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idheilehleila's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
taylor_mcclernon's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
endlessmidnight's review against another edition
4.0
This book deserves five stars, maybe it's because I really enjoyed it compared to some books recently. Other wise, it's a good read overall, there are some areas for improvement but I really enjoyed this as a whole. It was exciting to read a Steampunk series that took place in a different world, where history changed, maybe this would be a little more in the dystopia place but honestly I don't care.
This story looks better and caught my attention because of the cover and the beginning. Let's just say that I'm a little sick of reading from first person. It's just really boring after a while and when I took this it was great and I began to read it. I couldn't even put it down for a minute and thus my review is a day later.
The worldbuilding here is great and explains certain things here and there. I enjoyed the description of the clothing, machines, new york. though I feel that there could have been more description when it came to certain things.
The plot is fast for this story which is great and I enjoyed the fast pacing for once. All the characters were pretty good, Charlotte, Jack and everything.
This story looks better and caught my attention because of the cover and the beginning. Let's just say that I'm a little sick of reading from first person. It's just really boring after a while and when I took this it was great and I began to read it. I couldn't even put it down for a minute and thus my review is a day later.
The worldbuilding here is great and explains certain things here and there. I enjoyed the description of the clothing, machines, new york. though I feel that there could have been more description when it came to certain things.
The plot is fast for this story which is great and I enjoyed the fast pacing for once. All the characters were pretty good, Charlotte, Jack and everything.
akstern13's review against another edition
4.0
A fun little adventure with touches of mystery, and a pleasant YA steampunk novel.
couillac's review against another edition
3.0
I've never read Andrea Cremer before, and I'm not a particular fan of steampunk, so I was surprised to enjoy this book as much as I did. I'm a sucker for a good cast of characters, and I really enjoyed getting to know this group of allies. Cremer's world-building is also excellent. Despite a few info-dumping sections, she allows readers to decipher her world gradually and organically from the story. And what a fascinating world! Exploring what might have happened if the US lost the Revolutionary War is an intriguing premise, and I like where she goes with it. Teen readers will also enjoy the romantic aspects, which are pitch perfect for the audience (even if I preferred to skim over them). My only critique is that this volume seems to exist primarily to set up the rest of the series - it needed more of a central conflict driving the story. Grave's secret, while intriguing, doesn't really come across as critical enough to be the central focus, and yet there isn't really anything else there. No big battle, no resolution of any of the questions raised. Overall, however, it's a really enjoyable read, and I look forward to returning to this world in the next volume.
jmmeyer's review
3.0
I'm not a big steam punk fan but this world didn't bother me much. Many of the inventions were interesting and didn't distract from the story as I feel like often happens in the genre. Rather, the inventions and steam punky elements added cool imagery.
The alternative history was...strange. The heavy presence of Greek mythology was bizarre and I didn't really see the point. The structure of the world was off because of this...a bit clunky and strange. I don't begrudge the info dumps much but they weren't great. There were a few times I had a difficult time paying attention and the info dumps didn't help.
This isn't a bad book, it's fun in many ways but I felt misled. The blurb talks about adventure, a strange boy, and wonders what you would do for freedom but I felt like the real focus of the story was the love story. More time was spent on the love triangle than the resistance. In fact, I don't really know what the point of going to the city was beyond the love tangles because the big reveal is pushed aside and rushed feeling while the dresses and tingling love feelings take their time.
I adored the iron forest and the tinker fair though. Those two elements pushed this from a 2.5 to a 3 for me. The city is actually very cool, structurally and culturally. I enjoyed hearing about the different layers and wished we were privy to more of the spy networking that happened on these levels, in the ballrooms, and such. Really it's a pretty cool world and the characters aren't bad but I just felt really unfulfilled. We didn't get enough of anything. Long winding passages of social networks while short passages of spies and surely not enough of the Winter daughter.
This is the first in a series...maybe. There's little to no information on Goodreads or the author website but the ending leaves us hanging so I hope there's another. I will keep reading these in hopes we get to see more things like the iron forest.
The alternative history was...strange. The heavy presence of Greek mythology was bizarre and I didn't really see the point. The structure of the world was off because of this...a bit clunky and strange. I don't begrudge the info dumps much but they weren't great. There were a few times I had a difficult time paying attention and the info dumps didn't help.
This isn't a bad book, it's fun in many ways but I felt misled. The blurb talks about adventure, a strange boy, and wonders what you would do for freedom but I felt like the real focus of the story was the love story. More time was spent on the love triangle than the resistance. In fact, I don't really know what the point of going to the city was beyond the love tangles because the big reveal is pushed aside and rushed feeling while the dresses and tingling love feelings take their time.
I adored the iron forest and the tinker fair though. Those two elements pushed this from a 2.5 to a 3 for me. The city is actually very cool, structurally and culturally. I enjoyed hearing about the different layers and wished we were privy to more of the spy networking that happened on these levels, in the ballrooms, and such. Really it's a pretty cool world and the characters aren't bad but I just felt really unfulfilled. We didn't get enough of anything. Long winding passages of social networks while short passages of spies and surely not enough of the Winter daughter.
This is the first in a series...maybe. There's little to no information on Goodreads or the author website but the ending leaves us hanging so I hope there's another. I will keep reading these in hopes we get to see more things like the iron forest.
wishesandpages's review
2.0
2.5 stars
It was a pretty average book tbh. I was excited because it was alternate history and steampunk, but it didn't have nearly enough elements of that. The plot was predictable, I was always two steps ahead of the characters, and it felt like every dystopian novel ever. It was full of cliches sadly...
It was a pretty average book tbh. I was excited because it was alternate history and steampunk, but it didn't have nearly enough elements of that. The plot was predictable, I was always two steps ahead of the characters, and it felt like every dystopian novel ever. It was full of cliches sadly...
lucychafia's review
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Not a good book, would not recommend ever to anyone. Hated the protagonist, hated the plot. Only reason I didn't DNF this book is cause my friend suggested it to me and i didn't want to be mean. If it weren't for that, it would've been thrown straight into the furnace. And it didn't stop there... This is the first in a series. I had to read three of these. Three. It just kept getting worse and worse, but i had to finish them cause of my friend. Overall, maybe I'm an idiot and a lot of people could like this, but it physically pained me to finish this series. So yeah.
aidan1147's review against another edition
4.0
I really like it, it feels like a mix between a dystopian future and historical and sci-fi. Just a cool vibe
nthyi's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75