Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Ironskin by Tina Connolly ~ TLC Blog Tour with review



  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (October 2, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0765330598
  • ISBN-13: 978-0765330598

This book is also available as an e-book.

Jane Eliot wears an iron mask. 

It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin. 

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a "delicate situation"—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help. 

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey. 

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.


My take on this book:

The fey war has been over for five years and Jane must wear the iron mask to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. Because of this mask it is hard for her to hold down a job and it  seems as if she has worn out her welcome at her latest teaching job, and thus decides to answer an ad for a governess. What stands out with the ad is the fact that it says for a delicate situation, girl born during the Great War. She hopes to help Dorie Rochart but never planned on falling in love with Dorie's father Edward. Thing is she knows that she doesn't have a chance with him because of her face, or perhaps she does? Is there hope that Jane might be able to shed her ironskin and lead a normal life?

I must admit I was drawn to this story because of the cover, it really is stunning. I also wanted to read this one because it is different than what I normally read, but honestly it was just book like for me with this one. I did enjoy the character of Jane, and her determination to help Dorie. I was also interested in what sort of relationship would develop between Jane and Mr. Rochart, unfortunately i think that's where the story fell a bit flat. While the author did a great job of visually bringing the story to life, I didn't get the same feeling with the romantic aspect of the story. Overall, I did enjoy the dark feel of the book and liked that the character of Jane was strong. I also came to like the character of Dorie. For me the beginning drew me in, the middle made it hard to stick with and the ending made it worth it. While this was just a middle of the road read for me, I will certainly watch for more from this author!






About Tina Connolly

TINA CONNOLLY lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and baby boy. Her stories have appeared in Strange Horizons, Fantasy, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Highlights Magazine, and the anthology Unplugged: Year’s Best Online SF 2008. Her young adult dystopia play, Witebox, will premier in Portland in 2013. Connolly is a frequent reader for Escape Pod and Podcastle, and works as a face painter, which means a glitter-filled house is an occupational hazard. Ironskin is her first novel.

1 comment:

  1. I'm glad to know that the ending was worth the journey!

    Thanks for being on the tour.

    ReplyDelete

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