Steampunk Romance Serial Review: The Kraken King by Meljean Brook
The Kraken King by Meljean Brook (Iron Seas#3-8)
bought
Synopsis from Goodreads
A former smuggler and thief, Ariq—better known as the Kraken King—doesn’t know what to make of the clever, mysterious woman he rescues from an airship besieged by marauders. Unsure if she’s a spy or a pawn in someone else’s game, Ariq isn’t about to let her out of his sight until he finds out…
After escaping her fourth kidnapping attempt in a year, Zenobia Fox has learned to vigilantly guard her identity. While her brother Archimedes is notorious for his exploits, Zenobia has had no adventures to call her own—besides the stories she writes.
But when she jumps at the chance to escape to the wilds of Australia and acquire research for her next story, Zenobia quickly discovers that the voyage will be far more adventurous than any fiction she could put to paper…
Amazon kindle US/UK
9/10
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You know what I usually think of online serials, ladies and gents, but in this case it was worth it. What Meljean Brook did with her story, even with eight installments at £1.22 each, was marvelous.
Each part is long, all consuming adventure in its own right, and the overall quality and length of the story probably makes 2 books instead of one. Or at least this was how it felt to me.
Zenobia and Ariq, especially Ariq with his kraken tattoo, Jason Momoa physique and wry, sharp intelligence were a joy to read about. The chemistry between them was captivating, hot and rang true. Amidst the clever plot, Ariq kept pulling tricks out of his hat which made the reader reassess him again and again, and I loved it. We also met Archimedes and his wife albeit briefly, so if you've never read this series before you'd probably need to read at least book #2 to understand what was going on. However, I urge you to read it all as it's a great steampunk saga, and what got me into steampunk as a genre in the first place.
The ending is spectacular, the story is wonderful, the main characters are very memorable. Highly recommended!
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Мне очень даже пришлось по вкусу, дамы и господа, несмотря на то, что я всегда жалуюсь на цену сериальных романов как конечный продукт. В этот раз, несмотря на 8 частей ценой в 1 фунт 22 пенса каждую, оно того несомненно стоило.
Во первых, каждая часть создаёт ощущение очень длинной новеллы, и по длине получается наверное 2 книги в целом. Во вторых, прекрасный, захватывающий сюжет, напичканный приключениями на континенте, которого эта серия ещё не касалась. В третьих, сами герои просто завораживают. Что Зенобия с её храбростью и острым умом писательницы, что Арик - с его тату кракена во всю спину, схожестью с великолепным Джейсоном Момоа и дьявольской хитростью и непоколебимым уважением к женщине. Между ними не только неимоверное притяжение, но и сами диалоги просто проникновенны.
В общем, читала с наслаждением, рекомендую всю серию, ибо именно первая её книга, Железный Герцог, втянула меня в стимпанк.
