Nicolette is also intelligent and capable of remaking her mother’s old machines and even remakes a tiny robot horse! I loved how Nicolette is so kind and appreciative for what she has, making her the opposite of her family. She is so selfless and offers to help pay for her friend’s mother’s medicine and doesn’t complain too much that she is used by her stepmother and stepsisters as a slave. I really liked Nicolette’s character in Mechanica. Because of this, the book can focus more on her true friends and her epic inventions. I really enjoyed how there is not a lot romance, because Nicolette doesn’t seem like the kind of person who needs a relationship. They help her gather supplies for her inventions and one of them writes really thoughtful letters to her frequently. Nicolette meets new friends while she is at the market and they do their best to help each other out. One of the big themes in Mechanica is friendship. Mechanica is all about a girl who is independent and doesn’t need a prince to make her happy. I see many people comparing the two, but the only similarity between them is that they are both retellings of the same book that feature machines. At first while reading this fantasy book, I was sensing some Cinder vibes, but as I got further into it, I realized that it is really nothing like it. It is also a steampunk, which I don’t read a lot. Mechanica is a retelling of Cinderella that tells the story of a young mechanic called Nicolette. She is a very caring character that brings positivity wherever she goes. Instead of happily ever after, however, Nicolette doesn’t need romance and cares more about her friends. Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell is a spectacular steampunk retelling of the story everyone knows and loves, Cinderella.

This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. ❃ I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

but realizes she doesn't want a fairy tale happy ending after all. Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an indomitable inventor who finds her prince.

Could the mysterious books and tools hidden there-and the mechanical menagerie, led by a tiny metal horse named Jules-be the key to escaping her dreary existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her freedom at last. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home.īut on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. 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.

Tides by betsy cornwell