The Girl in the Steel Corest by Kady Cross

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

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 Thoughts:
When I started The Girl in the Steel Corset I really had no idea where the story was going to take me. I loved the title and thought it sounded really interesting, so I was willing to give it a shot. I finished this book within two days, and I absolutely loved it!

The story is set in an alternate steampunk 1897 England and is about a girl named, Finley Jayne, a servant girl with a nasty thing living inside of her. Whenever danger approaches, Finley is filled with so much anger that it is very easy for her to kill. This has kept her from getting close to anyone, until she meets Griffin King and his group of friends, Sam, Emily, and Jasper. For the first time in Finley’s life she feels like she belongs somewhere. She isn’t afraid to be herself. At the same time, she learns things about her past that will also change her. Finley was a great protagonist! I love the way she bonded with her new group of misfits. Not everyone was accepting at first, but I think it all turned out for the best.

I think my favorite part of the story were the characters. Every character is an integral part to the story. I especially loved Griffin! How can you not, he’s a gorgeous Duke who is down to earth and sweet! He protects his friends no matter what the cost is. I love a hero like that! I was swooning for him, and I think you will too. The women in this novel are just as, if not more kick-ass as the men, and I loved how the men accepted them like one of their own!

I loved how Kady Cross was able to incorporate the past with steampunk. While reading the book, you never forgot that the time period was actually the late 1800’s, but at the same time there are people walking around who are half robots, and there are automations either serving people or hurting them, depending on how they are programmed. It was all very historically sci-fi (does that even make sense? Well Kady Cross, totally makes that possible!).  

The Girl in the Steel Corset has a fast-pace plot which kept me interested until the end. It was very hard to put this book down because I needed to know what happened!

Kady Cross has also written a prequel novella, The Strange Case of Finley Jayne that can be downloaded for free on your nook (here) and your kindle (here)!

The Girl in the Steel Corset comes out on May 24^th, 2011 by Harlequin Teen. This is a series that is not to be missed.