The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross- July Random Read

I finished my July Random Reads hosted by Sarah at imlovingbooks.com! This month's book was The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross.

Finley knows that she is different. Most girls cannot fight grown men and win. She feels like she is two people in the same body. When she is threatened or afraid her darker side takes over, which is what happens with Lord Felix tries to attack her. She flees from his employment with him bloody on the floor and literally runs into Griffin King on his velocycle, a duke who also has special powers, which include manipulating emotions and talking to the dead. Griffin recognizes Finley as a kindred spirit and takes her to his house to recover. There Finley meets more people like including Emily who can talk to machines, Jasper who is extremely quick, and Sam who is very strong and part machine himself. It is not long before Griffin realizes Finley is connected to his group by the very things that made him and his friends special, an experiment Griffin's parents conducted before their murders. A special organism called organites or wee beasties as Emily calls them were discovered by Griffin's parents in the center of the Earth. Finley's father was part of Griffin's group along with another man who calls himself, The Machinist. The Machinist is causing machines to attack humans including Sam which lead to him becoming part machine. Griffin and his friends must stop the Machinist before it is too late, the fate of the British monarchy rests in their hands.

Along with the action in this story is two love triangles; one between Emily, Sam, and Jasper, and one between Finley, Griffin, and another character named Jack Dandy. Jack is a criminal boss with possibly a good heart. The romances are actually not cliched and are believable.

I loved the action in this series and I loved that Finley can physically defend herself. She is an extremely strong heroine, but she still has emotions. The fight scenes were great and the romance is very sweet and does not overpower the rest of the story. I loved the Victorian England setting and I really enjoy steampunk stories.

Favorite Character: I loved them all, but Finley is my favorite. She is strong and compassionate. She thinks of others, but also will defend herself when the occasion arises.

Favorite Quote: "Committing my magnificence to mem'ry, are you ducks?" "I'll play the game, Finley Jayne, because I think you are worth it, but I won't be trifled with. Do you understand? Someday you're going to have to choose." Both quotes are by Jack, who was an interesting secondary character.

I loved this book and it was a complete surprise. I put it on my list because of the pretty cover, but the story was great. I liked the action and romance and I have already checked out the second in the series. 5 bars of chocolate for sure!

Goddess Legacy by Aimee Carter

I received Goddess Legacy as an e-galley on Netgalley. I loved the other books by Aimee Carter and was very excited to be approved for Goddess Legacy. I think with each book, Aimee's storytelling gets better and better. I love her twist on the Greek myths and she definitely provides her own spin on the Olympians. I enjoy how she can make you feel both sorry for the characters and angry at them at the same time. She brings the Greek myths to life while giving a unique spin to each one, making them more fun and more romantic than the originals.
Goddess Legacy is a collection of short stories told from the point of view of a god or goddess. The first story in the collection is from Hera/Calliope's point of view. If you have read any of the Goddess Test series, you know that Calliope is the villain of the series. The Goddess Queen, Hera's story, shows why Calliope is angry with the others and it makes you sympathetic to her. It shows the traditional Zeus/Hera story, but twisted with the love Hera has for Hades. However any sympathy for Hera is crushed in the last story God of Darkness about Hades and his search for a new bride. Lovestruck Goddess shows how Ava/Aphrodite came to love her husband Nicholas/Hephaestus. Goddess of the Underworld gives Persephone's side of the Hades/Persephone story and shows how she came to love Adonis. God of Thieves is from Hermes/James point of view and how he fell in the love with a mortal, but it was not to be. I loved this unique story and it was probably my favorite of the book. I thought it was creative to throw in a type of Robin Hood story with a twist and it shows the bad side of Hades along with the good side of James, which is not shown as much in the Goddess Test series.
This was a very creative book and a good way to give background on the other characters of the story. It helps keep away some of the wait for the last book in the Goddess Test series, but I am already ready for the Goddess Inheritance!
Favorite Quote: I love the first line actually. "In all the years I'd existed, I'd never expected to be free." I think that sums up Hera perfectly and haven't we all felt that way at some point.
Favorite Character: In this one, I loved James. The God of Thieves was a sweet story and showed his loyalty to both family and friends as well as the guilt he does feel for what happened between Persephone and Hades. James is a complicated character and I enjoyed seeing Aimee show this other side of him.
This is easily a 5 bar of chocolate book! It is definitely a contender for my favorite book of the year. I think Aimee Carter is extremely talented and I will be looking for more books by her, even after this series is finished.

Reading Challenges

I have decided to try two more challenges for the year. The first is the Dusty Book Shelf challenge hosted by booksatruestory.com. To see the full rules, click on the picture. There are several books I would like to read that are just setting on my shelf or the library's shelf. I have decided that Pixie Dust is the level for me, since it is already the middle of July. I am hoping to read at least three books for this challenge.
The first up is Beautiful Creatures, which I have wanted to read since 2010. I have already started it and I like seeing the story from Ethan's point of view. I finished this 8-09 and reviewed it 8/12.
I will make my second selection really soon!

The second challenge is the Classic Double Challenge 2012 hosted by librariansbookreviews.blogspot.com. For this challenge, you try to read a classic book and then read a modern twist on that classic. I am just going for the Small Challenge on this one as well. I have not picked books yet, but I am leaning toward Persuasion or Jane Eyre for the classic book. I hope to make a decision soon.

I am still reading Body and Soul and Girl in the Steel Corset and am past the halfway point in both of them.

Reading Stack #17

I am still trying to finish Body and Soul. I actually do enjoy the series, but I just keep picking up other things. I am almost halfway through my Random Read, Girl in the Steel Corset. It is really good! I love Finley and her struggle between her two sides. I will try to focus on these two, but I am flipping through Beautiful Creatures and a couple of books I picked up at the library today.

Secret Letters by Leah Scheier

 

I finally finished a book! Secret Letters was one that I received as an egalley from Netgalley.
Ever since she learned her birth father's identity, Dora Joyce has been obsessed with solving mysteries. She is a keen observer and is not shy about showing her abilities, much to the dismay of her aunt and cousin. Dora's father is none other than the famous Sherlock Holmes, although he does not know of her existence. Dora's mother along with the man who she thought was her father died when she was very young. She lives with her aunt who is trying to turn her into a proper lady, like her married cousin Adelaide. When romantic letters from Adelaide's past are discovered and she is being blackmailed, Dora uses this chance to get her cousin to London to meet Sherlock Holmes and to, of course, introduce herself to her father. However Dora arrives to late and learns of Holmes' death at a waterfall, right as she is stepping foot on Baker Street. There she meets Peter Cartwright, a former messenger of Holmes, and an assistant for another prominent detective. Peter promises to help Dora, while also encouraging her inquisitive nature. The two team up to get Adelaide's letters back from a footman who works at an estate where the daughter of the lord of the manor has disappeared. It appears that more than one game is afoot and romance may also be in the air. Can Dora help solve the mystery, save her cousin, and not fall in love?

This was a really neat take on the Sherlock Holmes story. Holmes is not present at all in the story, but Dora shows herself as a true daughter of the famous detective. The romance in the story was perfect for the time period and her reactions to different events were very comical. A sequel is hinted at and I hope this is the case. Perfect blend of mystery, history, and light romance.

Favorite Character: I loved both Dora and Peter. Dora is a plucky heroine whose flaws endanger her, but Peter saves her without making her look like a weak-willed girl. They complement each other well and it takes them both to solve the case. I enjoyed hearing about their pasts and can't wait to see if they have a future together.

Favorite Quote: "Promise me that you'll stop telling the entire world that we're in love? It is destroying my reputation."

This was a  quick read with great main characters and a charming story line. Once I got close to the end, I had to stay up to finish it.  I give it 5 bars of chocolate!

Random Reads July

I am going to try to do this meme. I have never done a meme, but this looked like fun! All the credit goes to imlovingbooks.com. I first discovered this while looking at Auntie Spinelli Reads. I made a list of all the books I would like to read and then went to random.org. I had 72 on my list and my random number was 65, which was The Girl in the Steel Corset. I just picked this up at the library and it looks really good. Hopefully it will be as good as the pretty cover suggests.

Reading Stack #16

I finished both Goddess Legacy and Rapture. I will have to wait another week or two to publish my Goddess Legacy review until it is closer to the release date. I really really liked it! I am still reading Body and Soul and I have started another e-galley called Secret Letters about a girl who thinks she is the daughter of Sherlock Holmes. It has really captured my attention and I am close to the halfway point. Hopefully I will finish it this week.