In an alternate Victorian England, clockwork cyborgs provide the primary source of labor for the upper class. Known as biomatons, they are property by law and have been manipulated and mind-controlled into subservience.
Taryn Roft, a 17-year-old girl, attending classes at Grafton’s School of Mechanicks in London has a secret. What’s even worse—she cannot remember anything before her twelfth birthday.
When a mysterious privateer discovers her secret, he offers her an ultimatum: accompany him to his airship, or her secret will be revealed to everyone. For Taryn, it’s not much of a choice. Facing prejudice and cruelty may be nothing new to the only girl at an all-boys’ school, but the further from home she gets, the darker her situation becomes.
I love the world of steampunk. Unfortunately, I do not read a lot on this genre. When asked to read this, I jumped at the chance. I was not disappointed. This book drew me in immediately with curiosity and the need to want more. The pacing was perfect all the way and well-kept for this type of book. This was a well written set up book and I cannot wait for the next book in this series.
Taryn Roft is a young student of biomechanics with mystery all around her. Being orphaned at six, her memory from there to her 12th birthday is blank. A well-known family adopted her, and she became best friends with Royal, the son who found her and brought her home. Her other mystery, Taryn holds a secret that could change her life if discovered. Discovered by a mysterious privateer, Taryn’s life turned upside down. She had two choices: accompany him to his airship, or he will reveal her secret to everyone. The hardships she went through showed Taryn’s character development soar after she accompanies him. Towards the end of the book, Taryn’s attitude towards everything “flipped” and we see a different Taryn. I cannot wait to see where her character is going in the next book.
Ace is a privateer on the H. M. A. Dauntless. He is a character who gives the impression he is the big dog. Later you find out his sister pulls his strings. As a reader, you get a sense that at one point, the two were close, but throughout the years they slowly drifted apart. Their relationship breaks when Taryn appears in their life, causing Ace to second guess himself and his sister on the choices in they have made. I enjoyed Ace and thought the author wrote him well. I feel his character development just started. As readers, I hope we will see him continue to grow in the next book.
Emmett is a Frenchman and also a privateer on the H. M. A. Dauntless. When we first met Emmett, I felt a sibling relationship developing between him and Taryn. But the more we got into the book, it transitioned into a romance triangle between Ace, Emmett, and Taryn. I am not sure how I feel about that. He did not feel like the romance material compared to Ace. Emmett is a sweet character and complete opposite of the Ace we see. He is the person in your group you can count on. I like these kinds of characters. Hopefully, this will solve itself in the series. I like Emmett and felt his character developed well and really came out in the second half.
The rest of the cast of characters in this book were not my favorite, and that is a good thing. They were horrible and you can tell where they stood in this world’s society. None of these characters were flat and written well enough for their roles given, big or small. I cannot wait to see returning characters.
As a reader who does not read this genre much, I could follow the story without feeling lost. The author blended the steampunk world with real world Victorian London extremely well. Like the real world, this world has its racial issues, but it has nothing to do with a person’s skin, nationality, or religious beliefs. Instead, the racial issue has to do with biomatons which is the core theme in this book. They are treated as slaves and property even though they were once people.
I enjoyed this book. It grabbed my attention right away, and I did not want to put this book down. This is an impressive book for a debut author. I am looking forward to reading more books in this series. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes steampunk and young adult novels.
*I received an ARC from the author, and this is my honest opinion.
I give this book a 4/5
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