The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross – review

From the back cover:

She thought there was something wrong with her. She was right.
Finley Jayne has known for quite some time that she isn’t ‘normal,’ but when she beats up the son of her employer and is forced to flee, she stumbles into a world where there are bigger freaks than her. They take her in, treat her like family and demand her trust. How can Finley trust them when she can’t trust herself? And why is she drawn to the powerful Griffin as well as the dangerous Jack? She has to get herself under control before she gets into trouble she can’t get out of.

What I expected:  From reading the blurb and seeing the cover, I was a little confused about this one.  I got the feeling that this was going to be some sort of historical horror novel.  However, I was intrigued, so I gave it a try.  I expected romance, a hidden beast inside of the heroine who had to be contained by a steel corset, and a little bit of the Something Wicked This Way Comes vibe.

What I got:  I got a fun steampunk adventure romance with lots of gadgets, a bad guy with a believable back story and an ingenious plan – and the ensuing adventure of said bad guy being tracked down by the good guys.

What I enjoyed:  I liked the characters; they were nicely fleshed out with feelings and both good and bad personality traits, though they tended toward the stereotypes you often see in straight romance novels of heroic, noble, rich, and strong hero, and the strong-willed though in over her head heroine who is of a lower class than the hero.  Some of the secondary characters were just as interesting as the main ones.  I also enjoyed the use and development of many of the interesting gadgets, from the machines used for labor to the ones turned to evil with some advanced technology.  I also really liked that the “good guys” faced certain setbacks you don’t normally see in this type of heroic narrative.

What I did not enjoy:  I felt that not only were many of the gadgets used by the heroes implausible in their makeup, some were even developed and built overnight, including the intricately carved and decorated titular corset.  I completely understand that in a fantasy the reader must suspend belief and give the author the leeway to make the story more interesting and fun, but I also believe that the author doesn’t have to add everything and the kitchen sink to get the right atmosphere of the story; so, just as a hint, I’m not all that fond of cell phones in a Victorian fantasy.  Okay, so the devices weren’t really cell phones, they just played one in the story, but by standards of the technology already in place in this world, this portable device was just way out of sync.  While I’m not all that knowledgeable about technology and the like, I do know that a portable screen with writing scrolling across it seemed a little outside the steampunk box.  I’d be totally on board if, however, the author had made a point to show why and how this was possible at this time.  As it was, it had me mentally stepping back and shaking my head.

There was also one characteristic of one of the secondary characters that I found decidedly odd, and it was mentioned so many times that there must have been some significance I was missing.  Are dreadlocks the new thing in steampunk?  I must have missed the memo on that one.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against dreadlocks, but it seemed as if they were mentioned about every other page.  Of course, I exaggerate, but you get the idea–once we know a character has dreadlocks, especially a secondary character, unless it is meaningful to the story, I don’t get their frequent mention.  It felt like this was something that was supposed to hint at something else, and, as usual, it flew right over my silly blonde head.

Cover Thoughts:  The cover is pretty.  The contrast between the rich red of her dress and the drabness of the wall is striking and draws the eye.  Her dress also has a possible hint of a steel corset, which plays to the title.  She is holding either a locket or a timepiece, and I’m not sure which or why she would be.  She is also pressed up against a wall as if being chased, which does fit into the narrative.  I found the skirt design to be overly ornate and poufy but what the heck do I know?

Would I recommend this book, and if so, to whom?  I would recommend this book to historical romance fans who will enjoy the (very tame) romantic aspects; historical fantasy fans and steampunk fans who are not as nitpicky as I am about technological believability will also probably enjoy the coolness of the bits and bobs and the interesting caste issues.  Kady Cross  is the pseudonym for Katherine Smith, and fans of her other historical romance, horror and paranormal works would most likely enjoy this as well.