The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

Goodreads
416 pages, YA Steampunk
Steampunk Chronicles #2
My Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis

In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling-or dangerous Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper from the clutches of a devious criminal demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him...for the life of the girl Jasper loves. One false move from Jasper, and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens and tightens. From the rough streets of lower Manhattan to elegant Fifth Avenue, the motley crew of teens follows Jasper's elusive trail. And they're about to discover how far they'll go for friendship. More than ever, Finley must rely on powerful English duke Griffin King to balance her dark magic with her good side. Yet Griffin is at war with himself over his secret attraction to Finley...and will risk his life and reputation to save her. Now, to help those she's come to care for so deeply, Finley must infiltrate the criminal gang. Only problem is, she might like the dark side a little too much....

My 2 cents

*There are spoilers in this review from the first book

I was really excited to read the sequel to the Girl in the Steel Corset. It really left things hanging between Finley and Griffin, and also with Jasper's situation. This was another good adventure for Griffin and his friends, and even gave us a new setting and villains to enjoy!

Griffin, Finley, Sam and Emily head to New York to rescue Jasper from the law. He's been taken in for murder, and his friends just don't believe he's a cold blooded killer. They soon find out that Jasper hasn't been arrested, he's been taken by a ruthless man named Dalton, and appears to be working with him. Finley goes undercover to join Dalton's gang, and hopefully rescue Jasper.

I was hoping we would learn more about Jasper, and thank goodness, we did! I ended up liking Jasper even more in this story, though at times he was pretty stupid! I think he's a lot better for Emily than Sam, but Sam and Emily grew very close in this book.

Meanwhile, Griffin and Finley spent most of the book fighting like cats and dogs. They are so much alike, so full of pride, and unable to admit when they are wrong! I just wanted to smack their heads together at times, but it made for interesting reading!

The story is full of action and drama, and quite a bit more romance than we got in the first book. There wasn't a huge cliffhanger ending in this one, but I still can't wait to read The Girl With the Iron Touch!