The Dark Unwinding

by Sharon Cameron

Katharine has been sent to the mysterious Stranwyne Keep to declare her eccentric Uncle a lunatic, thus claiming the inheritance he is apparently squandering.

But, upon arrival, Katharine quickly realizes something is afoot at the sprawling Stranwyne Keep. And in a very unexpected way. Her investigations lead to startling revelations about her Uncle and the world – and machines – he has created.

 

This debut from Cameron was AWESOME. Steampunk-esque everywhere. Mysteries. Disappearing inheritances. Forbidden roller skating parties. Fancy dresses.

How could I not like this story?

Katharine was an interesting character. And by interesting I mean: not the type of character I normally love. Throughout a large portion of the story she’s torn between duty and freedom and she doesn’t always pick/do/say the right thing because of it. A few times I wanted to shake the living daylights out of her. One time in particular. At the beginning, I kind of hated  her, to be honest.

BUT. She totally won me over. She is not in an enviable position, given her station and the fact she’s female in the time period. And her acts of rebellion (both tiny and large) are quite ass-kicking.

What I really, really liked, though, was this wasn’t just a story about Katharine trying to get her inheritance from evil elder-guardian. No. There is a mystery afoot. And one that I sort of, kind-of guessed but wasn’t completely sure until the reveal. Which was awesome. It made the plot BIGGER and darker quite effectively. (There was one reveal I SO did not guess. And it made me chuckle. In a good way.)

I had one gripe: as I mentioned above, there are some epic steampunk touches in The Dark Unwinding. Which led to some technical discussions of how things worked and my brain did not compute those scenes. They kind of brought the quick plot to a halt for me a few times. But only a few. I also haven’t had a science or math class in nearly ten years, so, there is that.

Overally, I enjoyed Cameron’s debut – dark, mysterious, intriguing – and very much look forward to the sequel. (I have to assume there’s a sequel. Otherwise. Anger.)

Oh! And! You all know I love when the author includes an afterword about the book. And Cameron’s was awesome AND revealing. I spent at least an hour on Wikipedia after reading about the ties to reality. Heart!

Where this book came from: egalley from publisher
Published by: Scholastic

P.S. It has to be said. That cover! Is! Gorgeous! Esp. if you can see it nice and big (or in person). Also gorgeous? Cameron’s website. Love it.