Review: The Girl with the Iron Touch

Image & Description from goodreads.com

ARC provided by NetGalley

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....

My Thoughts:

Kady Cross has given us another BRILLIANT installment in this fantastic series.  In this book we are given more insight into Emily’s story and how she came to work with Griffin King.  It was interesting to see more of Emily’s gift with machines and what she could do.  Even in the face of extreme danger, Emily keeps her wits and is able to find a way to save herself and those she cares about.  I absolutely love these characters.  They are interesting and engaging.  They each have their own “special” ability along with an individual story to add to the whole picture.  There was more focus on the personal relationships of Finley and Griffin, as well as, Sam and Emily.  These new developments did so much to enrich the story.  While Jasper was in this book he wasn’t as present as he was in The Girl in the Clockwork Collar.  His friend Wild Cat came to visit from America so I think we’ll see more of them both in the next book.  I am especially interested to see what becomes of Mila.  I hope they can find a way to add her to their patch work family.  Of course Jack Dandy, in all his dark charisma, played the part of the reluctant hero.  I would love to see him have his own spin off from this series.  ~Hint, hint, Kady.~

When it comes to villains, I can appreciate one as diabolical as Garibaldi, a.k.a the Machinist.  He is one determined mad man.  A man who can terrorize while floating in a tank of goo is the epitome of evil genius.  Like Emily, I wondered what happened to him that made him the way he was. 

If you haven’t started reading this series, I highly recommend it.  It’s full of adventure and excitement.  Steampunk is vastly becoming one my favorite genres.  Mostly due to this series and the imagination put into building this amazing world.