The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer

 
Title: The Inventor's Secret

Series: The Inventor's Secret #1

Author: Andrea Cremer

Publisher: Philomel

Date Published: April 22, 2014

Genre: Steam punk, science fiction, romance

Pages: 336 (Kindle edition)

Age Range: 15+



Summary 


Sixteen-year-old Charlotte and her fellow refugees have scraped out an existence on the edge of Britain’s industrial empire. Though they live by the skin of their teeth they have their health (at least when they can find enough food and avoid the Imperial Labor Gatherers) and each other. When a new exile with no memory of his escape from the coastal cities or even his own name seeks shelter in their camp he brings new dangers with him and secrets about the terrible future that awaits all those who have struggled has to live free of the bonds of the empire’s Machineworks.

 

The Inventor’s Secret is the first book of a YA steam-punk series set in an alternate nineteenth-century North America where the Revolutionary War never took place and the British Empire has expanded into a global juggernaut propelled by marvelous and horrible machinery.


Review

 
I could not put this book down. The action, romance, and overall drama, left my head whirling. The plot for this book was fascinating. Imagining what would happen in the Civil War never happened is such an interesting premise.

Charlotte was an extremely loveable character, I loved her- even if she did get slightly whiny at some points. She was tough and in complete control of herself. Jack was an... interest character? He was secretive, playful, sweet, and seemingly perfect- but we found some stuff about him that made me throw my book across the room. *Seriously* I died a little inside when I heard what happened to him. Coe was interesting, mysterious, and gentlemanly, it made me like him a lot. Ash, Charlotte's older brother, was so tough except when it came to his sister. It was good to see a book with such a strong sibling relationship.

The whole storyline that started out the book, led to nowhere. It started, trailed off, and popped back in at the end just so we could have a sense of closure. That was my main peeve about the book. I loved how it started- almost immediately plunging us into mystery, but then it stopped and nothing really happened for a little while. Then it was almost like the author remembered her original story idea and brought it back in to finish it off.

The writing was so beautiful. It flowed together nicely, even through a few rough patches. The characters were developed amazingly well for such a short book, and the world-building was fascinating. Cassandra Clare does some amazing world-building, but Andrea Cremer could give her a run for her money.

The cliffhanger at the end of this book killed me. I was frantically searching for when the sequel will come out and I need to read something super happy and sappy with a good ending to get me out of my book withdrawal.