I really didn't like it. The plot was nonsensical. There didn't seem to be a really solid reason for the MC to suspect members of her family of being Jack the Ripper. The love interest didn't have any chemistry with her.
Oh my goodness! I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this book. The writing is beautiful, character development is complete, and the storyline is hypnotic. Audrey Rose is a teenage girl in the late 1800s. She should be planning parties, worried about dresses, and seeking a husband to take care of her instead of performing autopsies with her uncle and his apprentice. She has a strong, deep desire to chase her dream of forensics and she does it in such a way that is not bullish, in your face, but with tact and heart. She works alongside her no-nonsense uncle and his all-nonsense apprentice Thomas (until it comes to a case then he's no-nonsense as well). The interactions between Thomas and Audrey Rose will melt your heart. They try to fight it as well but you can just feel the magnetic pull they have toward each other and you cannot wait for them to give in. But giving in in the 1800s is not the same as it is today. While they are stalking Jack the Ripper, which turns out to be an exploding surprise, they fall for each other and, with a chaperone, Thomas courts Audrey Rose. It is just the sweetest courtship, you'll wish it was how things were done today. These two are my favorite couple in any book I've ever read! Aside from the romance, the book is full of mystery, intrigue, and 1800s forensics. SUPERBLY, WELL-DONE! There are 3 more after this one and I love them all!
I got an ARC of this novel to review through the Amazon Vine program. This was a pretty typical YA steampunk type of novel (it has a bit more gore than most) but is still mainly investigative at heart.
The main heroine, Audrey, is straddling the world of a well-bred noble lady and the dark world of post-mortem dissection which interests her immensely. Audrey is a very typical YA steampunk heroine; she bridles at the concepts of what it means to be feminine and rails against the restrictions put on her by the men in her family.
I really enjoy this sort of novel and this type of heroine, so I ended up enjoying the book. However, there wasn't a lot here to set this apart from other historical urban fantasies or steampunk YA novels out there.
The writing does flow well and there is some witty dialogue throughout. I enjoyed the character of Thomas who is apprenticed to Audrey's uncle (her uncle is the one who dissects corpses). Audrey and Thomas spend many hours dissecting dead bodies together. Thomas was very intriguing and incredibly witty and a fun character to read about.
The "twist" at the end was pretty predictable, so no real surprises here. I did enjoy that this was a reimagining of the Jack the Ripper incidents that happened in London. There is a nice afterward by Maniscalco in which she talks about the history of Jack the Ripper and how it relates to this book.
Overall a good YA steampunk novel with a lot of investigation and some gore. If you enjoy YA steampunk I would highly recommend The Baskerville Affair series by Emma Jane Holloway which is an amazing historical fantasy/steampunk series and better than this book.
The main heroine, Audrey, is straddling the world of a well-bred noble lady and the dark world of post-mortem dissection which interests her immensely. Audrey is a very typical YA steampunk heroine; she bridles at the concepts of what it means to be feminine and rails against the restrictions put on her by the men in her family.
I really enjoy this sort of novel and this type of heroine, so I ended up enjoying the book. However, there wasn't a lot here to set this apart from other historical urban fantasies or steampunk YA novels out there.
The writing does flow well and there is some witty dialogue throughout. I enjoyed the character of Thomas who is apprenticed to Audrey's uncle (her uncle is the one who dissects corpses). Audrey and Thomas spend many hours dissecting dead bodies together. Thomas was very intriguing and incredibly witty and a fun character to read about.
The "twist" at the end was pretty predictable, so no real surprises here. I did enjoy that this was a reimagining of the Jack the Ripper incidents that happened in London. There is a nice afterward by Maniscalco in which she talks about the history of Jack the Ripper and how it relates to this book.
Overall a good YA steampunk novel with a lot of investigation and some gore. If you enjoy YA steampunk I would highly recommend The Baskerville Affair series by Emma Jane Holloway which is an amazing historical fantasy/steampunk series and better than this book.
