Review: Ironskin by Tina Connolly

Publisher: Tor Books
Series: Ironskin #1

Pages: 304

Received: Recieved from publisher through NetGalley

Release Date: October 2, 2012
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Goodreads Synopsis:

Jane Eliot wears an iron mask.

It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin.

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a "delicate situation"—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey.

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

My Review:

A book that is a retelling of JANE EYRE, bring it on, I absolutely adored JANE EYRE when I first read back in my first year of university and it's what spun me into wanting to read more of the classics. I really enjoyed the little twist of the fey magic added in to this story, it brought about a completely new telling of such a classic love story.

What really stood out in this story is that how it focuses around Jane learning about herself, she has her own issues to deal with and I loved watching her grow throughout the story. A lot of this story was about the growing relationship between Jane and Dorie as well, their story was the center of everything and it was adorable to watch them grow together and learn from one another. Though there is a romance to the story it doesn't take over, the story was touching, and I loved what Jane learns about herself and how she deals with her life.

The writing in IRONSKIN is very similar to that of the classics, really bringing the story to life. Connolly describes the setting in such a way that you can put everything in it's place, and follow the characters around. It's not often I can map out a story in my head and I really enjoy being able to see and do what the characters do. What really interested me is that most of the book takes place in one setting, though Jane does travel a little bit, the main events happen at the Rochart house, and it was interesting to find out why.

This book takes some time to get into some interesting ideas, but I liked that because Connolly takes her time, letting the readers get to know the characters and understand the history. But as the story went on Connolly added in some interesting twists that I didn't see coming, Mr. Rochart's secret really surprised me, and it actually disturbed me a tiny bit. Connolly did a great job bringing this story to life, and I loved how classic it felt to me.

If you are a fan of JANE EYRE, I think this is a great read, and could even be a great introduction for younger readers into the classic genre.

Review: The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress

Publisher: Dial (Penguin)

Pages: 440

Received: Borrowed from a friend

Release Date: December 4, 2012
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Goodreads Synopsis:

An action-packed tale of gowns, guys, guns –and the heroines who use them all

Set in turn of the century London, The Friday Society follows the stories of three very intelligent and talented young women, all of whom are assistants to powerful men: Cora, lab assistant; Michiko, Japanese fight assistant; and Nellie, magician's assistant. The three young women's lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball that ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man.

It's up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve the murder–and the crimes they believe may be connected to it–without calling too much attention to themselves.

Set in the past but with a modern irreverent flare, this Steampunk whodunit introduces three unforgettable and very ladylike–well, relatively ladylike–heroines poised for more dangerous adventures.

My Review:

This book definitely has caught the attention of the blogging world and exploded, I love the costumes of the girls on the cover and the steampunkness of it because this book definitely delves into the steampunk world. But the one thing that really brought this book to my attention was that the story is heavily focused on the three girls.

I loved the story of this book, there is a great mystery with murders happening around the city and in some way each of these three girls becomes involved, but the story is about so much more than just the mystery. There is so much about these three girls meeting one night and a growing friendship because of the murders. Each of the girls is unique and the bring something different to the story, but they all bring a fiery attitude and a sense of justice.

This story was such a great adventure of a book but really what this book is about is female empowerment. This book really revolved around the friendship of the three girls, the little romance that was there was far in the background and it was nice to see a book where the women did things for themselves and not relying on men. I really loved the strengths of each of the girls, but my favourite had to be Michiko. She was such an amazing character, and for one who understands and speaks very little English she still had this way of communicating with the other characters. I also really liked that she had this way of trying to do things on her own and yet in the end coming to be part of this strong group.

The ending really ties up the story well, but still leaves it open for Kress to write a sequel if she wants (which I hope she does!) This book was a lot of fun to read, and I really loved how Kress brought out the female empowerment in her story! If you love mystery and action all tied up together in a nice package this is the book for you.

Cover Reveal: The Summer I Became A Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

I'm happy to participate in the cover reveal for a great new title from Entangled Teen, The Summer I Became A Nerd by Leah Rae Miller, which will be released May 7, 2013! Here is the synopsis:

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn’t just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.

Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

Sounds adorable! And here is the cover:

About the author:

Born and raised in northern Louisiana, Leah Rae Miller still lives there on a windy hill with her husband and kids. She loves comic books, lava lamps, fuzzy socks, and Cherry Coke. She spends most of her days reading things she likes and writing things she hopes other people will like. 

You can check out her website as well here. Watch for a contest in the coming weeks.

Add The Summer I Became A Nerd to Goodreads here!