The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross
Series: Steampunk Chronicles, #2
Source: Bought
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: May 22, 2012

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....

I really enjoy this series. Like really, love-to-death-those-steampunk-elements love this series. So much that I started the next book in the series before I came to write this review. Weird, right? But anyway, since I basically denied your knowing what I thought immediately, I might as well start.

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar picked up pretty much immediately where the last book left off-- we're thrown right back into Finley's world, which I absolutely loved! I hate it when things happen in between books, it doesn't work out for me, you know?

And sense nothing happened in between, I was blissfully happy. I really liked the new element of Jasper in New York, and the girl he loves being choked slowly by that terrible collar. It added new adventure to the series, and it kept me guessing, though I will admit that I knew something about Mei that I shouldn't have pretty quickly. Some of the plot points could have been better, but I overlook that.

On another note, Finley still kicks butt. I seriously love this girl, she's an amazing character! Now that the two sides of her have merged, I love her even more. She's so snarky, and does things that I can imagine doing too. They may be stupid things, and tempestuous a bit, but I can still imagine doing them. I also really love that the characters were the same as the last book-- they're still the ones that we know and love.

But most of all, I really like that the characters have this sort of sense of family about them. They take care of their own, you know? That (of course) is what makes them truly rock.

All in all, The Girl in the Clockwork Collar is a great continuation of The Steampunk Chronicles.