Review: The Girl with the Windup Heart (The Steampunk Chronicles #4) by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl with the Windup Heart

Series: The Steampunk Chronicles #4

Previous books in this series: The Girl in the Steel Corset (#1) | The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (#2) | The Girl with the Iron Touch (#3)

Author: Kady Cross

Genre: YA, steampunk, historical

Publication date: May 2014

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: In 1897 London, a final showdown is about to begin.

London's underworld is no place for a young woman, even one who is strong, smart and part-automaton like Mila. But when master criminal Jack Dandy inadvertently breaks her heart, she takes off, determined to find an independent life, one entirely her own. Her search takes her to the spangled shadows of the West End's most dazzling circus.

Meanwhile, taken captive in the Aether, Griffin King is trapped in an inescapable prison, and at the mercy of his archenemy, The Machinist. If he breaks under the hellish torment, The Machinist will claim his powers and control of the Aether itself, and no one in either world will be safe-especially not Finley Jayne and her misfit band of friends.

Finley plunges headlong into the Aether the only way she knows how, by temporarily dying. But she cannot parry The Machinist's maneuvers for long. To defeat him for good, Griffin will have to confront his greatest fear and finally come face-to-face with the destructive power he wields.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

I’ve had this series on my TBR list for well over 10 years, and I only started reading it this year! And you know what, overall, I really enjoyed myself. There were some things about it that I liked, some that I didn’t, but it wasn’t a bad series.

Review: The Girl with the Iron Touch (The Steampunk Chronicles #3) by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl with the Iron Touch

Series: The Steampunk Chronicles #3

Previous books in this series: The Girl in the Steel Corset (#1) | The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (#2)

Author: Kady Cross

Genre: YA, steampunk, historical

Publication date: May 2013

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Source: eARC from publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis: In 1897 London, something not quite human is about to awaken...

When mechanical genius Emily is kidnapped by rogue automatons, Finley Jayne and her fellow misfits fear the worst. What's left of their archenemy, The Machinist, hungers to be resurrected, and Emily must transplant his consciousness into one of his automatons—or forfeit her friends' lives.

With Griffin being mysteriously tormented by the Aether, Finley turns to Jack Dandy, but trusting the master criminal is as dangerous as controlling her dark side. Meanwhile, Sam is searching everywhere for Emily. He would walk into hell for her, but the choice she must make will test them more than they could imagine.

To save those she cares about, Emily must confront The Machinist's ultimate creation—an automaton more human than machine. And if she's to have any chance at triumphing, she must summon a strength even she doesn't know she has...

My rating: ★★★★☆

Out of all the books in this series so far, I think this one has got to be my favorite! I just loved it! I really liked the premise of the book with poor Emily being kidnapped and being forced to do an awful thing, just because the Machinist wants to be resurrected, essentially.

Review: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (The Steampunk Chronicles #2) by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar

Series: The Steampunk Chronicles #2

Previous book in this series: The Girl in the Steel Corset (#1)

Author: Kady Cross

Genre: YA, steampunk, historical

Publication date: May 2012

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling-or dangerous Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper from the clutches of a devious criminal demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him... for the life of the girl Jasper loves.

One false move from Jasper, and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens and tightens. From the rough streets of lower Manhattan to elegant Fifth Avenue, the motley crew of teens follows Jasper's elusive trail. And they're about to discover how far they'll go for friendship.

More than ever, Finley must rely on powerful English duke Griffin King to balance her dark magic with her good side. Yet Griffin is at war with himself over his secret attraction to Finley... and will risk his life and reputation to save her.

Now, to help those she's come to care for so deeply, Finley must infiltrate the criminal gang. Only problem is, she might like the dark side a little too much...

My rating: ★★★★☆

The gang is off to the US to help their friend Jasper, who is in some real trouble. It turns out that Jasper stole some device from some thug and now he wants it back. And said thug is threatening Jasper with Mei, a girl he cares about. I’m not gonna lie though, I was not a fan of Mei as soon as we met her. I felt bad for Jasper and the situation he was in, especially because he seemed to care about her a lot, but I just did not care for their relationship 😬

Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset (The Steampunk Chronicles #1) by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl in the Steel Corset

Series: The Steampunk Chronicles #1

Author: Kady Cross

Genre: YA, steampunk, historical

Publication date: May 2011

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: 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.

My rating: ★★★★☆

I’ve had this book on my TBR list for 11 years! And I’m only just getting around to it now! I like the idea of this series, so I was really looking forward to reading this. I’m not gonna lie though, I feel like I liked the prequel, The Strange Case of Finley Jayne, more than I liked this first book in the series 😬

Review: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne (The Steampunk Chronicles #0.5) by Kady Cross

Title: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne

Series: Steampunk Chronicles #0.5

Author: Kady Cross

Genre: YA, steampunk, historical

Publication date: May 2011

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: 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.

My rating: ★★★★☆

I was really looking forward to starting this series. In fact, it's been on my TBR list for years! I think I’ve had an ARC of book 3 for almost 10 years 😅 Yeah, it's bad, I know. Lol. Anyway, I really enjoyed this introduction to the series!