Review - The Girl with the Windup Heart (Steampunk Chronicles #4) by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl with the Windup Heart

Author: Kady Cross

Series: 4th (The Girl with the Steel Corset, The Girl in the Clockwork Collar, The Girl with the Iron Touch)

Pages: 396

Published: May 27th 2014 by Harlequin TEEN 

ISBN: 9780373211197

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Description: 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. 

I Give This ...

 I was pleased to see this one as I had no real indication that the series was over after the last book.  After a rocky start, I've come to really enjoy this characters and I wanted to see an satisfying ending.

I really wish that Griffin would stop holding so much back from his friends.  Granted we wouldn't have a story without it.  But, his friends rely so much on him, I wish he would give the slightest indication that he needed them a little bit.  Because of this character flaw, he is literally draining himself dry in the Aether.  It's a good thing that Finley doesn't stand for that kind of crap.  She's determined to prove her worth to Griffin.  I think she feels like she needs for Griffin to see that he can trust her, heart and soul.

I was surprised by the tension between Finley and Emily.  I don't think that was there before.  I think it might be because they both care for Griffin in different ways and have to argue about who has the better way to save him.  I really enjoyed that addition of Mila in relation to Jack Dandy.  I didn't particularly care for his relationship with Finley, but I liked his character.  So, I readily accepted his new found fascination with Mila.

I liked how most of this story took place in the aether.  It reminded me a little bit of Dante's Inferno.  I enjoyed Finley's own personal demons that she had to overcome in order to get to Griffin.   I enjoyed how conniving The Machinist could be.   I never failed to be surprised the lengths he wold go to get what he wanted.

In the end, I was surprised by this series.  I'm still hesitant when it comes to steampunk, but I've learned to give it a chance.  This series has helped me accomplish that.  I will be looking for Kady Cross again.