One good thing about reading from my Kindle is that I tend to go through books faster. I think that’s because I can’t really skip ahead and cheat. I still find a way though but it’s a hassle to backtrack.
Anyway, my first thought on The Girl in the Steel Corset is that it was the right read for me at this moment. It had the right amount of action, suspense, mystery, fantasy and romance. It was pretty cool and I couldn’t stop reading. I had to make myself stop reading because I needed to sleep. It has been a while since I book has had that effect on me.
As I was reading, a thought came to me. This book is like a Victorian era version of X-men. Weird right?! But there were several similarities. First, all the characters have something special or different about them. Finley has a dual persona, Griffin can be a medium and them some, Sam has super strength, Emily can understand machines and Jasper is really fast. In addition, these special abilities were brought upon them because of a special substance and it even enhances their abilities the more they are exposed to it. Sounds like some sort of mutation to me. Next, Griffin, who is a duke by the way, took all of these guys into his estate and makes them stay and train there. Sounds like Professor Xavier and his school for gifted youngsters right? Griffin’s not a paraplegic though. Lastly, the group’s nemesis works with metal aka he makes automatons. Just a little similar to the concept of Magneto. Okay, enough with the X-men references.
There was another concept crossover that was used in the book: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This relates to the case of Finley. 2 personas: pure and dark, fighting for dominance over one body. This was her biggest struggle in the book. She had been suffering from this since puberty hit and it was getting stronger as she got older, more so when she went to live with Griffin. However, Griffin helped her as much as he could. Well, the least I can tell you is that she is learning how to control both sides of herself. How she came to be this way? You will have to read the book to find out. It’s not a happy story.
Besides Finley, another key character in this book was Sam, Griffin’s best friend. He is very surly for most of the book. Something is revealed to him that he has a hard time dealing with. This caused him to pull away from his friends and confide in a stranger he met at a bar. Sam told him everything he was feeling, including his suspicion of Finley. Take note of this stranger. In the end, he plays a distinct role in this story and when his identity is revealed, it’s like a slap in the face. For me, I knew that when he and Sam met, the former was up to no good.
As I mentioned earlier, there was a lot of action and I meant it. There were several fight scenes and they kept me on the edge of my seat. Some of those fights nearly ended in complete tragedy for the group. But I was glad for the action because it kept the story moving.
I also mentioned that there was romance. Heck, there was a love triangle between Griffin, Finley and a certain Jack Dandy. Both guys play favor to a side of Finley: Griffin for the pure and Jack for the dark. Griffin is a duke while Jack is an underlord. But having Finley go back and forth between the 2 young men is a pretty big part of the story line as well. That’s where you’ll see part of her struggle to control both sides of her.
By the end of the book, there were a few questions that were not completely answered and the ending was a cliffhanger, as usual in a series. Oh and I wished that the steel corset came out more. It’s in the title and it only came out twice. I thought it would’ve had a bigger role in the story. But anyway, I’m still very happy with this book. So happy that I have moved on the next one.
That’s all for this post. HAPPY READING!
The Bookish Girl Next Door 