Review: The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross

The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Synopsis from Goodreads:
In 1897 London, something not quite human is about to awaken 

When mechanical genius Emily is kidnapped by rogue automatons, Finley Jayne and her fellow misfits fear the worst. What's left of their archenemy, The Machinist, hungers to be resurrected, and Emily must transplant his consciousness into one of his automatons—or forfeit her friends' lives. 

With Griffin being mysteriously tormented by the Aether, the young duke's sanity is close to the breaking point. Seeking help, Finley turns to Jack Dandy, but trusting the master criminal is as dangerous as controlling her dark side. When Jack kisses her, Finley must finally confront her true feelings for him...and for Griffin. 

Meanwhile, Sam is searching everywhere for Emily, from Whitechapel's desolate alleyways to Mayfair's elegant mansions. He would walk into hell for her, but the choice she must make will test them more than they could imagine. 

To save those she cares about, Emily must confront The Machinist's ultimate creation—an automaton more human than machine. And if she's to have any chance at triumphing, she must summon a strength even she doesn't know she has....

Book 3 in the Steampunk Chronicles

I was really in the mood to read something easy and light, and this book hit the spot perfectly! Girl With The Iron Touch is cheesy, light-hearted, and fun, and I just love it.

A Victorian steampunk setting full of clever mechanical gadgets and automatons, and a wonderful gang of friends (with powers that remind me of the spirit of the X-Men), that have an evil super-villain to stop- this is an entertaining and heart-warming read.

I love how fiercely loyal they all are to each other, and how all the different personalities complement each other nicely. In some cases affection even developing into romance. I am talking about Emily and Sam here- they are the absolute sweetest couple and so protective of each other. I love getting sappy at their banter and declarations of love for the other.

Plenty of action, thrills, peril, romance and magic- this is my kind of book! Love these characters and this world, which is very easy to imagine. Sticking to a similar theme from the first two books only this time the gang is all back together again in London-they work to develop their technology, solve mysteries and protect London, but when one of their own is taken as hostage the situation becomes really desperate. The mysterious and charming Jack Dandy is also back on the scene, providing information and hilarious back-chat. I had missed him from book 2- he is such a colourful character!

Each book is a self-contained story which I like, but there is still more of the wider story to tell, more bad guys to defeat and more Finley and Griffin I'm sure- so I'm certain there will be more to come from this series. Fantastically fun and feel-good- I love these books.

Rest of the series:

book 1

book 2