Sunday, May 4, 2014

Review: The Girl with the Windup Heart by Kady Cross


The Girl with the Windup Heart by Kady Cross
Book Four of the Steampunk Chronicles
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Publication Date: May 27, 2014
Rating: 4 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

In 1897 London, a final showdown is about to begin.

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 under the hellish torment, The Machinist will claim his powers and control of the Aether itself, and no one in either world will be safe-especially not Finley Jayne and her misfit band of friends.

Finley plunges headlong into the Aether the only way she knows how, by temporarily dying. But she cannot parry The Machinist's maneuvers for long. To defeat him for good, Griffin will have to confront his greatest fear and finally come face-to-face with the destructive power he wields.

What I Liked:

I'm actually going to try and be a little brief in this review, because I don't want to spoil anything in this book, as well as in the series in general. I kind of liked the first book, liked the second book, LOVED the third book, and definitely enjoyed this final book. The third book is by far my favorite, but I think I'd give this series four stars overall. That's pretty great!

Finley and the crew never have it easy - even if Garibaldi is dead. In the Aether, Garibaldi hunts Griffin - and succeeds in capturing him. Now it is up to Finley to find Griffin in the Aether, with the help of Emily, Sam, Jasper, Wildcat, Ispley, and someone no one expected.

Meanwhile, Mila is adjusting to life as a human. Once an automaton, she is now a human, living under the care of Jack Dandy. Except that she is in love with Jack, and he doesn't seem to either notice, or reciprocate, the feeling. Stupid, typical man, no? So Mila does exactly what Jack did not want her to do - she leaves, and goes on her own. She joins a circus!

There are several plots going on in this book. There is the overarching plot, for the entire series, in which Griffin attempts to defeat Garibaldi. There is the plot that each book has, in which a pair of characters struggles to find each other (in this case, it is Mila and Jack). There is Finley and Griffin, and their own personal struggle to be a couple. But in this book, there is also the problem of Jack and his past. You'd think that I'd immediately be all over this multiple plot thing, saying something about the plots being too confusing or underdeveloped, but no. I actually really like this setup. One thing that bothered me about it is below, in the next section. Just to give some perspective.

You all know how I feel about Finley and Griffin. I love the pair of them, as well as each of them individually. I love how well-characterized each character is in this book, despite the fact that there are at eight important ones. I wish that Griffin and Finley could have gotten more page time. They are the most interesting about which to read, and the chemistry and romance between them is beautiful and fiery. I can't find it in me to put that in the next section (that Griffin and Finley didn't get enough page time), but I wish there could have been more scenes between them. Alone. Not necessarily doing certain things. Just, alone.

This book wraps up beautifully. Like, I'm always terrified of reading conclusion novels, because authors always find a way to make the ending depressing or bittersweet or something. That is NOT the case, with this book (and series). The ending is a good one, a happy one, an even, well, slightly perfect one. You all know how I feel about perfect endings. BUT. I liked this ending.

What I Did Not Like:

I think this book was a little strange, in terms of its structure. I like the multiple plots - that was interesting and definitely not confusing. But it felt like the overall series plot - Griffin vs. Garibaldi - got pushed to the side a little, with other plots threading through this book. Like, it wasn't always a concern of mine that Griffin might be dying. Which is bad, because Griffin is probably my favorite character. In the first book, it was all about Griffin and Finley. While I like that each of the successive books feature another pair along with Griffin and Finley, I dislike that Griffin and Finley (and Griffin himself) are pushed aside a little. Sometimes, with a large cast of characters, we need to remember who are the MOST important. And you can't say all of the, or one large group, because that is NEVER true. One or two characters are always primary. 

Would I Recommend It:

This book in particular, or the series in general? I'll start with the book. If you've made it this far into the series, DEFINITELY read this book. If you've read book one, or books one and two, read the remaining books in the series (including this one). If you haven't started this series, but you have the means to do so (legally, only legally), then do it! I had a rocky start with the series, but I'm so glad that I kept reading.

Rating:

4 stars. What a great ending to a fantastic series! I feel so proud of myself, for sticking with yet another series - especially with a series that started out in the "meh" direction, for me. I ended up really liking this series!


Was this review helpful? Please let me know in the comments section!

18 comments:

  1. OOh very nice review!! I was lucky to have gotten an ARC of this too! Read it pretty quickly and I loved it as well. Multiple pov's tend to be sketchy for me. Will I like it? Love it? Hate it? Definitely in the positive category here. I've pretty much enjoyed the multiple perspectives in this series! The characters were all pretty awesome. Do wish like you said that Griffin and Finley could've got more "alone" or page time though.

    Again, great review!

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    1. Thank you very much, Jessica! I'm glad you enjoyed this book as well. I'm the same way with multiple points-of-view, but I liked the presence of each, in this book. And of course, Finley and Griffin. MORE. But that's okay.

      Thank you!

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  2. Hmmm, I have been tempted by this series, but I'm not sure if I feel like starting another new series.
    Great review, Alyssa!

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    1. In the end, it's just another completed series to add to your TBR list, right? Perhaps if you do another series challenge, you can add these books to that list!

      Thank you, Pili!

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  3. The fact that this series started out "meh" for you is making me want to try it. I ended up DNFing the first book. I just set it aside one day and never picked it back up (a bookmark is actually still marking my spot in the book. :D). I like the idea that each book has its own plot, which I didn't know before. That makes me want to give this series another shot! Great review, Alyssa!

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    1. Completely missed this comment O_O

      I think you should go back and read these, Kaitlin! The third one was me absolute favorite. The flow of the series is so great!

      You're very welcome! <3

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  4. I am so far behind in this series, it's not even funny! I read book 1 and I loved it (I love steampunk anyway.) I really need to catch up, glad you loved it :)

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    1. Awww! Perhaps in the future, Liza. Steampunk is pretty great!

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  5. I only read the first book in this series, but I distinctly remember loving it and I think I might want to continue on with the series just because I didn't recognize a lot of the names you mentioned and I'm kind of curious to see how they start to play a role in the books :)

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    1. Ahhh, I'm so glad that you did love it! The first one was actually my least favorite of the entire series, and it got three stars from me - which is not bad! There are a ton of new characters introduced from book one to book four. I hope you keep reading this series, Eileen!

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  6. I'm afraid I still haven't gotten around to this series, but the multiple plot lines sounds like a good thing, and the overall world sounds intriguing. I will be keeping an eye out during my next library trip (despite the pile of books I should be reading at home). :)

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    1. Hey, there are like a million billion books to read, girl! I totally understand. If you do end up reading this series, I hope you love it!

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  7. Yay happy ending!! This is one of those that I have no qualms whatsoever with it ending maybe too neatly. Not. At. All. I love them too much to wish any less on the characters. I'm sad to hear Griffin and Finley are less central this time, since, I agree, they're the most interesting of the group. I do love the idea of Mila and a circus though... I'm still sad it's ending. ;(

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    1. YES! Like, it was okay for everything to be perfect. I like Griffin and Finley the best, but it's okay that they shared the attention. I wish they had more though.

      Yet another series ending, Rachel! It IS sad. But hey, closure!

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  8. These books always sound so amazing, and the covers are gorgeous, but for some reason I only have book three in my possession, so I haven't started this series yet. I'm really happy to hear that you're a fan of it, great review.

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    1. The covers are extraordinary! There wasn't one that I didn't like. You must read all of them!! Thank you, Jillyn :)

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  9. Really great review!!! Book sounds interesting and love the cover too.

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    1. Thank you! And the cover is great! Probably my favorite of the four books' covers :D

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