Review: fantasy with steampunk and magic mixed in!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 28, 2012
I signed up to receive a free copy of this book to review through the We Love YA group on Goodreads.I really loved this book! I loved the steampunk elements mixed in with the mystery, romance, and fantasy aspects. The book begins with the main character Chloe and her dad traveling all over to perform magic shows. While they're in Paris, they are chased by a mysterious and dangerous man in black, and they must escape right away. Due to this situation, Chloe finds out from her dad that she along with the rest of her family have true magical abilities. Her father tells her he was a member of the Doorknob Society--a group of people who have the ability to use doorknobs to travel between dimensions.Chloe will begin attending the Paladin Academy to learn how to use her abilities and depending on how her abilities manifest themselves, she will "declare" herself to one of the five groups--the Doorknob Society, the Skeleton Key Guild, the Mapmakers Union, the Impossible Engineers, or the Honorable and Venerable Order of Detective Inspectors.For ten years, Chloe's mother hasn't been around. Many times I wondered if she simply walked away from her family as Chloe has always believed, or if something happened to her, causing her to leave against her will. There's definitely a mystery there that kept the book interesting and a must read for me as well as the mystery surrounding the man in black.The characters are well developed with each having their own distinct personality. Chloe is one of my favorites--she's a multilayered character who is brave, strong, intelligent, and very spirited. She isn't afraid to speak her mind, quickly adapting to her new reality and the new revelations concerning her family history she's just now learning about. She deals with her mom's abandonment (or disappearance?) with maturity in sorting out her mixed emotions. She has a positive relationship with her father and has him for support at least.Chloe's friend, Valerie (nicknamed Val), annoyed me a lot in the beginning because she annoyed Chloe, but she turned out to be a loyal and true friend and grows to learn that Chloe needs quiet at times to think. Val really grew on me, and I ended up liking her by the end of the book.Chloe's other friend, Edgar, was a good friend to her, and I always liked his character. He wasn't involved in the heavy action much, but he helped out a lot behind the scenes. He'd be an awesome guy to hang out with. :)Slade, Chloe's potential love interest, was kind of bland for me. He definitely has courage and was willing to fight side by side with Chloe, but he doesn't really stand out to me as much as the other characters did. I still liked him however.Nightshade is snarky, arrogant, and loves to get under Chloe's skin. It's obvious to me how attracted he is to Chloe and possibly even has feelings for her, which is why he loves to get a rise out of her. It's easy for him to get to her because she has an attraction to him, no matter how much she tries to deny it to herself. There's also an element of danger to him, which makes him interesting and attractive. I didn't like him, but by the end of the book, I ended up becoming fond of his character.A love triangle slowly develops between Slade, Chloe, and Nightshade. There's definite chemistry between Chloe and each guy. This triangle is done subtly and just right. It doesn't overwhelm the plot and has been written so well, I'm at a loss as to which guy I'd rather see Chloe become involved with.I highly recommend this book and will be reading the next one, The Impossible Engineers.