Description from Amazon:
Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience.
The Strange Case of Finley Jayne was fun, which I believe was its main goal. The characters you were supposed to like were charming, and it was easy to root for the protagonist. Moved briskly, lots of action. Not a lot of internal dialogue or angst. I enjoyed the length. I can see how ebooks might be bringing back the novella. All to the the good.
The villain was a bit lackluster. The prose was sometimes clumsy, and the book lacked any pretense at subtlety. I felt the steampunk element was a gimick. The mad science that is important to the plot is an older, non-steam cliche.
At the end of the book I noticed it was published by Harlequin Teen. I believe that is the first Harlequin book I have read. The author is a woman, so this is a +1 for my resolution that over half the books I read this year will be written by women. OK, I'm cheating slightly. I started this a couple days before 2012. Hang me.
