I feel like there's a lot going for this book, but the YA romantic trope was just too same-ol, same-ol, and I couldn't get through it. Possibly it's just me. ( )

Of Metal and Wishes has the tropes from Phantom of the Opera: a scarred boy, a handsome boy, a beautiful girl, prejudice, creativity, and the desire to protect the ones we love. I have a little group of Phantom lovers, including my daughter, who will love this book. There is a lot of drama in this story,; it’s full of romance, carnage, political rebellion, prejudice, violence, illness and predators.

Wen works with her father, a doctor, at the slaughter house, ever since the death of her mother. He’s a compassionate man, who has debt because he is unwilling for his patients to go without the medicine they need. But he and Wen are more like strangers, both lonely. The workers pray and leave offerings to the Ghost, someone who was killed at the slaughter house years go. After Wen challenges Ghost to prove he exists, a rude new worker is badly injured in an accident, leaving Wen struggling with her feelings of guilt and responsibility. As she seeks to undo, or alleviate, the effects of her wish, she falls in love with another new worker, who is not of her own culture, risking her reputation along the way.
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Nicely written retelling of The Phantom of the Opera. I found the use of the standard YA tropes irritating as this could've been such a lovely standalone novel. But of course, fantasy YA books are never standalone.

Love triangle was handled relatively deftly. Still gets the stupid love triangle shelf, because it is yet another love triangle. Even if the author is pulling the relationship directly from her source material. ( )

This is the first book in the Of Metal and Wishes duology. I really ended up enjoying this steampunk YA book about a girl who lives in a factory with her father (who is a the factory doctor). This is based on The Phantom of the Opera and it does a great job of paralleling that story while introducing a unique world and characters.

The story does start out a bit rough; the writing was a bit stark and simple for me. However, as I progressed through the story I found myself incredibly engaged with this world, the characters, and the story. I would have liked to see more of the broader world and maybe a bit more world-building because we never really leave the factory area. Hopefully the next book will show some of this.

Overall this was a good read and I enjoyed it. I would recommend to those who enjoy steampunk mystery reads. This is a lighter read but does combine some interesting themes. I plan on continuing the series. ( )

***3.5 Stars***

This book was a blend of disturbing and beautiful. I loved the writing and found myself flying through the story. The characters were compelling (and disgusting in the case of the bosses and most of the workers). ( )