Series: Steampunk Chronicles #4
Genre: Steampunk
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This is actually the third series that I've finished recently that was a major letdown. (At least it wasn't as bad as the other two, but it's still a disappointment.)
The plot seems very threadbare and, really, comes off more as a vehicle to neatly wrap everything up than an actual plot. There's actually two unconnected 'plots' in this story.
The first is the romance between Mila and Jack. I actually found it more…annoying than I wanted to because these are two of my favorites from the series. I've liked Jack since way back when he was first introduced in The Girl in the Steel Corset and had been so looking forward to finally getting his story. I would have been happier without because he's turned into a typical TA 'bad boy'. Mila has a story arc that I always like the idea of and this is no exception. It could have been interesting, but it wasn't. Really, their romantic trials would have been over in ten pages if they'd just communicated with each other - after all, it's not like they were doing anything else. Say, anything plot relevant.
In the other story we have their old nemesis Garibaldi showing back up and, dastardly enough, kidnapping Griffin.
…
Oh, and Finley's attempts at rescuing him.
…
For over two hundred pages of this four hundred page book, Fin is attempting solo mission after solo mission to save her boyfriend. Yes, there's a reason for it, but it just highlights how much this series that used to be about a ragtag bunch of misfits - they only family they have - saving each other (and the day) becoming a one woman mission.
It's frustrating because I know this series can make the people work together. Like they did last book.
However, I shouldn't compare anything in The Girl with the Windup Heart to anything in The Girl with the Iron Touch, because this book fails on many, many levels.
Besides all this, we have little to no action in this book. Basically, the plot has handily tied Fin's hands, which is a shame, considering that when we first meet her she is kicking a lecher. The action seemed to only exist in the realm of 'let's tie up all plotlines with a pretty bow.' And I do mean all plotlines. Some that I didn't even know needed to be tied up got the ribbon treatment.
The characters were…difficult in this book. I've never kept it a secret that Griffin and Finley were not my favorites in the series, and, curiously enough, besides the Mila/Jack story, this book focuses almost exclusively on them.
However, I can't shake the feeling that even they got worse in this book. Finley spends much of the book…well, to use her own word, pissy. She's looking for a fight the entire time and arguing with anyone that she can find. (Even before Griff was kidnapped, she was acting that way.) What's really heartbreaking though, is how the only person that argues with her, is Emily. Her closest 'friend.' I used to love the unlikely friendship these two girls formed, but in this book it was constant sniping at each other.
Without a doubt, in this series, one of my favorite things (that and the 'superpowers' the characters have) was the group dynamics. Well, in this book the group is seldom together and there's no playing to their strengths. Also, the abilities that these people have, seem to be not quite as unique as we originally thought.
All in all, a lackluster finale to an awesome series.
Seriously, if you like this series, just imagine the ending. (You'd be better off.)
Genre: Steampunk
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London's underworld is no place for a young woman, even one who is strong, smart and part automaton like Mila. But when master criminal Jack Dandy inadvertently breaks her heart, she takes off, determined to find an independent life, one entirely her own. Her search takes her to the spangled shadows of the West End's most dazzling circus
Meanwhile, taken captive in the Aether, Griffin King is trapped in an inescapable prison and at the mercy of his archenemy, The Machinist. If he breaks, The Machinist will claim control of the Aether, and no one in either world will be safe.
Meanwhile, taken captive in the Aether, Griffin King is trapped in an inescapable prison and at the mercy of his archenemy, The Machinist. If he breaks, The Machinist will claim control of the Aether, and no one in either world will be safe.
The plot seems very threadbare and, really, comes off more as a vehicle to neatly wrap everything up than an actual plot. There's actually two unconnected 'plots' in this story.
The first is the romance between Mila and Jack. I actually found it more…annoying than I wanted to because these are two of my favorites from the series. I've liked Jack since way back when he was first introduced in The Girl in the Steel Corset and had been so looking forward to finally getting his story. I would have been happier without because he's turned into a typical TA 'bad boy'. Mila has a story arc that I always like the idea of and this is no exception. It could have been interesting, but it wasn't. Really, their romantic trials would have been over in ten pages if they'd just communicated with each other - after all, it's not like they were doing anything else. Say, anything plot relevant.
In the other story we have their old nemesis Garibaldi showing back up and, dastardly enough, kidnapping Griffin.
…
Oh, and Finley's attempts at rescuing him.
…
For over two hundred pages of this four hundred page book, Fin is attempting solo mission after solo mission to save her boyfriend. Yes, there's a reason for it, but it just highlights how much this series that used to be about a ragtag bunch of misfits - they only family they have - saving each other (and the day) becoming a one woman mission.
It's frustrating because I know this series can make the people work together. Like they did last book.
However, I shouldn't compare anything in The Girl with the Windup Heart to anything in The Girl with the Iron Touch, because this book fails on many, many levels.
Besides all this, we have little to no action in this book. Basically, the plot has handily tied Fin's hands, which is a shame, considering that when we first meet her she is kicking a lecher. The action seemed to only exist in the realm of 'let's tie up all plotlines with a pretty bow.' And I do mean all plotlines. Some that I didn't even know needed to be tied up got the ribbon treatment.
The characters were…difficult in this book. I've never kept it a secret that Griffin and Finley were not my favorites in the series, and, curiously enough, besides the Mila/Jack story, this book focuses almost exclusively on them.
However, I can't shake the feeling that even they got worse in this book. Finley spends much of the book…well, to use her own word, pissy. She's looking for a fight the entire time and arguing with anyone that she can find. (Even before Griff was kidnapped, she was acting that way.) What's really heartbreaking though, is how the only person that argues with her, is Emily. Her closest 'friend.' I used to love the unlikely friendship these two girls formed, but in this book it was constant sniping at each other.
Without a doubt, in this series, one of my favorite things (that and the 'superpowers' the characters have) was the group dynamics. Well, in this book the group is seldom together and there's no playing to their strengths. Also, the abilities that these people have, seem to be not quite as unique as we originally thought.
All in all, a lackluster finale to an awesome series.
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15stitches · 457 weeks ago
The plot was barely existent indeed, with a lot of cheese and too much focus on the Ether which took away from the character/group dynamic. My favorite book was also The Girl with the Iron Touch because Emily is a really strong and lovely character. I enjoyed her endearing compassion for everyone, including Finley. However, that group dynamic, which was so impressive it became awe-inspiring in the last book, was definitely missing-in-action here.
The other books read with a careful balance between characters and side-stories. This one was too much side story with no real compelling problem to drive it forward, again, as you've stated! Sure, Garibaldi was a loose end. Sure, Mila was the new character. But the Ether stuff was far too drawn out, the characters had little-to-no interaction, and the story itself felt more like a rough draft than a final copy.
While I enjoy this series for the most part, I wish the pairing would be reversed. I've been rooting for Jack/Finley all along. The mystery that shrouded his upbringing and family were compelling and The Curious Discovery if Jack Dandy satiated that mystery, but I love the fully-charged energy between Jack and Fin. I feel like their pairing was much more natural than her and Griffin. It also would have made a nice turning point for her self-realization when she has to choose between the Dark or Light sides of herself. I think it would have sent a different kind of message to readers. For example, you don't have to choose between a dark or light side at all. Each of us already has both, it's the everyday choices we make that ultimately decide our character. The whole pigeon-holing of having to choose is silly to begin with.
Anyway, thanks so much fir directing me to this! I truly enjoyed reading your reviews and hearing your replies back!
AmyAelleah 80p · 456 weeks ago
This is at least partially because of the romance. While I might not have agreed with the other pairings, at least they felt organic. This one, like you mentioned about the girls, felt like it was just there so 'everyone gets a love-interest'. ... Which is something that I never like, anyway. (And there's actually a term for this, called 'pairing the spares' which sums up this romance perfectly for me. There was no one else, so of course they HAD to be a couple.) I never actually thought about switching the love interests, but, you know, that probably would have felt a lot better. As it was, I just didn't feel comfortable with Jack and Mila as a couple.
I love what you're saying about Finley and Jack. Fin basically chose Griffin because she's a 'good girl' and Jack is the bad boy love interest that the girl isn't supposed to want but she does anyway. But, that's kind of the problem. If I remember properly, right from the start Finely was afraid of the dark parts of her personality. So, as much as I would have loved to see her character development play out as you suggested (and her to realize that a little darkness doesn't make her evil) and I truly think that her and Jack have so much more chemistry than she and Griffin, it just doesn't fit HER personality the way she starts. It would have been beautiful to see her develop enough and get comfortable enough with herself, both the darkness and the light, that she'd realize she can be both without anything wrong with her. But it would have taken a lot more time (and effort) and the author would have had to have been really gutsy to try something new.
I pretty much agree with everything in your third paragraph. It was like the Ether was supposed to be a subplot, but it got drawn out to the main plot and the story felt really barebones because of it. And why, in the world, did it feel like the romance and the Ether plot were totally disconnected and irrelevant to each other? That's not the way the other books handled their romance/characters. I definitely agree with you that it feels like a draft - like the author said 'I'll come back later and flesh out the character scenes' and either ran out of time or lost interest.
It's so disappointing when a series that you love has a underwhelming finale. And, I've gotta admit, I've not read any more Kady Cross, because I'm a little worried now that all her series would end with a whimper. (No problem. I LOVE talking to my readers. And thanks so much!)