The Native Star

As a previous reviewer, noted, the first half of this novel was more interesting than the second half which felt a bit manipulated to keep the suspense alive. It felt like an old Saturday matinee with each cliff-hanger miraculously topping the previous one. But the novelist's world of magic is inventive and interesting, reminding me more than a bit of the Harry Potter stories. I would recommend this novel and am looking forward to reading the next in the series.
I found the narrator to be interesting and she made it easy to differentiate the characters which is their number one goal in my estimation. As with most female readers, her male characters weren't as realistic as the female characters, but they were all distinguishable from one another.

Native Star turned out to be a worthy listen. It took about a third of the book to really hook me though. I didn't like the female protagonist very much. She came thru as a brat without reason. Stanton, her male counterpart becomes interesting in the second half of the book. Because the narrator has a higher pitched voice I found some of her characters difficult to understand. That said, I am somewhat hearing impaired.

I will definitely listen to the sequel. This series has promise

While this technically isn't "steampunk" fiction, it is set in the Victorian era and magic sort of mixes with tech for an alternate reality - giving it a steampunk feel. I haven't read a single steampunk book that has left me satisfied. Which is why the first 1/2 of the book surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. Good pacing, interesting characters - nothing spectacular, but solid. The last half starts to drag and the last quarter... felt rushed, uneven, and somewhat thoughtless.
To add to all of that, the narrator, who had a lovely voice, needs a bit more experience. Her phrasing can be choppy and there are some mispronunciations that are annoying. If I could have given this book 2.5 stars, I would have.

So many of the writers who try to add steam-punk atmospherics to their books end up losing something in the telling of the story. The constant descriptions of mechanical contraptions really detract from the reader's ability to be absorbed by the narrative. I found that to be so with this book, which wasn't a bad read -- and pretty good at times -- but still hampered by this artifice. Things are introduced and not explained (why are they using zombies as miners, and what are they mining?), which I found annoying. Also, the idea (SPOILER) that the main character had to have her hand cut off made zero sense to me. It would have been much better if the rock gave her abilities or if it just fell out at some point. Very unsatisfactory ending. I mean the rock was THE big deal and then they just cut off her hand and that's it? seemed like the author cared more about the gizmos than the plot. I didn't hate it, but I won't buy the 2nd book.