>When spirited sixteen-year-old Noli Braddock and her best friend Steven V Darrow take a flying car out for a joyride, neither expects Noli to be sent to reform school to mend her hoyden ways. While at the dreadful school, an innocent wish sends Noli tumbling into the Otherworld where the handsome huntsman Kevighn wants her as the next blood sacrifice to help restore his dying world. V arrives in the Otherworld to help Noli, but before they can return to the mortal realm they navigate the dangerous intrigues of the Otherworld and convince the High Queen to send Noli home while dealing with their emerging feelings for one another. But if Noli lives, an entire civilization will die. (from Amazon.ca)
Ohhhh I really tried to like this book. How it first started out had promise. I really liked how Noli was portrayed. She seemed like a strong character, and typical when you read some of these steampunk novels. They’re strong willed, always going against the social mores, and always tinkering – which Noli does. She’s also in love with botany – that was pretty interesting and different too.
As the plot progresses, I thought it was off to a good start. The reform school part really got me into the story and I thought it was going to get better. Then the faeries come in. I’m not much for faeries, they’re my least favorite paranormal beings (so perhaps I’m biased when it comes to this). Then the book suddenly stops becoming steampunk and goes into the romance and fantasy phase. This is where my interest in the book started to drop. Noli’s character started to becoming something that I wasn’t expecting at all. She becomes all girly, needy, clingy, and all around irritating.
The romance aspect of the book was starting to irritate me as well and the plot just seemed to have taken a nosedive from there. V was interesting at first as well, but then when the romance starts to happen I was personally starting to get real sick of all three: Noli, Kevighn, and V. Then when James and Charlotte joined in the picture the story got unbearable and predictable.
This book just wasn’t the one for me. Perhaps others will enjoy this one. It just stops becoming steampunk and then evolves into fantasy and romance. I was really hoping for a good novel featuring engines, gears and goggles. Not much so in this book. Sad to say I was very disappointed in this one.
I give it a 3/10
Thanks to the publisher for providing me a copy of this book via Netgalley!
Okbo Lover 