New York City, 1897

Review

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar

by Kady Cross

 

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar is the second book in the Steampunk Chronicles.

I would highly recommend reading The Girl in the Steel Corset first

otherwise you will spoil yourself!

First sentences:

High above the Atlantic Ocean

July 1897

“What are you doing?”

Summary:

In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling-or dangerous Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper from the clutches of a devious criminal demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him... for the life of the girl Jasper loves.

One false move from Jasper, and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens and tightens. From the rough streets of lower Manhattan to elegant Fifth Avenue, the motley crew of teens follows Jasper's elusive trail. And they're about to discover how far they'll go for friendship.

More than ever, Finley must rely on powerful English duke Griffin King to balance her dark magic with her good side. Yet Griffin is at war with himself over his secret attraction to Finley... and will risk his life and reputation to save her.

Now, to help those she's come to care for so deeply, Finley must infiltrate the criminal gang. Only problem is, she might like the dark side a little too much…

source: Goodreads

My opinion:

I really like Kady Cross’ writing style and her way of telling stories and The Girl in the Clockwork Collar didn’t disappoint.

The story starts where the Girl in the Steel Corset ended and we follow Finely, Griffin, Emily and Sam to New York City to save their friend Jasper. We get introduced to new characters – some nice and others just evil. There is one character in this book which I was not really sure about in the beginning but pretty soon started to dislike. I felt bad about it in the beginning but in the end my feelings were legitimate and I was so glad that I could still follow my guts when it comes to judging people, even fictional ones.

New York City in 1897 is described so well. You can see the city form before your inner eye and the way Kady tells the story is really cool. She mixes facts with fiction and that makes the series so special to me. You are not only entertained by great writing but you also learn some things while reading. Of course she takes some freedom in her writing but she also does a lot of research before writing.

Finely is still my favorite character. She is still unsure if she really belongs with Griffin and his friends but over the course of the book she discovers what loyalty feels like and takes a huge step in her becoming who she wants to be.

Emily is also amazing. The little Irish inventor is such a strong anchor and amazing friend to Finley. She’s clever and interested in the world surrounding her and even though some people think she needs protection she might be the strongest character in the whole story.

I love the power these two ladies have and how well they can manipulate Griffin, Sam and other men in their lives. Finely and Emily are two incredible characters and I am really impressed by their determination to their cause.

If you enjoyed the Girl in the Steel Corset you will like the Girl in the Clockwork Collar as well. The characters grow, their relationships evolve and together they are stronger than ever.

Don’t forget to read the novellas too because they provide a lot of useful and needed information for the other books in the series!

The Books in the Steampunk Chronicles are:

• The Strange Case of Finley Jayne (Steampunk Chronicles, #0.5) read my review here
• The Girl in the Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles, #1) read my review here
• The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (Steampunk Chronicles, #2)
• The Dark Discovery of Jack Dandy (Steampunk Chronicles, #2,5)
• The Girl with the Iron Touch (Steampunk Chronicles, #3)
• The Wild Adventure of Jasper Renn (Steampunk Chronicles, #3,5)
• The Girl with the Windup Heart (Steampunk Chronicles, #4) 

For more information about Kady Cross visit her Homepage, her Blog, her Facebook or Twitter page.