Into Aether (The Trinity Key, #1) Review

**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book in return for an honest review. 3 stars!!! I really love steampunk novels. So, I was quite happy to pick this one up. I needed a break from the full on fantasy novels that's my usual reading fodder. I have to say that this book just sucked me in from page one. You are thrown head first into the plot and this can be quite disorientating at first. However, things gets cleared up fairly quickly so you don't need too much time to acclimatise yourself to the plot. The story starts off with Theo, a sixteen year old girl, who finds her mother missing when she gets back home from school. With the fast plot pace, we are quickly swooped into an adventure where Theo and her Aunt Grace head off to a mysterious Victorian world called Aetherland. Here, our MC gets broiled in a centuries old war and learns some shocking secrets regarding her heritage. I really loved the worldbuilding in this novel. I think L.M. Fry did an amazing job of creating this fantastical world. There were plenty of vivid descriptions and the atmosphere created was very intriguing. I loved the air of mystery created as well. I liked how things were not quite how they seemed and the plot twists were really captivating. There was quite a fair amount of action within the story itself. We are taken from one aspect to another but this is done seamlessly. There were no jarring inconsistencies or plot holes, if I am truly honest. The author definitely has a flair for writing and I really appreciate a well written novel. With regards to the characters, I thought the minor characters were done fairly well. There was enough given regarding their backstories to lend them an interesting feel. Unfortunately, the biggest let down was with the MC Theo and the romantic side plot. I thought the MC was utterly infantile for a sixteen year old. She sways constantly between being matured and having her own way. She threw constant tantrums or fits. It was very irritating. None of the decisions she takes is with looking at the whole picture. She is mostly concerned with how things are going to turn out for her. I also found her to be way clumsy with not enough spunk. In terms of the romance, it was way too forced in my opinion. It was all insta-romance and seems to come out from nowhere. I think it was mainly done to add another dimension to the story but failed in that regard. I think the story could have done without it. The adventure part was enough to carry it through. Besides, do all YA novels have to have romance? Not really. It would have been really refreshing to have a book without it. If it's not needed, might as well axe it out all together, in my opinion. Anyway, those were the main reasons why I removed 2 stars from my review. Overall, the story was enjoyable. Hopefully, in book two, we see more character development in Theo. The girl needs to grow up seriously. I can't wait to see how the story progresses. I'm sure it is going to be a wild ride gauging from where the story ended in this one. I would recommend this book to fantasy and steampunk lovers. If you are looking for a quick read, this one is worth it if you ignore the MC :D

#youngadult #steampunk #fantasy #scifi #adventure #LMFry