Very well done

I thought that this story was very well done. I haven't read a lot of steampunk but I decided to give this book a try since I am always looking for something new. I found the story to be very entertaining and I am happy that I decided to give it a try. I haven't read Charles Dickens but it was pretty easy to figure out that this was a retelling of Oliver Twist but in this book, the focus is on Diana. A whole lot of wonderful elements came together to tell this nice little story.

Diana was born into a wealthy family but is growing up on the streets after an accident killed her family. She dresses as a boy and watched out for her friend, Tipper. She does attract the attention of an officer and they develop a special relationship pretty quickly. I almost forgot that the book was labeled steampunk for a bit but then the spaceships enter the story and things get interesting very quickly. Diana has a gift and it was fun to see her put it to use.

I did like the characters and enjoyed the relationships between them. Diana is very protective of Tipper and I liked how his character developed over the course of the story. I did enjoy the romance between Diana and the officer. I really thought that they made a great pair and I loved the fact that their feelings for each other develop slowly over the course of the story.

Danielle Cohen did a fantastic job with the narration of this story. I really liked the variety of voices that she used for all of the different characters and I thought that she did a great job of adding emotion into her reading. She has a great reading voice and I think that her narration increased my enjoyment of this story.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that it was a rather unique story featuring wonderful characters. I wouldn't hesitate to read more from Anthea Sharp!

I received a review copy of this audiobook from the narrator.

1 person found this helpful

Probability hates you

This book has okay ideas, but makes the first stumble where I feel many in this genre have, with matching plot to character. So the protagonist is the daughter or a noble family who was orphaned and is now living as a beggar. So far so generic, she's special because she apparently has the ability to just glance at a starship and tell you details about trajectory, cargo, etc., great. But I really gave up hope, when she just so happened to break into the starport and is getting arrested at the exact moment a collision - the first and last to putatively occur - can be averted. The entire plot revolves around this type of nonsense and leaves you wondering why the author cashed in their highly improbable event coupon on this.

- Not much to recommend - probability is sad - maybe the setting pays off in later books, but I wouldn't know.

Very fun and Very Memorable....

This was not only fun but it was memorable. There were hi-jinx to be had. Tipper is such a little scoundrel. Diane was such a protector. I can’t wait for more adventures in this series!!

Wonderful

I expected this to be a fun, light read - and it was! But it was also rather like jumping happily into a puddle, and falling in up to my elbows. I got sucked in fast by the "street rat with a heart of gold" theme, and loved Di thoroughly by the end of it. Thankfully, her character shone through the book, instead of being clumsily beat into my head with false-feeling situations and the use of other characters to blow smoke up her butt (looking at you, all recent YA fiction).

The author pulled off steampunk-meets-space charmingly, and the world building was in-depth but not overwhelming. The plot wasn't ground-breaking, and I wish the book was longer, but it was fast-paced, well-written, and again - fun! On top of it all, Di and her friend, Tipper, had some really poignant moments of hope in the face of hardship that had my eyes watering a bit, and there were a few very pretty gems of writing that had me rewinding the audiobook just to hear them again.

I will absolutely be recommending this to friends.