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Review: Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
Published by Mira


In 1897 England, 16-year-old Finley Jayne is convinced she's a freak. 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 . . . that she's one of "them."

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I've had my eye on this book for a while and was very excited when I finally got my hands on a copy to read. I am pleased to say that it didn't disappoint in the slightest and I very excited about continuing on with the series further.

I loved both Finley and Griffin the lead characters in the book. Finley is such a strong character and I love seeing how she goes about making her way in a world in which she is considered inferior for being a woman even though she is very much capable of holding her own against the men she comes up against. I loved Griffin and his Victorian gentlemannliness and yes the historian in me swooned more than once. I am hoping that the spark between them is ignited in future books as I think the pair of them could be immense together despite the social restrictions that dictate they shouldn't. Not only were the two leads fun to follow I also enjoyed the whole host of secondary characters that we encountered as the book went on.

I really loved *geek alert* the medical elements brought out in this book regarding early surgery. My inner historian went a little bit nuts at this bit and loved seeing the use of early anaesthetics and antiseptics (and yes I am fully aware it is only me who is going to geek out over this and yes I know it is nerdy)

I've read a lot of criticism about this book being rather slow. Yes it was but I didn't think it was a problem. I found I really enjoyed being immersed in the setting and spending time getting to know the characters so much that I really didn't care that it wasn't going at breakneck pace.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was some of the language the author chose to use. I though the phrases "half-arsed" and "I'm such a wanker" really didn't work. I get that the author was trying to sound British but I don't think they work in a Victorian setting at all because they are such modern phrases. I also thought many of the names were very much Americanised and again a little bit silly considering the historical setting.

All in all I really enjoyed this book and had to actively stop myself from picking book two up straight away as I don't want to rush my way through and forget which book is which. I enjoyed it thoroughly and am very much looking forward to the next instalment. I have a feeling this is a series which is just going to get better and better.

Comments

Unknown said…
Yea I think it take a certain kind of reader to really LOVE this book. It is by far one of my favorites.. but I enjoy things with historical elements to it.
I think I liked the second book even more so I hope you do too when you pick it up. Eagerly anticipating the third!
Alwyn said…
I might have to give this book another shot. I started it, got to chapter 2 and was like "WHY SO MUCH EXPOSITION BOOK!" when it got to all the science talk of the alt. universe. But maybe just wasn't in the right mood for it. Will have to pick it back up.
I'm really curious about this one - I'm going to have to snag myself a copy!