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Finley Jayne knows she’s not ‘normal’. Normal girls don’t lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she’s offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined…
An ebook exclusive prequel to The Steampunk Chronicles.Finley Jayne knows she’s not ‘normal’. Normal girls don’t lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she’s offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined…
An ebook exclusive prequel to The Steampunk Chronicles.
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Price: $ 2.99
What is Finley Jayne?,
In case you’re wondering, Kady Cross’ “The Strange Case of Finley Jayne” is apparently a prequel to the forthcoming novel “The Girl in the Steel Corset.” But this little steampunk novella stands pretty well on its own — it has a sensible butt-kicking heroine, a dash of classic horror, and some decent writing (albeit with some anachronisms).
Only a few hours after being fired from her job (for punching a governess), Finley Jayne is offered a new position: companion to Lady Morton’s teenage daughter Phoebe. The job seems too good to be true — she gets a beautiful room, Phoebe’s old clothes, and even is brought to balls and parties under the pretense of being a distant relation.
However, she is uneasy about Phoebe’s older fiancee, Lord Vincent. Not only is Lord Vincent creepy and twice her age, but he is also still obsessed with his dead wife, Cassandra… who looked exactly like Phoebe. Finley sets out to find out what devious plans he may have for Phoebe, and her greatest ally may be her secret, superhuman dark side.
There is honestly not enough steampunk in the world, and “The Strange Case of Finley Jayne” is a decent example of the genre — we’ve got clockwork automatons, steam carriages, robotic horses and a bit of “Frankensteinian” mad science. There are still some unanswered questions (Finley’s dark side and superhuman strength), but presumably the full-length novel will explain that.
Cross’ prose is fairly good — it’s not exceptional, but it’s solid enough, albeit with some comments that sound a little too modern (Finley refers to Lord Vincent’s plans as “icky”). And while the first couple chapters feel a little fluffy, the story tightens up and becomes much darker with the introduction of Lord Vincent, although the subplot about Phoebe’s boyfriend seemed extraneous.
And Finley is a very, very likable heroine — she’s strong, self-reliant, sensible and intelligent. She also has a Hyde side (see, I can reference 19th-century horror too!), which allows her incredible strength and almost gleeful aggression that she has to keep bottled up. And I can’t help but hope that we’ll see more of Lady Morton, a clever noblewoman who recognizes a good bodyguard for her daughter when she sees one.
“The Strange Case of Finley Jayne” is a solid introduction to the world of Kady Cross’ Victorian steampunk/urban-fantasy series, and leaves me anticipating whatever comes next for Finley Jayne.
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|not just for young adults!,
I have to disagree with the person that said this was only for young adults. It’s not. I loved this story and it had a lot of very interesting twists to it. I recommend this highly and will buy the full book when it comes available. This book, however, was a complete story in itself, not just the beginning of another book, and I look forward to more of the same!!
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|A surprisingly fun read,
Since getting my Kindle and having the opportunity to download free books, I’ve been exposed to many genres and authors I would have have never thought of reading in the past. This was a surprisingly fun, quick read. Yes, its “technically” for young adult readers but I’m a middle young adult and I liked it, a lot. It was interesting, kept my interest and though I did figure out the plot, the author’s writing, terminology and description of this futuristic past was enjoyable. Good read.
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