The Strange Case of Finley Jayne

Finley Jayne isn't your typical Victorian girl.  In this prequel to The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross, we learn a little bit more about our butt-kicking heroine. 

Here is the summary from Goodreads:
Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined…
An ebook exclusive prequel to The Steampunk Chronicles.

Finley is a strong girl, both physically and mentally.  Yes, she can whip your tail from here to next week and not break a sweat, but she has a heart.  She only fights when she is protecting someone she cares about.  Which is why she was fired from her first job, and hired for her next.

She was hired by Lady Morton to be a companion to her daughter, Phoebe.  Both Lady M and Phoebe surprised me, they, too, were not your typical Victorian lady in their own way.  Yes, Lady M is staying in a loveless marriage, and Phoebe is being forced into one, but Lady M wanted better for her daughter, something you don't see in a lot of Victorian-set novels. 


I loved the climax of the book.  While I guessed there was a foul game afoot (ha!), I didn't see why or how at all.  In retrospect, there were clues, but oh well! 


What did surprise me was that they kept talking about automatons (robots).  I knew there weren't robots in the Victorian era.  I also knew that this was part of "The Steampunk Chronicles" series.  What I didn't realize was that "steampunk" is also a literary genre in which the book is set in the past, but has elements of modern technology (such as ROBOTS!).

I loved this book!  It was fast paced, well written and held my interest all the way through.  Before I read this, I wasn't sure if I was going to read The Girl in the Steel Corset, but now, I know I have to.  I have to know more about Finley; I have to see how her story plays out.  I gave this book a 5 star rating on goodreads.

 You can get your own ebook, FOR FREE, here.