Review: This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee

This Monstrous Thing
by Mackenzi Lee
Website | Twitter | Facebook

Publication Date: September 22nd 2015
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780062382771
Genre: Young Adult | Retelling | Sci-Fi
Source: Edelweiss

Add to Goodreads

Available for Purchase:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

In 1818 Geneva, men built with clockwork parts live hidden away from society, cared for only by illegal mechanics called Shadow Boys. Two years ago, Shadow Boy Alasdair Finch’s life shattered to bits.

His brother, Oliver—dead.

His sweetheart, Mary—gone.

His chance to break free of Geneva—lost.

Heart-broken and desperate, Alasdair does the unthinkable: He brings Oliver back from the dead.

But putting back together a broken life is more difficult than mending bones and adding clockwork pieces. Oliver returns more monster than man, and Alasdair’s horror further damages the already troubled relationship.

Then comes the publication of Frankenstein and the city intensifies its search for Shadow Boys, aiming to discover the real life doctor and his monster. Alasdair finds refuge with his idol, the brilliant Dr. Geisler, who may offer him a way to escape the dangerous present and his guilt-ridden past, but at a horrible price only Oliver can pay… (Goodreads)

This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee is a fantastically unique retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I can't say that I've read many Frankenstein retelling's up to this point, if any, so I was very excited going into this book. I was definitely not disappointed by the book, and it was a great book to read this month, with Halloween right around the corner!

The main character in the story is Alasdair, a boy who seems to have lost everything, and in his grief proves that he is so much smarter than he seems. Oh, this poor boy. So many things happen to Alasdair throughout the course of this book. I just wanted to jump in the book and give him a great big hug. But, even when everything seemed to go wrong for him, he still proved to be a really strong character, and he was so well written; it was impossible not to like him.

Alasdair was not the only well written character in the story, as there were others that I found myself liking as well, like his brother, Oliver, as well as another girl we meet in the story, Clémence. But while there are some characters you're really going to like, there are a few you're really going to dislike as well. I'm not going to spill the beans on who, so go meet them for yourself!

While the storyline for the book is set around Frankenstein and the time period within, the book also manages to have a complete unique story all on its own as well. The author did a really great job with researching the book beforehand, and I appreciated that so much information not only about Frankenstein, but also about Mary Shelley, was included in the story. It definitely made the book an interesting read.

Overall; I really, really enjoyed This Monstrous Thing so much. It really made for such a great book to read with Halloween coming up, but it's also a great book to read any time of the year! Mackenzi Lee is definitely on my radar now, and I can't wait to read more from her soon!

Review: Illusionarium by Heather Dixon

Illusionarium
by Heather Dixon
Website | Tumblr

Publication Date: May 19th 2015
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Pages: 368
ISBN: 9780062001054
Genre: Young Adult | Sci-Fi | SteamPunk
Source: Publisher

Add to Goodreads

Available for Purchase:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

What if the world holds more dangers—and more wonders—than we have ever known? And what if there is more than one world? From Heather Dixon, author of the acclaimed Entwined, comes a brilliantly conceived adventure that sweeps us from the inner workings of our souls to the far reaches of our imaginations.

Jonathan is perfectly ordinary. But then—as every good adventure begins—the king swoops into port, and Jonathan and his father are enlisted to find the cure to a deadly plague. Jonathan discovers that he's a prodigy at working with a new chemical called fantillium, which creates shared hallucinations—or illusions. And just like that, Jonathan is knocked off his path. Through richly developed parallel worlds, vivid action, a healthy dose of humor, and gorgeous writing, Heather Dixon spins a story that calls to mind The Night Circus and Pixar movies, but is wholly its own. (Goodreads)

I was super excited to check out Illusionarium by Heather Dixon! The summary for the book sounded really unique and entertaining. I’ve had Dixon’s Entwined on my to-read list for forever, but have never had a chance to read it, so I was excited to finally be able to read something by her.

The story is told from Jonathon, the main character’s, point of view. Jonathon describes himself as pretty average in every single way, until he’s not. When he discovers that he can create illusions, everything changes for him. It was interesting to watch him grow as a character that pretty much thought himself to be ordinary, into something completely extraordinary.

The storyline for the book was really imaginative. It did take me a while to catch on to a few things, but once I did, the story held my interest.  The world-building was super creative. Imagine living in London in 1882, but there are airships in the sky and a deadly plague that is targeting only women. Then there is the alternate universe London, which is completely different in almost every single way, and is a place that I would never want to visit. Haha! There’s a plot twist towards the end of the book that I totally saw coming, but still cheered myself for being right about it. There is a teeny-tiny bit of romance in the book, but it’s completely overshadowed by the storyline. I do wish that we had seen more of it.

Overall; I found Illusionarium to be a very unique and entertaining read. The storyline, characters and world-building really made for an interesting story. Now that I’ve read something by Heather Dixon, I’m definitely going to have to make time to read Entwined soon!

Review: The Girl with the Windup Heart by Kady Cross

The Girl with the Windup Heart
(Steampunk Chronicles #4)
by Kady Cross
Website | Twitter | Facebook

Publication Date: May 27th 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 400
ISBN: 9780373211197
Genre: Young Adult | Steampunk
Source: Netgalley

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

In 1897 London, a final showdown is about to begin.

London's underworld is no place for a young woman, even one who is strong, smart and part-automaton like Mila. But when master criminal Jack Dandy inadvertently breaks her heart, she takes off, determined to find an independent life, one entirely her own. Her search takes her to the spangled shadows of the West End's most dazzling circus.

Meanwhile, taken captive in the Aether, Griffin King is trapped in an inescapable prison, and at the mercy of his archenemy, The Machinist. If he breaks under the hellish torment, The Machinist will claim his powers and control of the Aether itself, and no one in either world will be safe-especially not Finley Jayne and her misfit band of friends.

Finley plunges headlong into the Aether the only way she knows how, by temporarily dying. But she cannot parry The Machinist's maneuvers for long. To defeat him for good, Griffin will have to confront his greatest fear and finally come face-to-face with the destructive power he wields. (Goodreads)

The 'Steampunk Chronicles' by Kady Cross has to be one of my most favorite series from Harlequin Teen. I was super excited to finally read 'The Girl with the Windup Heart', as I was excited to see how Griffin, Finley and crew were finally going to beat The Machinist. This book definitely did not disappoint, and is a wonderful addition to this awesome series!

The book had two parts to the story. One part revolves around Griffin, Finley and crew verses Garibaldi, who, even in death, just will not leave Griffin alone. Seriously, this guy is evil like no other, and there was nothing that I wanted more than for him to be defeated once and for all. Can I just say that all of these characters work so wonderfully together as a group? They are all among some of my most favorite characters. I love Griffin and Finley’s relationship, as well as Emily and Sam’s, and Jasper and Cat’s.  Not only are the relationships great, but the friendships are excellent as well. And I love that they are all willing to do whatever it takes to keep each other safe, and to defeat The Machinist once and for all.

The other part of the story was about Jack Dandy and Mila. Jack Dandy is a character that I’ve loved every since we first met him in the beginning of the series. He’s so dark and mysterious, and I was thrilled that we get to learn more about him in this book. He has definitely had an interesting past. Jack and Mila were so super cute together, I adored them!

I’ve really enjoyed the storyline for this series since the very beginning. It’s made for a really unique read for me, as I’ve not really read a lot of steampunk books. I liked that this book wrapped up all the loose ends throughout the series as well.  I really hate to see this series end, as I’ve really come to love these characters.

Overall; I really loved this wonderful addition to the 'Steampunk Chronicles' series. While I am sad to see this series end, I am really looking forward to reading Cross’ next series, expected out in 2015!