Curio (Blink Series) by Evangeline Denmark

Book Description:  Grey Haward has always detested the Chemists, the magicians-come-scientists who rule her small western town. But she has always followed the rules, taking the potion the Chemists ration out that helps the town’s people survive. A potion that Grey suspects she—like her grandfather and father—may not actually need.

By working at her grandfather’s repair shop, sorting the small gears and dusting the curio cabinet inside, Grey has tried to stay unnoticed—or as unnoticed as a tall, strong girl can in a town of diminutive, underdeveloped citizens. Then her best friend, Whit, is caught by the Chemists’ enforcers after trying to protect Grey one night, and after seeing the extent of his punishment, suddenly taking risks seems the only decision she can make.

But with the risk comes the reality that the Chemists know her family’s secret, and the Chemists soon decide to use her for their own purposes. Panicked, Grey retreats to the only safe place she knows—her grandfather’s shop. There, however, a larger secret confronts her when her touch unlocks the old curio cabinet in the corner and reveals a world where porcelain and clockwork people are real. There, she could find the key that may save Whit’s life and also end the Chemists’ dark rule forever.

My Thoughts:  This is a wonderful hardback book . . . I love the cover of this book!  And it enticed me so much,  even though I had no idea what steampunk writing meant.  I looked up the word steampunk and just in case you didn't know either here is a "simple" definition:  Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction and sometimes fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. So, with that said. . . 

After I picked this lovely book and began reading I was quite taken in.  What a story!  The reader must keep in mind that this is fantasy with some science fiction and has do with small machinery involved.

Once you understand those "facts" then the whole story flows together.

I loved Grey and the way she sorts out mysteries.  The "mystery" here is the potion that her grandfather takes but does he really need it.  And "this" town is so eery in their undeveloped depth of thinking/life.  Reminded me a little of "the walking dead."  But the author does not describe this this way, just my over reaching imagination.

Once Grey finds "facts" she involves her good friend, Whit.  But Whit gets caught and his life is in danger.  Grey has a lot of  discovering and truths to uncover to "get rid" of the Chemists (bad guys). 

What a story!

In my opinion, you will either hate this story or love it!  It is written for young adults.  But as an adult I love the story!

*This book was provided by BookLook*

Meet the Author: 

Evangeline Denmark cannot sing. This tragic discovery led to bouts of angst-ridden poetry writing in her teens, an ill-advised relationship with Edward Fairfax Rochester, and the compulsive creation of her own fictional worlds. 
Having found her true voice, Evangeline writes fiction with hints of whimsy, glimmers of fantasy, and strokes of the supernatural. Her debut novel, Curio, sets coming-of-age and first love against a backdrop of steam-propelled greed and societal repression. For a peek into the origins of the Curio world check out the prequel novella, Mark of Blood and Alchemy.
Evangeline lives in Colorado with her husband, an engineer with a sense of humor and an artistic streak, two ravenous sons who steal her laptop and demand dinner, a cat, two turtles, and a cattle dog who runs the house.

• Series: Blink
• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Blink (January 5, 2016)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310729661
• ISBN-13: 978-0310729662