Review - The Mysterious Case of Mr. Strangeway (The St. Croix Chronicles 0.5) by Karina Cooper

Karina Cooper has an interesting way of intertwining historical events with steampunk fantasy into a story that you can sit back and truly enjoy. Her heroine, Cherry St. Croix, has been on my radar since reading Tarnished back in 2012 and it's sequel Gilded that same year.

There has been an underlying mystery and question as to how Cherry came about being the only female collector in London with a fairly impressive resume of getting things done and not failing at her job despite being so young and let's be honest, a female in a male dominated profession who is expected to also maintain a certain stature in London's Society. 

As I am expecting the release of Corroded (September 23, 2013 by Carina Press) and even more answers to the question as to what will happen next to Cherry after the stunning ending of Gilded, this was the perfect book to reflect on how a 15 year old Cherry tossed aside stereotypes and challenged the world of collectors. The Mysterious Case of Mr. Strangeway does exactly what it is supposed to do. It gives readers an insight by Cherry herself as to what made her become a collector and heralded the arrival of the mysterious Micajah Hawke, The Veil, and The Midnight Menagerie into her life which all play important parts in this series.

Although a novella, the story still kept me entertained as well as on the edge of my seat since Cherry doesn't understand limitations or restraint or how to gracefully bow out when she's over-matched, and outgunned. I would say that she's a boar in a china shop, but that would be too simplistic.

I would absolutely say without a doubt that I am a fan of this series. I believe that this series has a lot of future potential for various storylines including Cherry's potential for a love interest, and her continued intermingling with Micajah Hawke. I would be absolutely remiss in stating that I would LOVE a novella that is told in the POV of Micajah so we can look into the nuisances behind the man.

Thank you very much Carina Press for allowing me early access to this title!

Author - Karina Cooper
Title - The Mysterious Case of Mr. Strangeway
Publisher - Carina Press
Releases August 5, 2013
Genre - Steampunk, Historical
Received from Carina Press via NetGalley