Same Book, Second Look - The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

Published: May 2011

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 473

Copy Provided by: Library

Summary: Goodreads

Summary:

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."

Review:

 

My first introduction to Kady Cross was with a free prequel found on Google Books.  I initially gushed about this author here.  After reading The Strange Case of Finley Jayne, I was pumped to start reading The Girl in the Steel Corset.  Miss Jayne was such a character that I wanted to read more about her.  It is not often that I do this but I actually read The Girl in the Steel Corset (book #1) and the Girl in the Clockwork Collar (book #2) at the same time (gasp!  the horror!!).  You can catch my review of book #2 in a future post.

 

So imagine discovering that you have some kind of superhero strength that you cannot control.  It is like there is another part of you, a darker part of you, that takes over when you aren't looking.  Welcome to Finley Jayne's world.  She definitely is an unusual character. Lucky for her, her world collides with another band of misfits who want to help her...at least most of them do. 

 

The Girl in the Steel Corset features a great kick ass heroine who struggles to trust herself and not succum to her darker side (maybe she should pass on her advice to a certain Anakin Skywalker...).  But take heed, she is not just the muscles in the group, she has a seductive feminine side that likes to flirt with handsome men, both good and bad.  This was another fun read for me.  I loved watching Finley stand her ground and use her feminine wiles to tempt the bad guys to do her bidding.  I just hope Mr. Dandy doesn't place too high of a price on the favors she's asked of him.

 

I have read very mixed reviews on this title.  I think part of it is what you are expecting.  While the author wanted to create a mix of X-Men and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, you have to remember that this is not a graphic novel.  There is a steampunk edginess to this series and a potential on-going romance and action/adventure.  Have fun with it!