"The Girl with the Clockwork Collar" by Kady Cross

NOTE: I received this book from Netgalley.

I can not believe I finished this book in one sitting. I can not believe it was so good that I loved every line of it! I can not believe that after "The Girl in the Steel Corset", this masterpiece would follow! But Kady Cross has definitely outdone herself with the story, the characters and the writing style. I am thankful that I was able to review a copy of her work before publication.

Now, Steel Corset left me hanging, wondering what would happen with Griffin, Finley, Emily, Sam and Jasper. Would they couple up? Would the split up? Would Jasper be hanged for murder? As the story develops, a lot more intricate plot comes to life. Characters with great influence are revealed, and such that don't really matter. We are introduced in gangs, and have to wonder what would come out of it all.

But to be honest, what really sparked my curiosity was the roller coaster relationship between Griffin and Finley. Those two were so great in their roles, bickering, teasing, mocking each other, that at times they had me almost pulling at my hair! Especially Griffin and his big, sometimes arrogant mouth. I'm beginning to think that there's nothing worse than a jealous man.

Anyway, it was also nice to be introduced to the eccentric scientist Tesla, who played a minor role in the game for control. He was a curious figure go watch.

Now about the characters:

*Finley - unlike in Steel Corset, where I didn't really like her, in Clockwork Collar Finley became a girl I came to admire. She was bold and brave, a little bit reckless, but always ready to help a friend in need. Even if that meant getting beat up in the process. She really surprised me at times, when she held her ground in the face of ruthless criminals, but that's just how she won me over.

*Griffin - the idiot made me want to get in the book and slap him on the face, hard. He spoke to Finley as if she was trash that one time. Sure, he was jealous and worried about her and all that, but she didn't deserve what he said to her. His moods were never twice the same. One minute he'd be angry, the next he'd be laughing. Still though, I loved the guy. Especially in the dress shop towards the end. I had a good laugh at that scene.

*Emily - she continues to surprise me with her genius. New inventions of her come to play roles in this book, and I was simply fascinated by this girl's ability to think science. She's just mesmerizing!

*Sam - the big oaf is so cute when he's jealous, he had me rolling my eyes the entire time. I admired him for his strength of character though.

*Jasper - the fool was so blind, I couldn't describe how bad I felt about him for it. He want through so much, and it was all for nothing.

I probably should mention the villains as well, but then again, you should probably just go ahead and read the book for yourself to get just how bad they are.