Tuesday, May 28, 2013

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

3rd in a series
384 p.
Available today
Source: eARC from NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for review
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....
My thoughts:
 I have to admit I was very excited for this book. Emily is one of my favorite secondary characters and so I was happy that she got her own book. That may have ended up coloring my enjoyment of the book. Expectations were just too high. Sometimes you just have to temper that so you can sit back and just enjoy the book.

While I did enjoy the book, I felt a bit let down and felt like Emily was the not the star of the book. While we got quite a bit of her character and her spunkyness, it just felt like something was missing. It felt like the other characters were just competing too much for the spotlight. While I enjoy Finley and Griffin's romance, it actually felt like it got in the way of the action. We had to continually stop and deal with their feelings for each other rather than dealing with Emily's story. I would have just enjoyed it in a book that featured them much better.

I was very happy to have my fave anti-hero back. Jack Dandy was back in his full cocky attitude. Now if a book features him I'll have to really reign myself in in terms of expectations because I enjoy his character so much and really want to know more about this mysterious character. He complimented things well in this story.

Even though I had a few problems with this story I still did enjoy it. I enjoyed seeing Emily come into her own and getting a little more of a glimpse into her character. I give this book 3 stars and am curious where the series will take me next. Hopefully it will have more Jack Dandy and Wildcat. :)

21 comments:

  1. Not convinced I'd enjoy this book enough to buy it but I'd certainly pick it up if I were to see it in the library. Wonderful cover, what I'd give to have hair like this.

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    1. This is a series to be read in order... just so you know. Oh and I do love her hair too. :)

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  2. Jack and Emily really are my two favorite characters. They're both so different but add so much to the stories. You're right though, I did want more Emily. I get that Griffin was having troubles but I wanted to focus to remain on Emily with the others as side characters. I still really enjoyed it, though!

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    1. I did too! Just needed to push the others back just a bit for me...

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  3. Emily and Jack sound like characters that I would like too

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    1. They have been my fave characters... and I'm curious about Wildcat.

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  4. I still need to read this book! I want Jack back. And I love that he is full of himself. Nice review.

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    1. Jack is too funny! I'm thinking we will get more of him in the next book (at least I'm hoping).

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  5. I am not fully convinced about this one

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  6. I didn't know it was the third book... I hope the next one will be a little better... fingers crossed!

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  7. I know what you mean about setting expectations too high, and being somewhat let down, even if you still enjoyed the book. I'm excited to get caught up on this series because I love Emily and am really looking forward to reading her story (though it sounds like there's more of a character mix than I was expecting). Hooray for more Jack Dandy though! He's definitely my favorite. Lovely review, thanks for your thoughtful honesty!

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  8. Aww, I am sorry you were disappointed and I love Emily too, Cross seems to handle these books like small town series, where we get a little news about all. I would love a novella dedicated to Emily and her works etc. *off to bug Cross*

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  9. I have the first book but I'm not a huge steampunk fan so I've been hesitant to start.
    Too bad this one didn't meet your expectations but at least it doesn't sound like a total loss.

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  10. I don't think I knew that Emily was the star of this when I started so I found myself more surprised at how much time she was getting and I actually missed Finley more. I did LOVE Jack's scenes though and I would LOVE a Jacky Dandy book!

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  11. I haven't read any of these yet, but I know I need too. They sound quite interesting. I'm sorry this didn't focus as much on Emily as you wanted--but at least it was fairly enjoyable. Love the cover!

    -Lauren

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  12. I was just happy that the romance finally moved out of that weird hiatus stage. I agree though it needed more Emily inventions. At least we got more Jack!

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  13. Great review, thank you. I am looking forward to someday reading this series. And those covers are just gorgeous.

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  14. I love steampunk, and I've been wanting to start this series since it was first published. How is it that book 3 is already out? Geez. I'm so behind! lol.

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  15. Great review but I liked it more than you. I had seen somewhere that Emily was featured less than the reader thought so I went in with that expectation.
    I don't know how I read that because I was avoiding all reviews until I wrote my own. Anyway, I am glad that the romances progressed and the Jack Dandy part is pretty interesting I think. I was disappointed with Finley but loved her and Griffin together.

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  16. I've had a few books that I think my expectations colored what I thought of it. I was expecting something more or something else. But it happens. Thank you! And I still need to get this series. :)

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  17. I didn't think this book was the best of the series but it was a fine read-there definitely could have been more Emily since she's so great!

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