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Thursday

August 25th, 2011


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Book Review: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

A suspenseful young-adult, paranormal romance

Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: September 14, 2010
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Pages: 256
Source: Amazon Vine
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Avery Hood was the first person to find the bodies of her parents. They were brutally murdered in the woods near her home, a dilapidated shack in the country that her father built himself.

Avery is so traumatized by the event, she has amnesia and can't remember anything about that night, other than a flash of silver, moving inhumanly fast. Night after night she has violent, bloody dreams that terrify her, but her memory remains elusive.

Prior to the murder, Avery led a very sheltered life, homeschooled by her back-to-nature parents. She is sent to live with her grandmother Renee, and though Renee lives close to where Avery's parents lived, Avery has seen very little of her over the years because Renee and Avery's father were estranged. Avery is broken-hearted about her parents, a fish out of water at her school, and struggling to feel any connection to her grandmother. Then a mysterious, new boy named Ben shows up at school. Avery is extremely attracted to him, but he has eyes of the strangest shade of silver....

This book is filled with fascinating echoes of the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. The setting is purposefully narrow. There is a snapshot of small-town life, but the primary emphasis is on the beautiful woods by Avery's former home, which are a major contributor to the plot. They simultaneously represent the happiest memories of Avery's life as well as the most tragic event, and the secret to her parents' murder lies somewhere in those woods.

If it were not for some situations of strong violence, I would recommend this book for teens as young as 13. Teen girls are more likely to enjoy this book than boys, because of the emphasis on the romance storyline, but the murder mystery plot is very important to the book and provides a very interesting counterpoint to the romance.

Heroine: 4

Subcharacters: 4

Fantasy Elements: 4

Writing: 4

Mystery Plot: 3 for adult and older teens; 4 for younger teens

Romantic Subplot: 4


Overall: 4

Book Review: Flip by Martyn Bedford

A young-adult, paranormal mystery with a male protagonist

Flip by Martyn Bedford
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: April 5, 2011
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Pages: 272
Source: Amazon Vine
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Premise: A 14-year-old boy wakes up one morning inside the body of another boy.

The storyline of a body swap has been used many times in books and films over the years, but not quite like this, where it involves two boys of similar age, and the switch does not occur before their eyes, so that it is a mystery as to how it happened. But anytime there is a body swap, you have a classic "fish out of water" or "stranger in a strange land" type of story, which is always a fun ride.

The author does an excellent job of exploring Alex's feelings and his attempts to maneuver the maze of his frightening, new existence without being labeled insane by the people around him. The reader is introduced to Alex's new family and friends in a compelling way, and roots for Alex as he bravely attempts to find a way back to his own life.

This book will be particularly appealing to younger teen boys and reluctant readers. The cover makes the story seem more scary than it is, but is one that no boy would feel embarrassed to be caught with.

Hero: 4

Subcharacters: 4

Fantasy Elements: 4

Writing: 4

Mystery Plot: 3.5 for adult and older teens; 5 for younger teens


Overall: 4

Book Review: Dead Is a State of Mind (Dead Is #2) by Marlene Perez

Delightful second book in the "Dead Is" comic, paranormal, mystery series for teens

Dead Is a State of Mind (Dead Is #2) by Marlene Perez
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: January 1, 2009
Publisher: Graphia
Pages: 175
Source: Library
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Daisy Giordano and her friends and family are back for a second, fun-filled paranormal adventure in the wacky town of Nightshade, in Northern California.

A beloved teacher from Daisy's school, Nightshade High, has been savagely killed, and the signs point to a werewolf as the murderer. The secret, supernatural "Council" that rules over the magical citizens of Nightshade is on red alert, determined to figure out if one of their own is guilty. Daisy is determined to bring her sleuthing skills to bear in solving the crime, refusing to leave the case to the Council, the local police chief, and her psychically gifted mother and two older sisters. After all, not so long ago Daisy saved her school's cheerleaders from a rogue vampire using her recently discovered psychic talents. Daisy realizes, though, that because she doesn't have the mastery over her gifts that her family has over theirs, it would be really useful if her boyfriend would lend a hand, as he did with the vampire case. But normally dependable, mellow Ryan has been acting completely out of character lately, showing up late or not at all for appointments with Daisy, bolting away from her with no warning when he does show up, getting into fights with other boys, and taking offense and stomping off in a huff from Daisy for no apparent reason that she can see. Worse, Daisy has noticed him hanging around town in the company of a young woman so lovely, Daisy fears that all of Ryan's behavior problems are because he's in the process of dumping her in favor of her gorgeous rival.

Marlene Perez has done it again, creating a wonderful sequel to Dead Is the New Black. Daisy is a strong, determined heroine surrounded by a wacky cast of characters, including assorted werewolves and vampires, Daisy's precognitive mother, her telekinetic sister Poppy, her mind-reading sister Rose, a gorgeous exchange student named Duke who claims he's a fortune-teller descended from Gypsies, an enchanted juke box at the local diner that sends messages to Daisy through the songs it plays, and her hunky boyfriend Ryan, who's keeping a fascinating secret.

This book is a fun, fast read, and it can stand alone without reading the first book in the series. However, there is a lot of information in the first book that would really enrich the experience of this book if read first.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys light YA fantasy with frequent humor. And for those who have read and loved Dead Is the New Black, I am happy to report there are also three more sequels currently in print. Book 3 is Dead Is So Last Year. Book 4 is Dead Is Just a Rumor. As well as the fifth and final book, Dead Is Not an Option.

Note for parents, teachers and librarians: This book is G-rated. There are no incidents of drinking, drugs or adolescent sex either on or offstage, and Daisy's family relationships are warm and loving.

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Fantasy World-Building: 4.5

Writing: 5

Mystery Plot: 4

Romantic Subplot: 5



Overall: 5

Book Review: Angel Burn (Angel Trilogy #1) by L. A. Weatherly

Young adult, supernatural thriller with true love and malevolent angels

Angel Burn (Angel Trilogy #1) by L. A. Weatherly
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: May 24, 2011
Publisher: Candlewick
Pages: 464
Source: NetGalley
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Sixteen-year-old Willow receives a terrifying vision when she gives her classmate Beth a psychic reading. Beth is in awe of what she views as a transcendent experience with an angel and is determined to drop out of high school and join a cult called the Church of Angels. Willow warns her that her angel is an evil entity that has fed off her life force and might make her sick or even kill her, but she only succeeds in enraging Beth, who refuses to change her plans.

Seventeen-year-old Alex has been trained for one purpose since his childhood, to assassinate angels. Though angels are spirit, they can readily assume an incarnate form and pass for a human. But when they are seeking human prey or feeling threatened, they resume their real, angelic form, with huge wings and a halo. The halo is their weak spot. When a bullet is fired directly through the center of that bullseye, the angel explodes. This is the only way they can be killed, and it is extremely difficult to pull off, but Alex is a seasoned pro at the job. So much so that he proudly bears the title "AK" for "Angel Killer."

Alex used to work with a small group of AK commandos operating out of an isolated desert compound, but several years ago their mission was taken over by a covert, government agency. Since then, Alex has been cut off from his peers and receives messages by cell phone as to his next angel target, which currently is Willow. Alex easily breaks into her home and observes her as she sleeps, but he is startled when his trained ability to spot angels within a human disguise informs him that she is not an angel. On the other hand, she isn't human either.

When an abortive attempt to rescue Beth from the Church of Angels makes Willow a major target of vengeful angels, Alex takes her on the run with him to keep her safe. As they flee, surrounded by terrible danger on all sides, Alex and Willow move from enemies, to comrades in arms, to something much, much more.

There are so many things I like about this book, perhaps the best thing to do is to simply list them one by one:

(1) I love it that Alex is not just a piece of the heroine's scenery but a full-fledged co-protagonist whose point of view is delivered on almost as many pages of the book as Willow's. He is a dynamic, engaging, utterly sympathetic character, who is fully realized in a riveting way.
(2) I am delighted that the author has chosen to write a traditional romance in which there is no other romantic interest for the two main protagonists but each other from the moment they meet. In YA stories with a love triangle, all too often the third wheel becomes perfunctory excess baggage to the story and, worse, prohibits the main romance from being believably advanced to the point of the declaration of undying love that is the whole point of a love story. As a romance author once said to me, "The audience has to believe that the lives of the hero and heroine will be blighted forever if they don't end up together." That certainly isn't true if by the end of the book a large number of fans disagree with the author's choice as to which of the two romantic competitors would most blight the heroine with his absence.
(3) I am a big fan of romantic suspense stories in which the hero and heroine are partners in taking down the Big Bad, especially stories where they start out enemies and then bond because of the dynamic of a shared threat from the villain. Even better for me is when the story consists of "two for the road" or "two on the run," as this one does.
(4) It is such a relief when a YA author never forgets that compelling popular fiction requires a protagonist with a powerful goal that he/she relentlessly pursues. This is definitely the case with both protagonists in this book.
(5) I've found that in virtually all popular fiction, but most especially stories with a strong action plot, such as this book, the most effective protagonists are usually strong, positive Warriors. I define this as a protagonist who is physically and/or magically powerful but who never uses that power to harm others, in marked contrast to the villain. On the contrary, the protagonist is determined to use every bit of power he/she has to protect the weak and defenseless. A protagonist like this will believably put others first, nobly sacrificing everything--up to and including risking his/her life--in order to take down a villain who is threatening the lives of innocent people. Both protagonists in this book have those qualities in spades, and they have plenty of potential victims to save. If they are not stopped, the evil angels may eventually wipe out the whole human race.
(6) The strength of a protagonist can only be revealed when he/she is pitted against a worthy opponent, and this book certainly delivers on that score. The two protagonists face some terrifically terrifying villains. But even more than might in a villain, I look for one with a complex motivation. In that regard, the main villain in this book is one of the most interesting I've ever seen in a YA fantasy novel.
(7) Sophisticated world-building is indispensable for urban fantasy, and the author has done a great job with her unique angel mythology.
(8) The basic writing that is the underpinning of the book is smooth and clear, and the dialog is particularly well done, which is an essential window into the characters.

Was there anything I didn't like about this book? It was jarring to me personally that angels are presented as evil without any mention of them being "fallen." And the concept of physical bullets killing discarnate angels didn't seem logical to me. However, since the author is completely consistent with all the rules of her magical world throughout the book, including these two conventions, I soon accepted them as integral parts of that world.

Heroine: 5

Hero: 5

Fantasy World-Building: 4

Writing: 4

Romance Plot: 5

Action-Adventure Subplot: 4


Overall: 5

Guest Post at For What It's Worth

 
For What It's Worth has posted a guest post written by us (Kate McMurry and Marie August). The guest post can be found here. We are also posting a copy of this post below:

Karen: I asked mother/daughter writing duo Kate McMurry and Marie August to tell us a little bit about what it's like writing as a team. 

As co-authors of Girl vs Ghost (Misdirected Magic - book 1), I was curious if the mother/daughter bond helped or hindered the writing process.
Our Experience as a Mother-and-Daughter Writing Team By Kate McMurry and Marie August, authors of the young-adult, paranormal, romantic comedy, Girl vs Ghost (Misdirected Magic Trilogy, Book 1), misdirectedmagic.com
Over the years of our collaboration as young-adult authors, we've been asked many times by friends and family, both writers and non-writers alike, "How can you stand to work with a partner? Don't you fight a lot?"
That concern is quite understandable given that we Americans are predisposed to view ourselves as a nation of "rugged individualists." This philosophy naturally leads to a tendency to perceive a partner—any partner, whether personal or professional—as someone who has an annoying habit of looking over your shoulder, questioning your every decision, and insisting on compromises and sacrifices you'd rather not make. And for a novelist, there is the additional psychological wrinkle of worrying that one's sacred "artistic vision" will inevitably be violated by the input of a partner.
When as a mother and daughter we decided to work together a few years back in order to write young-adult fiction, these cultural beliefs definitely made us uneasy about our ability to form an effective alliance. And since we have always been very close, we further worried that clashes over our writing might cause hurt feelings that would damage our personal relationship.
We had a lot to gain from writing together, though, because for us the saying, "Two heads are better than one," is extremely true. We each get much more fiction done when working together than we ever managed to accomplish separately. In order to hang onto that benefit, we made it our goal to seek out ways to lessen discord arising from creative differences. Through the process of trial and error, we eventually found a technique that works exceptionally well for us. We call it the "Third Way."
On most occasions when we disagree on a problem regarding character development, plotting, drafting or editing our joint projects, it is immediately apparent that one of us feels much more strongly than the other about her opinion. In a situation like that, it is a small sacrifice for the person who cares far less to yield to the other partner's idea. There are times, however, when we are both equally forceful about our preference, and neither of us can be persuaded that the other's option is superior. When that happens, we invoke the Third Way, which requires that we each surrender our initial choice and brainstorm together until we arrive at a third alternative that we both agree on.
This conflict-resolution method has essentially removed all the potential negatives from our writing partnership and allowed us to focus on the positives, which are many.
First and foremost, writing as a productive professional demands consistency and discipline—which can be much easier to maintain with the assistance of a partner. It is rare that both of us are simultaneously not in the mood to work, and the one who isn't is inspired by the energy of the other. We also set appointments to meet and write at regular times, which helps keep us on task.
In addition, as a team we have yet to face one of the worst fears of authors, writer's block, because so far we've always seemed to be able to figure out together what is impeding our forward progress whenever our work becomes stalled. If it is a plotting problem, the partner can help devise a solution. If it is a drafting issue, the partner can offer suggestions, or take a turn at drafting herself. A partner is also a huge gift at all levels of the editing process, from macro shifts in book structure down to the micro changes of line edits, making it far more likely that missteps will be eliminated before the book is sent to market.
A partner provides a number of emotional advantages as well. She is invested in the success of the book in a way that no one else could ever possibly be, because it is her book, too. She also serves as a constant source of human contact. As has often been noted, working as a solitary writer is one of the loneliest professions there is. A partner is a powerful antidote against the alienation that too much isolation can bring.
Finally, the greatest boon for us in our particular partnership is that working together gives us opportunities to spend time together that we would not have had otherwise. As a mother and daughter who are best friends, we are very grateful for that gift of stimulating companionship, and we both hope that we can enjoy many more years of working closely together as a fiction-writing team.
Karen: Thank you Kate and Marie for taking the time to write this guest post and for visiting For What It's Worth today! It sounds like the benefits of a writing partnership far outweigh any negatives. You also seem to be able to come up with unique solutions to any stumbling blocks by having a person you trust to work with. Best of luck to you both!

Buy Girl vs. Ghost (Misdirected Magic, Book 1)  : Isabel Lindley doesn't believe in magic, but her best friend, Tripp, is obsessed with witchcraft. Strictly as a favor, Isabel agrees to help with a spell and is shocked when the ghost of a teenage boy splat-lands in her bedroom. Her friend is thrilled—even though only Isabel can see or hear the ghost—but Isabel is horrified. She's the most ordinary sixteen-year-old girl on the planet. What is she supposed to do with a ghost who doesn't know his own name, how he died, or why the heck he's tied to Isabel with a psychic chain? Her only hope to take back her life is to help him solve the mystery of his demise so he can go to the Light. Or wherever. She's not particular, as long as the ghost is gone.
Sample Chapter 1 of this book!
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Book Review: Dead Is the New Black (Dead Is #1) by Marlene Perez

A great start to a quirky, young-adult, urban-fantasy, mystery series

Dead Is the New Black (Dead Is #1) by Marlene Perez
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: September 1, 2008
Publisher: Graphia
Pages: 208
Source: Library
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Daisy Giordano has lived her entire seventeen years in the quirky little town of Nightshade in Northern California, where vampires, werewolves, banshees, and witches roam freely, unbeknownst to the ordinary residents. Daisy's family members are magically gifted, too--all except Daisy. Her mother receives premonitions and revelatory images; her eighteen-year-old sister Poppy moves objects without touching them via telekinesis, and her nineteen-year-old sister Rose reads minds. Daisy's mom insists she's a late bloomer, but Daisy has little hope she will ever be able to do anything psychic.

As a result, Daisy feels left out in her family at the best of times as the only "norm," but when her mother, who uses her powers to help the local police chief, asks Rose to assist her in figuring out who murdered a local cheerleader, it's the last straw. Daisy may not have psychic powers, but the crime happened to one of her fellow students at Nightshade High School, where Daisy is a junior and Poppy a senior, and she's determined to do something about it. Whoever--or whatever--killed the cheerleader is starting to harm other cheerleaders, and at the top of Daisy's list of suspects is her ex-friend and current enemy, the gorgeous head-cheerleader, Samantha. Sam has returned to school this fall looking and dressing like a vampire, and Daisy thinks Sam might actually be one. With the help of her long-time best friend Ryan, Daisy sets out to solve the case while trying not to get distracted by her uncomfortably non-platonic feelings for Ryan, who has recently morphed into an amazingly hot guy.

I loved this book! It's a fun read, and a fast one--especially since I couldn't put it down once I started it. Daisy is an immensely likable heroine with a great family, and her romantic interest, Ryan, is adorable. Nightshade itself has a delightful cast of quirky paranormal characters, and one of my favorites is the enchanted juke box at the local diner. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA fantasy with a light, and frequently comic, touch.

Note for parents, teachers and librarians: This book is G-rated. There are no incidents of drinking, drugs or adolescent sex either on or offstage, and Daisy's family relationships are warm and loving.

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Fantasy World-Building: 4.5

Writing: 5

Mystery Plot: 3.5 for adult and older teens; 5 for younger teens

Romantic Subplot: 5



Overall: 5

The Fox and The Firebird - Page 13

I've finished Page 13 of The Fox and The Firebird. For more information on the comic, please visit http://www.fairytaletwisted.com

If you like my comic, please vote for The Fox and The Firebird on Topwebcomics.com.

Thursday

August 18th, 2011


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Book Review: Populazzi by Elise Allen

Humorous and poignant, young adult chick lit



Populazzi by Elise Allen

Reading Level: Young Adult

Release Date: August 1, 2011

Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books

Pages: 400

Source: NetGalley

Reviewed By: Kate McMurry



Sixteen-year-old Cara Leonard and her best friend, Claudia, have always longed to be part of the most popular clique in high school, the Populazzi, the polished, charismatic, gorgeous teenagers at the top of what Claudia calls the "Popularity Tower." But the Populazzi are as out of reach to Cara and Claudia as the stars since they became consigned to the lower reaches of the Tower forever from the day that Cara involuntarily wet her pants in kindergarten and Claudia voluntarily joined her by wetting hers, too. It was an act of solidarity that was social suicide for Claudia, but cemented a deep and lasting friendship extremely important to both girls.



Over the years, the two friends have worked out an entire system of classification for the tiers of the Popularity Tower, the social classes prevailing in high school. The "Happy Hopeless" are the "very basement of the Popularity Tower" who "are so socially out of it, they don't even know the Tower exists." The next level up are the "Cubby Crew." They are "not all created equal." Though "some barely rank above the Happy Hopeless," there are others who "are only that little bit of cachet away from being Popularazzi." Since kindergarten, Cara and Claudia have been "lower-echelon Cubby Crew." There are many different types of Cubby Crew, including the "Theater Geeks" (self-explanatory), the "Cosmopolitans" (kids who smoke, drink lattes and wear avant-garde clothing), and the "Wasteoids" (androgynous dopers), as well as various unnamed duos, trios and quads—such as Claudia and Cara have been—who are "islands unto themselves."



The tier above the Cubby Crew are the "DangerZones," who are "dark, troubled and fascinating." They don't care about labels like "popular" and go their own way, but because they are coolly indifferent and morose—unlike the Happy Hopeless—teenagers on every Tower tier "feel honored" at any attention from a DangerZone.



During the summer before this story opens, just before Cara's junior year in high school, her mother and step-father moved to a town an hour away from Cara's former public school and placed Cara in a charter school called Chrysella Prep. Claudia decides this is a great opportunity for Cara to remake herself in a new, potentially very popular image. She can accomplish this, Claudia insists, by carrying out Claudia's grand scheme for social success, a hundred-page handwritten treatise complete with illustrations called "The Ladder." If Cara studies and follows this ambitious plan, with Claudia coaching her every step of the way and enjoying Cara's success vicariously, she can rise through the ranks to the very top of the Popularity Tower.



At first Cara considers The Ladder a really cold blooded plan. It is against her warm, generous nature to calculatedly start with a low-ranked boyfriend and step by step progress to increasingly higher-tiered boyfriends until one of the Populazzi males picks her as his consort and catapults her into the stratosphere of Populazzidom. But finding her first boyfriend—not just the first rung of Claudia's social experiment, but Cara's first boyfriend ever—turns out to be almost instantaneous. Cara literally falls at Archer Jain's feet her first day at Chrysella Prep.



Archer is an enormously talented, cute and adorable Theater Geek. He's fun to be with, clearly likes Cara a lot, and immediately pulls her into the bosom of his group of zany theater friends. Cara is crazy about him and tells Claudia that if Archer decides he officially wants to make her his girlfriend, she refuses to throw him over on behalf of potential social success. Unfortunately, after six weeks of great times, things go terribly wrong with her relationship with Archer, and it is clear she is never going to be his girlfriend. Claudia convinces Cara that the best way to get over her broken heart is to put herself in Claudia's hands and follow the steps of The Ladder by attempting a relationship with a DangerZone guy that Cara is physically attracted to. If Cara can become his girlfriend, she'll make it clear to Archer, and herself, that she's moved on. But even though the moody DangerZone musician is admired by every kid in school, by associating with him, Cara is drawn into his risky lifestyle and gets day by day farther away from the sensible, kind, well-adjusted teen she used to be before she began to follow the rules of The Ladder.



This book is a superb example of the chick lit genre. The writing is outstanding, and the wonderful plot alternates between scenes that are laugh-out-loud funny and extremely poignant. It is clear from the first that we hear of The Ladder that this plan is doomed to failure and will bring poor Cara to grief. In fact, she herself suspects that from the start. But Claudia is a hilarious Mephistopheles who tempts and cajoles Cara every step of the way along the dangerous path of The Ladder.



Cara is an extremely sympathetic and engaging heroine, and her ultimate antagonist, the Supreme Populazzi, Trista, rather than being a cardboard cutout, clichéd Beautiful Bitch (my term) is a wonderfully layered character. In fact, every one of the characters in this terrific book are fully drawn and fascinatingly complex.



There are few books I can say this about—because I am an extremely jaded reader—but I was riveted to this book, devouring every word. I was at times almost holding my breath, expecting the author to at some point drop the ball and fall into hackneyed writing that so many teen novels and movies with this type of plot are prone to. But she never did. Every scene is well constructed, crucial to the development of the story, and each scene builds on every other in a logical, inevitable, but never predictable way, until the surprising but very satisfying climax.



If you enjoyed the popular 2004 teen film Mean Girls, you will love this book. I highly recommend this book to readers who love a teen comedy with depth, and who like to shed a few tears mixed in with their belly laughs.



Parental guidance note: This book may be too mature for younger teens. Cara experiments with drugs and alcohol, and she and her friends engage in frank discussions of teen sexual activity. While the heroine herself never progresses beyond "making out," many of her friends do, and it is only a situation beyond her control rather than her own good judgment that keeps her from "going all the way." Mitigating these sensitive issues, however, is the fact that all of these common teen struggles are presented more as a comically compelling object lesson in the negative results of risky behavior, which makes Cara's dangerous choices seem anything but the right thing to do. In addition, the author presents multiple teen characters who stress the importance of never driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.



Heroine: 5



Subcharacters: 5



Writing: 5



Chick-Lit Plot: 5



Romantic Subplot with Archer: 4





Overall: 5

Book Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles #1) by Kady Cross

Steampunk urban fantasy for teens with magical battles and two love triangles



The Girl in the Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles #1) by Kady Cross

Reading Level: Young Adult

Release Date: May 24, 2011

Publisher: Harlequin

Pages: 480

Source: NetGalley

Reviewed By: Kate McMurry



Sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne lives in an alternate-universe Victorian England where familiar, modern-day technology exists, but with a brass-and-steam twist in keeping with the actual technology of the real Victorian times.



We discover within moments of meeting Finley that she is not an ordinary girl. One side of her nature is very mild-mannered and Clark Kentish, and the other side is an extremely powerful being with super strength, super speed, and super healing from injuries. Whenever Finley is in danger, her fear instantly triggers rage in her super-powered side, and it takes her over completely--often to the point that her mild side doesn't remember anything that happened while the wild side was in control.



Not only is the wild side a powerful fighter, it is also much bolder around attractive men than the mild side of virginal Finley would ever be. The mild side is romantically drawn to a rich, handsome, eighteen-year-old Duke, Griffin King. Griffin has magical powers of his own which allow him to recognize Finley for who she is and support her in developing her powers in a way that she can become in control of them, rather than the other way around.



Finley's wild side, on the other hand, finds Jack Dandy more to her taste. He's an extremely good-looking, twenty-something crime lord, who falls hard for Finley, but refuses to take advantage of the innocence that is apparent even when her wild side is in control.



Both young men would sacrifice anything to keep Finley safe, but Finley herself is fully equipped by her natural powers to defend and protect herself. Finley uses those powers to defend others as well by teaming up with Griff and his closest friends, who also have special abilities. Emily is a brilliant scientist who invents machines and conducts major surgery, and Sam is enormously strong. He got that way when Emily saved his life by rebuilding his shattered body with metal after he was attacked by an automaton (robot) programmed to kill by an evil villain called the Machinist. Together Griff, Finley, Emily and Sam are determined to stop the Machinist from the terrible destruction he causes by turning automatons who perform menial tasks all over London into killing machines.



The only other steampunk I've been exposed to is Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, but it's quite an interesting premise. I looked up the genre and learned that this book fits right into its parameters, with a focus on technology and science (and often mad science) as envisioned in Victorian science fiction by such authors as Robert Louis Stevenson (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and Mary Shelley (Frankenstein). The style of clothing worn by Finley, though, is nothing that appeared in a Victorian novel. It is in keeping with the styles worn in our modern world as part of the steampunk cultural and philosophical movement. Steampunk fashion utilizes pieces of clothing that were fashionable for men in the Victorian era (and Edwardian era secondarily) such as top hats, cravats, monocles and wool suits. For women there are corsets that are unlike what was worn in the Victorian era, though, because they are made of steel if worn under the clothing (rather than whale bone) or softer cloth like velvet if worn outside the clothing. Women also dress in frilly, short skirts with bulging petticoats that remind me of the "cancans" so popular in the 1950s and which are often visible below the skirt line. Along with these ultra-feminine skirts, they often wear big, clunky, knee-high (or thigh-high) leather boots that have been popular in the West for incongruous female fashion combinations since the teen years of the Baby Boomers in the early 70s.



I'm not sure if steampunk fashion in our world uses tattoos, but this steampunk novel certainly does. I think that's because it is a subgenre of urban fantasy. I'm hard pressed to recall any urban fantasy with a kick-ass female protagonist that doesn't incorporate tattoos, and usually magical ones. (And if the author doesn't include enough to suit the publisher, they'll often have the cover artist invent some, as for the Mercy Thompson books by Patricia Briggs.) The ones in this book are of the magical variety.



I found Finley as a character quite intriguing. I always enjoy it when a female character has super strength, but this book gives that a special twist with the concept of Finley's having a true dual personality vs. a fake persona to keep the superhero identity secret, as is common in comic books.



Finley's two love interests are certainly desirable guys but, personally, I'd have preferred it if the author had created just one love interest for Finley who embodies the charisma and dash of Jack and the magical powers of Griff, along with the sexy melancholic temperament (tragic past and emotional sensitivity toward the women they care about) which both young men have in common.



Emily is a wonderful character, and her complicated relationship with Sam is an interesting secondary romance.



The villain is suitably evil, but the explanation of his motivation makes him more complex than is usually found in most urban fantasy I've read. The mixture of magic and pseudo-science is also a fascinating combination.



All in all, this book has excellent characters with interesting relationships among them, and lots of action brought on by both conflicts among the troupe of characters supposedly on the same side, as well as by the villain they together must defeat.



I look forward to the sequel.



Heroine: 4



Subcharacters: 5



Fantasy World-Building: 4



Writing: 4



Action-Adventure Plot: 3



Romantic Subplot Jack Dandy: 5



Romantic Subplot Griffin King: 3





Overall: 4