Author: Jaclyn Dolamore
Release Date: Feburary 1st, 2010
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 225
Edition: Paperback
Cover Judge: There's three different covers but this one is my favorite! It has the fairy-tale feel I think the writing does BUT it is white-washed so that makes me sad because Nimira is dark-skinned.
Quote Choice: Loved her writing style!
Source: Bought
Source: Bought
Goodreads: Link
Nimira is a music-hall performer forced to dance for pennies to an audience of leering drunks. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to do a special act - singing accompaniment to an exquisite piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets stir.
Unsettling below-stairs rumours abound about ghosts, a mad woman roaming the halls, and of Parry's involvement in a gang of ruthless sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing young fairy gentleman is trapped inside the automaton's stiff limbs, waiting for someone to break the curse and set him free, the two fall in love. But it is a love set against a dreadful race against time to save the entire fairy realm, which is in mortal peril.
DESCRIBE THIS BOOK IN SIX WORDS: TALKING ROBOTS ARE CHARMING YET SCARY.
So I think my biggest complaint for this book is simple: too short! I didn't want it to end! So thank god I found out there's a sequel to this whimsical and sweet novel about a girl who discovers a automan (human robot) that is really a person under a curse.
Nimira, the main character, is a great heroine to read about. Unlike all the other girls who ran away from Parry's home because the automaton tried to talk to them, she dealed with her disbelief and tried to actually get to the bottom of things. Who he was, why he was there, and how she could get him out. She was smart and brave; the kind of character I want to read about! Her relationship with Erris was great because you guys know me: I love watching a friendship slowly blossom into something more.
Now, this book reads like a fairy-tale with lush descriptions, magic, fae, and a steampunk fantasy world. Dolamore's writing is descriptive without being overwrought and it just...I want to say it screams fairy-tale but it doesn't because that would be a bit contradictory? It's soft and sweet and I thought the plot was fascinating! I wish we'd get a more fleshed out world but I'm hoping the sequel will answer some of my question, especially about the faerie war!
Happy Reading!
