The target reading group is young adult; the style is steampunk; the heroines are three young and very different women. This was a very easy read - a la Harry Potter; maybe even an easy beach read. The writing style is simple, straightforward, & comfortable for anyone. The character development is engaging, and the storyline is interesting & well thought-out. I don't know why the previous readers gave it such a low rating - I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This is a decent YA steam-puny novel. I quit on page 320 [out of 440 because I just didn't care what happened next. YMMV.
Loved this. It's listed as Young Adult but that only means no explicit sex and no brutal violence. This has 3 different heroines. The book begins by introducing ea. One was a street girl selling flowers and she is now basically a gal Friday her employer. The next gal works for a magician. The third gal is Asian and she was brought to England where she is employed by a martial arts teacher. They meet by chance and discover a murdered man. Before long they begin to use their individual talents to hunt down the killer/killers. Excellent story. I will recommend to my book club.
I have had this book on my TBR pile for awhile; I was excited to finally get around to reading it. This was an okay YA steampunk. It's a pretty light steampunk read; the three girls the story follows are all pretty upbeat and spunky. I enjoyed them as characters but also found them to be a bit one dimensional.
The same was true for the plot and story; everything worked out neatly but was fairly predictable and felt a bit contrived. The whole thing is written in a very cutesy manner; lots of modern slang interspersed in this Victorian steampunk world. The ending was really rushed; pretty much all the mystery is solved in the last couple chapters.
The world also felt a bit unfinished. This seems to be an alternate version of London where there are lots of steampunk artifacts. However, aside from that there isn't a lot of explanation or history.
Overall it was just okay. This is a quick read that is kind of fun and cute. However it doesn't leave a lasting impression; it reminded me a bit of cotton candy...sweet and easy to eat, but in the end it's empty calories and you can't eat too much without feeling a bit off. Everything felt a bit one dimensional: the character, the plot, and the world. There are much better YA steampunk novels out there. I would highly recommend The Baskerville Affair by Emma Jane Holloway or any of Gail Carriger's YA books.
The same was true for the plot and story; everything worked out neatly but was fairly predictable and felt a bit contrived. The whole thing is written in a very cutesy manner; lots of modern slang interspersed in this Victorian steampunk world. The ending was really rushed; pretty much all the mystery is solved in the last couple chapters.
The world also felt a bit unfinished. This seems to be an alternate version of London where there are lots of steampunk artifacts. However, aside from that there isn't a lot of explanation or history.
Overall it was just okay. This is a quick read that is kind of fun and cute. However it doesn't leave a lasting impression; it reminded me a bit of cotton candy...sweet and easy to eat, but in the end it's empty calories and you can't eat too much without feeling a bit off. Everything felt a bit one dimensional: the character, the plot, and the world. There are much better YA steampunk novels out there. I would highly recommend The Baskerville Affair by Emma Jane Holloway or any of Gail Carriger's YA books.
