Reviewed by Silvara on
I loved all the inventions and steampunk things in this book. I especially loved Jules.
I liked that in this Cinderella twist, Nicolette wasn't trying to get to the ball and meet the prince. She was trying to get to an inventors showcase and find a patron for her inventions so she could be her own person. Not under her step-families thumb and subject to their whims.
There was both insta-love, and insta-friendship in the book. The insta-love isn't surprising considering this is basically a Cinderella retelling. But Nicolette's love interest as well as her best friend didn't have a lot of focus in the book. And therefore, they weren't developed as well as they could have been. The same was true for her step-sisters and step-mother. We saw that they were bad and mean to Nicolette, but we never really saw more than that surface.
I liked the ending in general, it fit Nicolette's personality perfectly. But there was too much left open. I want to know what Ash is, and why it's apparently bad. I want to know what happens to Nicolette's house and her mother's workshop. What happens next in her friendships. Does the hinted at war happen? What about Jules?
With so much left open, I'm hoping there will be a sequel to wrap things up more. But as it stands right now, it's too open without the promise of another book in the series. If you like retellings and unique twists, I would recommend this book. But only if you don't mind open-endings as well.
This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 24 September, 2015: Finished reading
- 24 September, 2015: Reviewed