The book did not really work for me. I DNF'ed it. I wasn’t able to connect with any of the many characters in the book and I found myself putting down the book a lot because it was never really catching my attention

I never expected much of anything to happen, and nothing much did. I was in a constant state of waiting for things to begin.
Pretty much sums it up. Read Cinder instead.

OMG look at this cover! Anyway, I was dying to read this book, based on the cover alone. Though I must say I'm glad I did get this one to review, because the storyline was fantastic and so were the characters. I didn't want to put this book down while I was reading. Fanastic easy read!

Ah, Mechanica. The book I was told, over and over and over, I would love. Alas, it was not meant to be. I honestly just need to stop trying with the steampunk books(except for the Something Strange and Deadly series because those are perfect, but I digress) because the genre in general just doesn't do it for me. So much setup for a world I need to be made to care about, not TOLD to. I was bored with this one from beginning to end.

A steampunk re-telling of Cinderella, Nicolette discovers her mother's workshop on her sixteenth birthday and learns that she might have the key to changing her destiny herself. I love fairy tale re-tellings and this is definitely a new take on Cinderella.

Cool descriptions of steampunky-magical creatures.
Female friendship based on being supportive and caring of each other.
A decent male lead, likable enough without seeming too perfect.
The female lead realizes she doesn't need a man to be happy and that love can come in various forms and she can still be happy without romantic love. HOORAY.

Overall, a squeaky clean fairy tale retelling with a pleasantly surprising ending.

It was alright. Did not love it. I don't think I will read the next in the series.

This is not your childhood Cinderella. She's a strong, independent woman who happens to be an inventor in a time when women don't really do that sort of thing. There's no fairy godmother -- unless you count Nicolette herself. Her relationship with the other two main characters in the book are beautiful, sweet, honest, genuine, and at once incredibly complex. This is a completely new and different take on a story that has been retold for generations.

Such an interesting concept. Totally something I'd recommend to my students.

(I received a free copy of this book through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

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 pushed her into a life of dreary servitude. When she discovers a secret workshop in the cellar on her sixteenth birthday—and befriends Jules, a tiny magical metal horse—Nicolette starts to imagine a new life for herself. And the timing may be perfect: There's a technological exposition and a royal ball on the horizon. Determined to invent her own happily-ever-after, Mechanica seeks to wow the prince and eager entrepreneurs alike.

I want to call this a "feminist re-telling of Cinderella" but I am not sure that works properly. It has all the hallmarks - a heroine who doesn't want to be rescued by a man, but wants to be self-sufficient and have a job and take care of herself. Worthy story. I looked forward to it. And as a concept, it worked pretty well. However...

Why was it so damn boring? I just kept waiting for something to happen - through the whining about her stepsisters, through constant internal monolgues from Nicolette, through the mind-numbing details of machines that really had nothing to do with the plot - hey, what happened to the plot? Was there one?

So much potential to be a really worthwhile addition to the re-telling phase that is going on...it failed to deliver in pretty much every way possible.


Paul
ARH

I lost interest in this book and did not read it so I cannot write a review.