but that was just wishful thinking on my part. But then, there's a twist! I was like aw! Then there's another twist and I was like WTF?! But then things happen, and I was like, good! It's very unexpected, but I liked this resolution.

I enjoyed Mechanica quite a bit, but the ending did feel incomplete. While I was happy with the way the romance turned out, I was still left wondering about those Ashes. Nick ponders on them for a lot of the book, since she has no idea how they actually work and she was warned away from them at one point. We never learn what they are or why they're dangerous! That is something I would like to know! We also never learn what becomes her stepmother and stepsisters. It just ends. It's a happy ending, but I would have liked to know more.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.