The Strange Case of Finley Jayne Review: Finley

Book: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne
Author: Kady Cross
Series: Steampunk Chronicles
Standing: Book 0.5
Setting: London, 1897
POV: 3rd person by Finley
Genre: YA paranormal, steampunk

Source: ebook
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 83
Release: May 1st, 2011

Goodreads Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined.

This prequel explores the anomaly known as Finley Jayne, before her encounter with Griffen and his crew, and we get to see what kind of person she was on her own and how she lived with her strange and secret superhuman strength. . After being hired as a companion to a rich girl named Phoebe, Finley becomes suspicious and concerned with her engagement to Lord Vincent, who though seemingly is ever the perfect gentleman, is hiding something sinister.

Right off the bat, we see that Finley has an extremely strong sense of right and wrong, and isn't afraid to resort to violence to defend the weak. Though it often costs her ever diminishing reputation, she's ultimately the good guy, and it paints her employers all as idiots for letting her go. Her character is as strong and smart as ever, and it was nice to see her mind process completely free from romantic influences. Finley is ever as humble, which I really enjoyed as well. She doesn't boast about her abilities, and even when she uses them, she turns any gifts or tokens of appreciation down.

The plot, though brief and a little predictable, was still well done. It introduces the brilliance of Kady Cross, the steampunk world she has created, and the complex characters she has. The antagonist is sympathetic in the sense that his intentions are generally good, just that his methods are downright insane. Do I feel sorry for him? Yes and no. Mostly no, for obvious reasons.

Overall, this is a quick, fun, and gothic introduction, and features a great story of a strong female heroine! It makes me want to reread the entire series again, just to get more of Finley :)