Book Review: Heart of Steel

Book: Heart of Steel (Iron Seas #2)
Author: Meljean Brook
Genre: SciFi  (Steampunk), Romance, Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
Page Count: 311 (Paperback)
Favorite Character: Yasmeen. I completely adored her in The Iron Duke, too, and I was so glad that this one was about her. (And I can't deny that Archimedes was pretty amazing, too).

Plot: (From Goodreads)

The Iron Duke introduced the gritty, alluring adventure of the Iron Seas. Now, Meljean Brook returns to the world where nanotech fuses with Victorian sensibilities—and steam.

As the mercenary captain of Lady Corsair, Yasmeen has learned to keep her heart as cold as steel, her only loyalty bound to her ship and her crew. So when a man who once tried to seize her airship returns from the dead, Yasmeen will be damned if she gives him another opportunity to take control.

Treasure hunter Archimedes Fox isn't interested in Lady Corsair—he wants her coldhearted captain and the valuable da Vinci sketch she stole from him. To reclaim it, Archimedes is determined to seduce the stubborn woman who once tossed him to a ravenous pack of zombies, but she's no easy conquest.

When da Vinci's sketch attracts a dangerous amount of attention, Yasmeen and Archimedes journey to Horde-occupied Morocco—and straight into their enemy's hands. But as they fight to save themselves and a city on the brink of rebellion, the greatest peril Yasmeen faces is from the man who seeks to melt her icy heart.


Review:
I really enjoyed this book, especially considering that awful cover. Yasmeen and Archimedes peaked my intrest in the Iron Duke and I was so glad to learn that this one was about the two of them. I immediately wanted them to get together when she threw him off his ship. That's probably weird, but I had a feeling it would happen eventually.

This book is their story and how it evolves and changes and what changes it. Also, there's a lot of zombies, and I love me some zombies. There's not much more to say about this one without giving too much away. I feel like the plot gives a surprisingly amount a way and I'm glad I didn't read it before hand.

Anyway, try not to let that cover set you off from it. (Seriously, though. What is with that trend among these kinds of books? I don't mean to fixate on it, but it's been annoying me, not just with this book, either).

Book Review: The Iron Duke

Book:  The Iron Duke (Iron Seas #1)
Author: Meljean Brook
Genre: Romance, Historical, Fantasy, Steampunk
Rating: 3/5
Page count: 308 (Paperback)
Favorite character: Mina, definitely. (Of course, loves Yasmeen is also awesome and kick-ass).

Plot: (from Goodreads)

First in an all-new series where seductive danger and steampunk adventure abound in the gritty world of the Iron Seas.

After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power-and fear-of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.

But when Mina uncovers the victim's identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans-and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen, as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.


Review:
Overall, this book was okay. Entertaining with some characters that I really like, but I did have some problems with it. I felt like the backstory of the world just didn't feel right to me, the way it was shown to us. It kind of felt like you just got this info dump really early, first few chapters, and then that was pretty much that. And it was just weird, it didn't feel right.

And then, of course, is the Iron Duke. I had some problems with him in general that I'm not going to get into since I'm not going to say anything even a little spoiler-y here. But he was just a little bit too much in every way and I just wasn't that fond of him, especially for about the first 40-50% of the book.

(This is, obviously, not a YA book, but I feel like I should tell you anyway, just in case).

You can find the author through her website, that's a link directly to her series page for this series, as well as guides to this world (which I wish I'd known about while reading). Also, at the top of the page in that link, there's a link to a Steampunk guide, if you are unsure about what exactly that entails.