Steampunk Romance Early Review: Heart of Iron by Bec McMaster


Heart of Iron by Bec McMaster (London Steampunk #2)


Egalley thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca

Synopsis from Goodreads
In Victorian London, if you’re not a blue blood of the Echelon then you’re nothing at all. The Great Houses rule the city with an iron fist, imposing their strict ‘blood taxes’ on the nation, and the Queen is merely a puppet on a string…

Lena Todd makes the perfect spy. Nobody suspects the flirtatious debutante could be a sympathizer for the humanist movement haunting London’s vicious blue blood elite. Not even the ruthless Will Carver, the one man she can’t twist around her little finger, and the one man whose kiss she can’t forget…

Stricken with the loupe and considered little more than a slave-without-a-collar to the blue bloods, Will wants nothing to do with the Echelon or the dangerous beauty who drives him to the very edge of control. But when he finds a coded letter on Lena—a code that matches one he saw on a fire-bombing suspect—he realizes she’s in trouble. To protect her, he must seduce the truth from her.

With the humanists looking to start a war with the Echelon, Lena and Will must race against time—and an automaton army—to stop the humanist plot before it’s too late. But as they fight to save a city on the brink of revolution, the greatest danger might just be to their hearts…


Release Date: May 7th 2013.

Amazon  US/UK(£4.92) | Amazon kindle US/UK(£4.91) | The Book Depository US/UK(£4.49) | Fishpond

9.5/10

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 This was so so good, peeps! Anyone who loved Kristen Callihan, Delilah S.Dawson and Meljean Brook in my opinion will love this too.



In the first book, Kiss of Steel, we meet Blade and Honoria. The second book is about Honoria's younger sister, Lena, and inventor and socialite, and Blade's second-in-command, one of the very few werewolves in London, Will Carver.

Where do I start? If you already read Kiss of Steel, you know that England is ruled by Echelon - a deadly bunch of aristocratic vampire houses who keep people as thralls or slaves and demand two pints of blood a year tax from each citizen of the country.

The rogue vampires, created by the experiments on people are outlawed, the werewolves are outlawed, however suddenly Echelon is in need of Will's services as the country is surrounded by enemy states where Inquisition continues to eradicate vampires and werewolves alike, and their only chance of alliance is Scandinavian werewolf clans.

Lena, whom Will has been avoiding since she was a flirty 16-year old is pretending to be a debutante on Echelon's parties and balls, where young women search for patrons who can buy them as thralls thus secure their future. In reality she is a spy secretly helping human resistance.

When Will is forced to ask her for help in Echelon's etiquette and political intrigues, their interests and old attraction collide with such devastating results that it changes their lives forever.

Heart of Iron is an exciting, intense and wonderfully romantic read which drags you through balls full of predators and deep underground full of dirty scavengers... till you can't decide which are more dangerous.

Loved, loved this book! Definitely one of the highlights of 2013 for me. Highly recommended.

* * *
Ещё одна шикарная серия стимпанкового романа, набирающего популярность в последнюю пару лет, так что если вам нравится Кристен Каллихан, Делайла С. Доусон и Мелджин Брук, то вам сюда.

Я уже рецензировала первую книгу серии Поцелуй Стали, где рассказывается Гонории и  вампире Блэйде. Сердце Железа - это история Лены, младшей сестры Гонории и вервульфа Уилла, правой руки Блэйда.

Если кто читал первую книгу, то Англией здесь правит Эшелон - серия элитных вампирских домов с Принцем Регентом, который захватил власть, женившись на королеве Виктории. Вампирские дома держат траллов (кровных слуг), и помимо этого каждый гражданин Англии платит годовой налог около литра крови.

Англия окружена враждебными государствами, Францией и Испанией, где Инквизиция уничтожает вампиров и вервульфов и в настоящий момент единственный возможный союзник для них - это скандинавские кланы вервульфов, так что Совет Вампиров обращается в Уиллу (вервульфы в Англии незаконны, но Уилл известен в криминальном Лондоне на пару с Блэйдом) с просьбой о помощи в их репрезентации для скандинавов в обмен на равные права его расы в стране.

Лена вращается в социальных кругах Эшелона, представляясь дебютанткой, ищущей покровителя вампира, который сделает её своим траллом и позаботится о её будущем. В реальности же она шпионит для людского противостояния, и когда Уилл просит её помочь ему в лавировании среди этикета и политических интриг Эшелона она разрывается между интересами людей, родственными связями с Гонорией и старым влечением к Уиллу.

В итоге, летят и искры, и взрывчатые устройства и клочья шерсти, в зависимости от того, кто с кем вступает в противостояние :) Книга необычайно развлекательная, лёгкая и захватывающая. Очень советую!

Comments

  1. OH! This is the sequel to Kiss of Steel? Okay, I was in love with the cover of KoS, and I love this one too! I have KoS but haven't read it yet. I soooo need to do that, because this series sounds like it rocks.

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  2. Заинтересовала))) Первая мне понравилась, хоть и меньше Железных морей Брук.

    Ты, кстати, видела бесплатный рождественский рассказ из этой серии (Эсме+Рип) - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/303447

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  3. Have you read the first part, Kara? Is the second part better or worse in your opinion?

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  4. Christy, you are missing out on a good book! Read it!

    Darmaris, увидела несколько дней назад, но ещё не прочитала. Спасибо! Книги конечно отличаются от Брук, у неё больше акцент на стимпанк и построение мира, чем романтические отношения, а здесь больше акцент на романтику, но всё же очень интересный мир. Мне нравится.

    Anachronist, did you mean the first book or the first part of this book? I kind of like them both *grin* I know it's not to everyone's taste, but it appeals to me.

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  5. you know I really want to read this series! One day, I'll buy book 1! I so need to have it!

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  6. Will and Lena sound like great characters to read about, and I like the cover and premise, but not sure about the HF aspect for me.

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  7. Ugh, I wish I could enjoy steampunk, but it just doesn't work for me. I know I'm missing out on some great reads because of it and have no idea why it turns me off so much. One of these days my tastes are going to change and I'll be sure to remember this series.

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  8. Brandi, I don't know what to tell you. I always loved history, so for me it's a plus. Maybe at some point in your life you will change your reading taste and be able to enjoy it. Reading preferences definitely change over time :)

    D., could it be that I know now what to buy you? O_O! :)

    Blodueudd, looking forward to your thoughts!

    Mistress, I hope they will! You definitely missing out on some great authors...

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  9. Ooo, you are kicking my butt with these amazing books. LOL! I need to read this it seems and get going on Meljean's series too! Thank you!

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