The Girl in the Steel Corset Paperback – January 1, 2012

"Finley didn't court trouble, but part of her - the part that was going to keep her safe, yet get her fired - hoped he'd try something. It was horribly delighted at the prospect of the violence to come." - from The Girl in the Steel CorsetShe's been called `the very spawn of Satan.' And the worst part about it is, Finley Jayne is beginning to believe it might be true. She can think of no other explanation for her `other self,' the part of her personality that takes control whenever Finley feels frightened or threatened. It's that dark self - rather like the beastly Mr. Hyde in the novel Mr. Stevenson published ten years ago - that gives Finley extraordinary strength and speed, makes it possible for her to see in the dark and hear things across great distances. When her dark self takes control, even Finley is afraid. Afraid of what she'll do or whom she will harm.When the arrogant son of her employer tries to force himself on Finley, her dark self rears its head, determined to teach him a lesson he'll not soon forget. Once the threat has passed, however, Finley is horrified. If Lord Felix, scion of the August-Raynes household, decides to go to the authorities, no one will care that he assaulted her first. He is the honored son of a peer of the realm and Finley, well she's merely his sister's lady's maid. Finley refuses to be locked up (and possibly committed to Bedlam, should her secret be discovered) for defending herself, so she decides to run. Her flight, it turns out, takes her directly into the path of Griffin King, the Duke of Greythorne.Only two years older than Finley's sixteen years, Griff assumed his title following the murder of his parents three years ago. Although young, he has a natural aptitude for leadership, which he has used to gather a unique group of young people - all with very special talents. From the moment Finley appears in front of his velocycle, Griff knows she belongs with them. For her own part, Finley dares to hope she has finally landed somewhere she can fit in, but she knows the Duke's friends are not convinced it's safe to have her around.If Griffin is fascinated by Finley and what she can do, Finley is intrigued by both his offer to teach her how to gain control of her darker nature AND by the very unusual members of his household. There's Emily O'Brien, a truly brilliant scientist and mechanic who can build or repair virtually anything - or anyone. Emily might even become a friend to Finley, although the same can not be said of the boy Emily secretly loves, Sam Morgan. Sam and Griffin grew up together and each possesses abilities that are far from normal. Griffin can direct and control the energy of the Aether while Sam's talents lie on a more earthly plane. He is physically ten times stronger than any normal man, stronger even than Finley, in fact. Protective by nature, Sam is suspicious of Finley's sudden appearance and her motives. Also amongst Griff's friends is the taciturn American cowboy, Jasper Renn - a man with a mysterious past and preternatural speed. Griffin's Aunt Cordelia, the only adult (other than the servants) in the household, is a frighteningly strong telepath.Together, the members of Griffin's band of strays and outcasts use their abilities to investigate unusual crimes and occasionally to help defend the Realm. Right now, they are investigating a shadowy criminal known as the Machinist. Somehow, the Machinist is causing automatons to override their programs and perpetrate crimes although as yet, no one has been able to figure out just how he is doing it or why. Finley wants to help with the investigation, but several strange events will put Griffin's trust in her to the test. With the Duke's extraordinary group tearing itself apart from within, they may not be able to stop the Machinist from carrying out an audacious and terrifying crime.This book was just so much fun, it's hard to know where to start as I sing its praises. Kady Cross created a steampunk version of 1897 London to serve as the setting for The Girl in the Steel Corset, and she describes it so magnificently that you can smell the smoke, see the metal and hear the hiss of steam and the clanking of gears. I loved the addition of the Aether, the Organites and the Cradle of Life expedition to the advanced mechanics we've come to expect in steampunk. Those extra elements really made the world unique and the story engrossing. Finley, with her Hyde-like inner self, makes a wonderful heroine - strong enough to kick ass but still intensely vulnerable. Griffin is also complex and multi-layered, a confident, almost cocky leader but also a lonely orphan. Really, all of the characters in this novel are interesting. The plot is fast-paced, twisty and fun and the villain, when he is finally uncovered, is suitably evil. In the acknowledgements at the end of The Girl in the Steel Corset, Ms. Cross says that the idea behind this new series was to cross The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with teen X-Men. She certainly accomplished that, but she's also created something that is so much more than that - a true steampunk original. I cannot wait to see what Griffin, Finley and the gang get up to next.

I so titled my review because several of Kady Cross' characters within are desperately in need of one, ranging all the way from a gentle hint up to being grabbed by the lapels and having their skulls pounded against a brick wall until some wisdom seeps in.One of the former is Griffin King, orphaned 18-year-old Duke of Greythorne and leader of the motley crew of magical misfits who've taken upon themselves the task of protecting a paranormal steampunk England, who needs to get a clue about his growing feelings for the title character that he runs down and rescues... before he loses her to another interested party.One of the latter is Sam Morgan, Griff's oldest (and densest) friend who has the strength of a dinosaur... and very nearly the brains of one as well.One of the tossups is Finley Jayne, the 16-year-old mysteriously strong and fast healing said run over girl who wavers back and forth between a wisdom beyond her years and a naivete, even a stupidity almost as great as Sam'sMs. Cross has given us a fantastically dysfunctional group of characters here whose group dynamics react to the sudden arrival of Finley Jayne in more or less the same way gunpowder reacts to a big fat spark. That our heroes are capable of saving England (and by extension the world) from the mysterious machinations (and machines) of the Machinist is not in question, especially as their abilities grow significantly throughout the book.What IS in question is whether they can remove their collective heads from their collective arses long enough to get the job done.Though there were many, many times I wanted to give our heroes a good shake (or a swift kick) Ms. Cross somehow managed to make them likable even at their most kickable. As other reviewers have noted, the steampunk elements were less explained than just described. More effort was put into explaining the spiritualist events and the mysterious creatures known as the Organites. Still, this is a fascinating world Ms. Cross has built, one I look forward to returning to.Finally, Ms. Cross has an attitude adjustment for readers on the subject of corsets. Frankly, I'd always thought of corsets as devices for human torture even more fiendish than high heel shoes or neckties, but Ms. Cross begs to differ. Her two young heroines not only cheerfully wear corsets on a daily basis as part of their basic dress, but also wear them (though somewhat more usefully modified) on their combat missions. It would appear that at this time in this world corset wearing is something women CHOOSE to do as opposed to being forced to do.Note: One other aspect I'd like to comment on is the subplot about the existence of the Organites needing to be concealed because they would allegedly prove Darwin's brand new Theory of Evolution. One could understand people of the 19th Century believing that because they hadn't had much time to think about the implications, but modern Evolution scientists would be hard pressed to avoid agreeing with modern Creation scientists who would gleefully pronounce the Organites as proof of intelligent design since there is no POSSIBLE explanation for single cell organisms EVOLVING the ability to be injected into human bodies and then to DELIBERATELY so exactly mimic human cells as to be a healing aid, not to mention their "poop" turning out to be the ideal energy source to fuel this steampunk age. Far from "proving" Darwin, Organites would destroy his theory so completely as to end the argument for all but the most extreme atheists clinging to Evolution for "religious" reasons.Note: This  paperback edition  also contains the prequel formerly available only on Kindle  The Strange Case of Finley Jayne , thus making it a better choice for non-Kindle users than the  hardback edition . Since it is unclear whether this was a one-off or a pattern to be repeated in future paperback editions, comepletists might want to wait for the  paperback edition  of the next book  The Girl in the Clockwork Collar  to come out before buying, just in case.

Steampunk as a genre is experiencing a huge surge in popularity at the moment. Whereas two or three years ago it was very much a niche market, nowadays new titles are appearing almost every month. Something about a pseudo-Victorian era re-imagined with impossible clockwork-style technology has caught the popular imagination.Into this trend comes Kacy Cross's Steampunk Chronicles and the first entry of the series, The Girl in the Steel Corset. Young Finley Jayne falls in with a mixed group of teenage 'metahumans', each with a different talent or superpower. Finley herself tries to keep a dark, violent side of her personality hidden, for when it rises to the fore it gives her terrible strength, but very few scruples in using it. Soon, they must band together to stop the nefarious plot of the Machinist, a villain who controls a new breed of sentient robots.I have wanted to read this title for a while as the premise really intrigued me. I would love to report that I was blown away and so glad to have bought it, but unfortunately after coming to the halfway point I became very disappointed. I say halfway, because up until then I was happy to be immersed in Cross's world-building, letting her introduce me to her characters, hoping that some central story-line or drama would become apparent, but it never did. Too many of the characterization happen off-page in small flashbacks in each chapter. Point-of-view flits around from character to characters with no real warning and it includes, of course, the seemingly essential love triangle, something no Young Adult novel worth its salt would be without, but it adds no drama or tension to the plot.The evil villain of the piece plays such a small part as to be almost irrelevant. I suppose this is why I felt let down by The Girl in the Steel Corset: the story did not go anywhere. Cross describes every Chinese style dress-and-corset combo that Finley wears, every waistcoat, pair of trousers and cravat worn by the boys and all the steampunk tech that litters her alternate London, but does not drive her narrative to a single, satisfying point of crisis or drama.Cross is clearly in love with the idea and aesthetic of steampunk, but this should really be the background on which broader strokes of story-line are painted. Instead, she gets lost in minutiae and clumsily tacks on a plot concerning the fate of the British Empire, really just to give her characters something to do.There is something here that really wants to get out and shine, ideas and characters that could thrive under better guidance, but sadly Miss Cross forgets that to tell a story a story must be told.

I had never heard of 'steampunk' until I saw it as a category in a reading challenge. This was the book I chose. It's listed as YA and it is certainly that. I am 63 now and would probably have enjoyed this ripping yarn as my 50 years younger self. It is a lot more Y than A. The characters had potential that mostly never realised itself. Emily is amazing - her knowledge and ability is only exceeded by the fact that she must live in a different timeframe to complete all of her inventions and tasks within the time allotted. Finally - it's an American author writing about Victorian England. Mostly the language used was pretty good, but a mention of 'mommy' towards the end grated on this UK reader. As did several typos dotted throughout the book. Tilted instead of titled made me smile and wince, several words were separated from the 'led on the end so we had 'ruff led' instead of ruffled. Irritating and unnecessary if the proofreaders do their jobs properly.

I read the first couple of chapters in a free Kindle sneak peak with two other books and this stayed with me for a while.However the price at the time put me off until it came down steeply in price.....I don't like paying more than £3 for a Kindle Book- but that is just me.The characters in this are well thought out and fleshed out for the most part, I can't help thinking that certain issues and ideas were resolved too quickly in this book and could have lasted longer, seeing as it is meant to be part of a series, but for the most part it's not something that would grind my teeth on edge.This is great for first timers into the world of Steam Punk fantasy and Historical drama/romance/fantasy- yes it's all three- Paranormal romance is sort of like that. The world is well explained and described without feeling that exposition forced down your throat which is just simply wonderful, and it doesn't run the risk of being so overly complex and complicated that the reader is left feeling disbelief at the notion.The way she's described how this world runs on in terms of steam punk is very unique and works far better than having to go into complex engineering details of steam engines and machinery.The plot and story elements is a tad simple but for the setting up of one book and the main characters it works well, action at the end is slightly rushed but I come to expect it from this type of book.Overall I recommend it especially at £0.99.

I really can't begin to explain how dreadful this book is.For a start we can discuss the characterisation. There isn't any, there are just people with no colour, no flesh and no character at all. We've got a woman who appears to be Lara Croft and Bruce Lee all rolled into one. Bad, bad guys who have really fallen out of the pages of poor Victorian stage melodrama who, without doubt, twirl their waxed moustaches. On the other side we have a goodie two shoes, dashingly handsome, second richest person in the Empire.We have events that pass in a paragraph which should take chapters to evolve. There's mention of Hero 1 and Hero 2 going to the Centre of the Earth and back bringing back some form of nanotechnology. All of that is explained in a paragraph and for a first book in a series that's really really pushing it. Oh, and in another sentence we hear that Hero 2 (who also happens to be the strongest man in Britain) has an artificial heart without his knowing. Then we find out in the next sentence that he hates machinery. In another we hear that he can drink three gallons of ale without feeing worse for wear,This is the depth we're given of the characters and I have perhaps described them in as much detail as the author. There's other bits too. In one sentence he Hero 2 learns of his artificial heart. In the following paragraph it's explained that he's unhappy about this and then, that's it, it's over.This book has recieved no end of positive reviews. Frankly, it reads like a badly drawn comic book. There's no sense of adventure, no sense of danger or even any form of excitement because the whole damned thing reads as if it was written by a schoolkid at his last year at junior school.Sorry, folks. There really isn't any redeeming features of this book at all.

I don't know what all the bad reviews are about for this book, because personally I loved it. A charming little adventure. There are things that a strict steampunk stickler would find wrong with the Englishness of it, I'm sure, but the characters and storytelling in this book are more than enough to make up for that and I enjoyed it far too much to even consider taking a star off for such minor technical things!I have already purchased the prequel and immediate sequel and look forward to reading all the other books in this excellent series, though I am a little (a lot) in love with Jack Dandy and somehow I don't think he's going to get the girl he wants! Still I'm excited to see more of him and particularly Jasper Wrenn as the tale goes on. This was a superb start to a whole new world of adventure and possibilities and I for one cannot wait for more.