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.
