M.K. K. Deppner’s Reviews > The Girl in the Steel Corset > Status Update

Thank goodness I am finished with this book. While I have a slew of awful things to say about it, the most awful mistake made is that the author tells the reader everything and doesn't take advantage of the wonders of the English language to show the reader what's happening. Readers aren't stupid--we really can figure things out for ourselves.

Also, anything remotely in the morally or ethically grey area in this book "doesn't bother X as much as it should" which signals to the competent reader that the author doesn't want to (or is incapable of) delving into the character's beliefs and values. I have absolutely no emotional investment in these flat characters.

OH HAY, it's a love story now! And on top of that, predictably, a love triangle. While love triangles are great, they have to be WELL-WRITTEN in order to work. Also, this could have been so good. The daughter of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Brilliant! This story? Utter rubbish.

I understand that steampunk uses anachronisms in order to make room for advanced technology, but this book thinks that "old-fashioned" language and a few mentions of period clothing are all it takes in order to transport the reader back to the 19th century. Clearly, the author did not take any serious amount of time researching and if she did, then it was in all the wrong places.

This book is a train wreck of terrible writing, sentence disasters, and ill-suited anachronisms which are comparable to the likes of the Twilight series.