Review Detail

The reason I put off reading this book was because it’s Steam punk; and more specifically it’s set in 1969. This is the first Steam punk book I’ve ever read before, which made me nervous. Also I’ve never been one for books set in the past, because the language can get confusing and generally feels awkward.

I have to give the author a lot of credit though. Once I took a deep breath, calmed down and just tried to read the book I found myself really enjoying it. Not only does she do wonderful at keeping the flow of words natural and pretty darn familiar, but does a nice job of immersing you in the past.

I found myself sitting down for long stretches of time to read. The book had a nice flow to it, and many times I would hit a part where I just could not set the book down. It wasn’t like it was a straightforward, boring plot either—she put all these little hits and twist through the book that when something clicked you wonder why you didn’t see it before. I also applaud her for weaving just a smidgen of romance in the book, when the era considered public hand-holding scandalous.

The book is in third person, and while it's mainly focused on Tessie it does move to different characters during the chapter. I’m not generally a huge fan of third person perspective, but again I was happily surprised at how smoothly she managed it. Third person can be awkward, especially when you hop characters in the middle of the chapter but it felt very smooth.

I would defiantly recommend this book. It’s a beautiful plot line, and I absolutely adore Cassandra Clare’s writing voice.