Light on Steampunk and Heavy on Darkness — A Review of the Books Released So Far in the Series, Steampunk Chronicles

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne

This novella combined the best of two worlds for me: steampunk and Frankenstein albeit being light on the former! Our introduction to Finley Jayne takes place when she starts working for a new employer. Word about her strength gets out to a mother who is worried her future son-in-law isn’t what he seems like. The mother takes on Finley to protect her daughter. I loved the menacing ambiance that the author creates in this book. As I said, it was very Frankenstein-ish. Great way to introduce how tender-hearted and tough Finley is. But I’m guessing it was a good thing that I read this after the first few books than the other way around. We don’t get to see much of Finley’s abilities in this novella, except that she can climb up a wall like a spider.

The Dark Discovery of Jack Dandy

This one tells us how Dandy came across the mechanical girl in the first place. It seems like this wasn’t even necessary and doesn’t add much to the series.

The Wild Adventure of Jasper Renn

The novella relates the events that bring Jasper and Cat together. Her sister runs away to join the circus — yeah really — across the ocean. Cat needs Jasper’s help to find her and take her back home. But both sisters decide to stay. We rarely get a glimpse of the relationship between Cat and Jasper. This novella provided one.

The Girl with the Windup Heart

The focus of this book was on two couples. That was a first because we usually stick with Finley and Griffin. It worked for me. So, the lead couple fights and defeats two enemies that have been haunting them for a long time. I still think there isn’t enough depth in their relationship. Finely mentions how Griffin got her to unite her dark and positive selves together. But I have yet to see any evidence of that. At least, they put two evil ghosts to rest.

The other couple were Dandy and Mila. Dandy treats her as like a child and she runs away to prove him otherwise. While most of the story went the predictable way, I did like reading about Dandy’s rich dad who wouldn’t claim him legitimately and how he meets his comeuppance. In short, this was a good installment in this series.

So, there it is. I am current with another series. Read the review for the first book here.