Betsy Cornwell

A New York Times Bestseller Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have pushed her into a life of dreary servitude. When she discovers a secret workshop in the cellar on her sixteenth birthday—and befriends Jules, a tiny magical metal horse—Nicolette starts to imagine a new life for herself. And the timing may be perfect: There’s a technological exposition and a royal ball on the horizon. Determined to invent her own happily-ever-after, Mechanica seeks to wow the prince and eager entrepreneurs alike.

Mechanica

Ivy X

I liked it in the beginning because our "Cinderella" was a feminist. She grew up learning to make things with her mother and continued to learn and make things. However, as it went on, it got more and more boring. Nothing exciting really happened and the romance was so weird and confusing. Eh..

"When your heart is broken, it's easier to follow rules." 

"To hear that someone else had looked at me and seen something else, something better than what I saw in myself, was like a reassuring hand laid on my shoulder." 

"There's so much warmth in anybody, if only you reach out to find it."

"A retelling of Cinderella about an indomitable inventor-mechanic who finds her prince but realizes she doesn't want a fairy tale happy ending after all"--

I genuinely adored this Cinderella retelling for a number of reasons. Biggest reason was undoubtedly the queerplatonic relationships and the focus on friendship being as important as (or more important than) romantic/sexual relationships. First with the way the Fey live with and have children with friends rather than with what we consider a traditional romantic/sexual relationship. And then of course Nick's fascination with and desire for such a relationship for herself. And then with the way the usual happily-ever-after ending was tipped on its head because Nick turned Fin down when he proposed and she instead choose to cultivate her friendships with him and Caro. Finally, there's the fact that Nick's love for Fin was based more on her imagination than on the reality of Fin and the way she built up these fairy tales about what could happen between them that wouldn't or couldn't be carried out in real life felt very aromantic to me in that the idealized version of romance sounds appealing but the actuality is offputting. 

I put this book on my aroace and queer shelves even though they don't technically, canonically fit but that's how it felt to me so that's where it's staying.

Tânia Borges

3.5 out of 5 stars. Meh. I liked the ending, definitely different than the typical fairytale ending I was sure it was going to be. I liked the "steampunk" vibes, too, and the little twists on the original tale. Other than that, it was a nice book. Not great or excellent, just nice and very light.

"Ash" by Malinda Lo meets Marissa Meyer s "Cinder: " A YAretelling of Cinderella about an indomitable inventor-mechanic who finds her prince but realizes she doesn't want a fairy tale happy ending after all."

Flynn Commins

“Everything was a broken line for me in those days. I was slipped into the empty spaces between words.”

3.5 stars

Mechanica

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