Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home.
But on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. Could the mysterious books and tools hidden there—and the mechanical menagerie, led by a tiny metal horse named Jules—be the key to escaping her dreary existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her freedom at last.
Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an indomitable inventor who finds her prince . . . but realizes she doesn't want a fairy tale happy ending after all.
REVIEW:
I'm not a fan of retellings and I tried to read this one for the story itself and because the cover and the idea sounded and looked pretty good.
But it wasn't as good or as engaging as I was expecting. In my opinion the prose isn't gorgeous and I felt so out of the story throughout the novel. I really hate when I can't sympathize with the characters and when I can't feel the stort. It was like watching tv or someone was reading to me. Something was off. And because of this aspect I didn't fell in love with the book, I wasn't as much interested in the plot, the ending didn't blew me away and the characters were ok.
This is not a bad story but the writing style was just ok for me. It didn't have that something to grip me, to make me curious, it didn't make the actions interesting and alive, I didn't see the backgrounds and all the machines, everything lookes grey and fragmented. The characters were just there and I couldn't feel their emotions or feelings if they existed. I couldn't feel the friendship or the love, the fear, the hope, anything. They existed in words and on the page, but I as a reader I felt nothing!
I liked the book for the idea and for the machines, but for everything - characters, plot, writing style, relationships, pace, ending - I disliked it. I can't like a book that makes me see nothing and I force myself to see, I force myself to be engaged and interested in the story and the characters. I can;t like a book if I feel nothing, I just read the words and my mind is blank.
And because I felt and I saw nothing, just forcing myself to enjoy this and to feel at least a thing, and because the story was meh, the characters were uni - dimensional and the writing style was plain, ok, average, bleh, this was just ok. Not good but not bad. It lacked something to grip you, to make you curious, it was like a beautiful car that is not working. It didn't click for me.
You can try this if you want, because it reads very fast, it's easy and you finish it right away. And maybe it will work for you.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this one!
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