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Title Ironskin
Author Tina Connolly
Genre Paranormal Fantasy, borderline YA
Publisher Tor Books
Publication Date 10/2/2012
How I Got This Book NetGalley
Hardback 304
Stand alone or series Ironskin, #1
My Average I'm embarrassed to say.
Reading Difficulty 3
(on a scale of 1-5 5 = dictionary vernacular)
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| The Little Governess That Could | |
Jane Eliot wears an iron mask.
It's the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin.
When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a “delicate situation”—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.
Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn't expect to fall for the girl's father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her scars and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey.
Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things are true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of a new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.
It's the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin.
When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a “delicate situation”—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.
Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn't expect to fall for the girl's father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her scars and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey.
Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things are true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of a new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.
"It Occurred to Jane that she and Dorie were circling each other like two wounded creatures wanting to drink from the same stream, each wary of the other's intentions, each unwilling to either strike or run away."
Hit The Mark:
Characterization -- all of the secondary characters had such unique personalities. They fit in perfectly for a war rotted plantation. That's how I saw it. Walls falling off on some ends. rotten floorboards. Even Jane's sister felt like a perfect character.
Cover -- Yes, I judge a book by it's cover. If the cover looks half-assed. or is shartly drawn, I won't even pick it up to read the back. As I have said in the past, your cover is your first line of defense for readers. It needs to stand out above the rest. Like a crazy wine label. Though the colors of this cover were a little drab, it complimented the plot. The mask and flowie dress draw you in and remind me of the evil that lurks inside the book's pages.
What I really liked: The last 10%. The final battle was just that. Enthralling and fast-pace, I couldn't put the book down once I finally got to the fight.
Needs Improvement: (note: I barley gave these a bad score)
Pace -- It took a little too long to get into the story. I really wished that the last ten percent of the this book were more like that last half. I really enjoyed the party and the facelifts. It seemed like the little girl was an intricate part of the novel in the beginning, but quickly took a bake seat.
Antagonist -- The villain intrigued me, but I wish we could have seen just a glimpse more of it, instead of fairytale of it for more than half of the book. Hopefully, there will be more interaction with the antagonists in the second book.
Protagonist -- In my scoring chart, the protagonist got a 2 out of 5 because she felt a little wishy-washy. Yes, she was defiantly stubborn throughout the novel, but I didn't see the strength of a war hardened woman, as she is described in the end of the book. Her personality seems to change immensely, so much so that it feels like a different character all together.
Pace -- It took a little too long to get into the story. I really wished that the last ten percent of the this book were more like that last half. I really enjoyed the party and the facelifts. It seemed like the little girl was an intricate part of the novel in the beginning, but quickly took a bake seat.
Antagonist -- The villain intrigued me, but I wish we could have seen just a glimpse more of it, instead of fairytale of it for more than half of the book. Hopefully, there will be more interaction with the antagonists in the second book.
Protagonist -- In my scoring chart, the protagonist got a 2 out of 5 because she felt a little wishy-washy. Yes, she was defiantly stubborn throughout the novel, but I didn't see the strength of a war hardened woman, as she is described in the end of the book. Her personality seems to change immensely, so much so that it feels like a different character all together.
What I really didn't like: as I said above, there wasn't much I didn't like. I just wished the book was a little faster pace. It took me way too long to read it (not completely the book's fault) and there was a lot of lost information because of it.
Rating: B
If you like Storm Dancer, Darkfever, Glimerglass, The Iron King & Artemis Fowl, you might like this novel.
About the Author
Tina Connolly lives in Portland with her husband, son, cat in an old house with a dragon mural in the basement
and blackberry vines in the attic. Not only does she write, but since moving to Portland, she's been working as a
face painter at local festivals and fairs.
For a long time I performed in
theatre, though in the
last few years I've been too busy.
However, I frequently
narrate stories for
Escape Pod and
Podcastle, and I'm working on a full-length play
with some friends of mine at
The Pulp Stage.
(Also, check out my (now-Parsec winning!) 2012 flash podcast project,
Toasted Cake!)
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