Friday, May 31, 2013

Review: The Girl with the Iron Touch

The Girl with the Iron Touch 
(Steampunk Chronicles #3)
by Kady Cross
Published May 28th 2013 
by Harlequin TEEN
Summary from Goodreads:
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, the young duke's sanity is close to the breaking point. Seeking help, Finley turns to Jack Dandy, but trusting the master criminal is as dangerous as controlling her dark side. When Jack kisses her, Finley must finally confront her true feelings for him...and for Griffin.

Meanwhile, Sam is searching everywhere for Emily, from Whitechapel's desolate alleyways to Mayfair's elegant mansions. 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....

Thoughts:
Steampunk is a rather complex genre to write about since the author have to combined elements of science, technology and historical background to make it actually believable to the readers. Not many authors dare to write YA steampunk so when the first book of this series was published, I was so eager and excited to get my hands on it. 

What I love most about the series are the various characters and their individual quirks. Finley is super strong  but is suffering from dual personalities due to the effect's of her father's experiments. Griffin can control the Aether. Sam is also super strong while Emily is a genius with all things mechanical. There's also their American friend; Jasper who lost her Chinese girlfriend in the last book and Jack Dandy; a guy dealing with shady businesses who adored Finley.
I'm so delighted to find out that Emily (my favourite character from the series) is the main protagonist in this one. And as the gang raced through time to save her from the clutches of the evil and barely alive Machinist, it is clear to see that she is the one who always keeps the gang together. Without her, Sam and Finley are always at each other's throat while Griffin is troubled by his own visions in the Aether. Emily on the other hand faces a moral dilemma, when she meets an automaton who resembled a young girl known as 312.

The romantic relationships between the various characters are also at the forefront here. And it is indeed nice to read how the gang finally confront their feelings towards each other. Overall, I must say this book is a fitting conclusion to the series and Kady Cross has done a brilliant job in tying up everything together. However, I do hope there'll be more stories about Jasper or even Jack Dandy since they deserved their own happy endings.


Verdict: 4 stars.
In my Books in a Series and Fantasy Reading Challenge 
Available on: Amazon

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