The Girl in the Steel Corset / The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl in the Steel Corset

Author: Kady Cross

Pages: 473

Genre: YA/ Steampunk

Source: NetGalley

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. [via GoodReads]

Finley knows that she's not your average girl.  For she knows that she has a darker side, one that is so powerful that it can knock a man out in one punch.  She knows the darkness overtakes her when she gets upset or mad.  After a particularly dreadful situation, one where she almost gets killed, she finds herself among strangers that may hold the answers she's been seeking.

Switching point-of-views between Finley Jayne, Griffin King - the Duke of Graythorne; and Sam - a human-robot hybrid we learn that Finley is not the only one with secrets.  They are each on a journey of discovery to find out what exactly caused them to have the powers they have.  Finley is a wonderful heroine.  Right from the first sentence I knew I was hooked.  I especially like both sides of Finley and the fact that each one is attracted to a different love interest - both completely opposite - making this reader very attracted to the whole scenario. 

It was clear from the start that I would love this story and Ms. Cross did not disappoint thoughout.  There was plenty of mystery, action and even some romance.  I loved the steampunk aspect and loved even more that it was set in a historical time instead of in the future.  Through the varios points-of-view we see how each character matures and develops and each storyline comes together. 

All in all, this was a fabulous start to what looks to be a promising series.  I cannot wait to get my hands on The Girl in the Clockwork Collar.

My Rating:

Title: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne

Author: Kady Cross 

Pages:   78
Genre:  YA/ Steampunk
Source: Free (e-book only)

Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined... [via GoodReads]

This novella is a short prequel to The Girl in the Steel Corset.  In it you meet Finley before she meets Griffin King.  After her latest altercation and the loss of another job, she finds that she cannot pass up the offer to be companion to Lady Phoebe.  Finley and Phoebe quickly become friends and she soon finds herself suspicious over Phoebe's fiance, the much older Lord Vincent.

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne has everything that I loved about The Girl in the Steel Corset - a wonderful heroine, action, adventure, a fabulous sense of humor, steampunk awesomeness and many references to Frankenstein (which I loved!).

Fans of The Girl in the Steel Corset will love this short glimpse into the life of Finley and will only look forward to the next installment in the series even more anxiously.

My Rating: