Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Review: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross (June 2012, Mira INK, ebook)

Review: I've had The Strange Case of Finley Jayne sitting on my ereader for a while after Harlequin (US) made it available free for a limited time. It is no longer free, but can bought in both epub and Kindle formats in the UK. The recent UK release of the first in the Steampunk Chronicles: The Girl in the Steel Corset meant I really ought to get on with reading it!

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne is a prequel novella which introduces series lead Finley Jayne. Set in an alternative Victorian England, where steam powered devices and automatons abound, Finley is not a normal sixteen-year-old. She has two sides and in her 'dark' side she acts without thinking and as she has super strength and super speed she can get into a lot of trouble.

Fired due to hitting the governess at her previous post, Finley is soon offered a job as chaperone to Lady Phoebe, a girl her own age, who is being forced to marry a much older Earl. Sensing something fishy about the Earl, Phoebe's mother hopes that Finley will investigate. What Finley discovers is shocking and drastic measures must be taken.

This is a delightful introduction to Finley and her world which left me keen to read more. There is a lot to be learnt about the mysterious Finley. There are glimpses of a rich, handsome Duke threaded through the story whom I'm assuming Finley will meet properly in the novels. As its only 70 pages long, the plot is quite straightforward and doesn't offer any great surprises and though it is set in Victorian London, albeit not the real one, the language is quite modern sounding and is a mix of English (eg arse) and American English (eg sidewalk).

I'm really looking forward to reading The Girl in the Steel Corset.

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