Meljean Brook

The Kraken King (Iron Seas #4) By: Meljean Brook

The Kraken King

The Kraken King (Iron Seas #4) By: Meljean Brook

Plot:

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…

Review:

Wow, this was really long. It wasn’t until I finished it that I noticed that Goodreads has it listed as one book but also parts, like you can buy it in parts or as a whole. Weird choice for the publisher, but it might have been more digestible though probably not as satisfying.

Loved getting to see Zenobia and I really liked Ariq. He was sometimes referred to as a barbarian but he was nothing like how other author’s I’ve read depict barbarians. He was alpha male, but he was never forceful. He was smart but they still had cultural miscommunications. I really loved how he was depicted.

There was more world building than I cared for and I did end up skipping some stuff, the book was really long.

4/5

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Riveted (Iron Seas #3) By: Meljean Brook

Riveted

Riveted (Iron Seas #3) By: Meljean Brook

Plot:

A century after a devastating volcanic eruption forced Iceland’s inhabitants to abandon its shores, the island has become enshrouded in legend. Fishermen tell tales of giant trolls guarding the land and of seductive witches who steal men’s hearts. But the truth behind the legends is mechanical, not magic—and the mystery of the island a matter of life and death for a community of women who once spilled noble blood to secure their freedom. Five years ago, Annika unwittingly endangered that secret, but her sister Källa took the blame and was exiled. Now Annika serves on the airship Phatéon, flying from port to port in search of her sister and longing to return home . . . but that home is threatened when expedition leader David Kentewess comes aboard. Determined to solve the mystery of his own origin, David will stop at nothing to expose Annika’s secrets. But when disaster strikes, leaving David and Annika stranded on a glacier and pursued by a madman, their very survival depends on keeping the heat rising between them—and generating lots of steam . . .

Review:

I stayed up way to late reading this book and seriously regretted it in the morning, but I liked the characters and couldn’t put it down.

I loved that Annika came from a hidden village where only women lived, but they weren’t just strong Amazon like women. She was brave but she didn’t see herself that way. I liked that the heroine wasn’t just another bad ass woman, she was capable and smart, but not going around taking people out. David was also awesome, he was sweet and kind and still very much manly.

Great couple and lots more world building in the Iron Seas universe, I really liked this book.

5/5

The Blushing Bounder (Iron Seas #.4) The Hook (Iron Seas #.6) Tethered (Iron Seas #2.5) By: Meljean Brook

Tethered

The Blushing Bounder (Iron Seas #.4) The Hook (Iron Seas #.6) Tethered (Iron Seas #2.5) By: Meljean Brook

Plots:

The Blushing Bounder

In The Iron Duke, Constable Newberry helped save all of England. But before the events of that novel, Constable Newberry’s faced a danger of another kind: to his heart, by the woman forced to marry him. What will it take for this prudish bounder to convince his wife to stay?

The Hook

The Hook – An Iron Seas Urban Legend

Meljean’s Note: This is a very short story that I wrote for a blog post at All Things Urban Fantasy during their Spooky Legends week. The challenge was to write about a famous urban legend in our characters’ voices, and my urban legend was The Hook.

Tethered

Surviving on the treacherous Iron Seas requires a heart of steel…but how can Yasmeen hope to survive when her heart has already been stolen by Archimedes Fox…?

Tethered along the south dock of Port Fallow, Captain Yasmeen Corsair’s magnificent new airship, Lady Nergüi, awaits its departure with adventurer and treasure-hunter Archimedes Fox. But this time, Yasmeen, a fearless mercenary who has always prided herself on a heart of steel, has reasons to worry when Miles Bilson, an acquaintance from Archimedes’ earlier smuggling days, sends an urgent message requesting help.

With a past marked by betrayal, Archimedes wonders what his former partner could want—other than revenge. Yasmeen fears that Bilson could threaten everything Archimedes holds dear. Though both Archimedes and Yasmeen love the exhilaration of veering wildly off course, neither is prepared for where their newest risk will take them…or what it might cost them.

Review:

These were all either short stories or novellas so I decided to just combine my review. They were all good, but even the ones written before the first book I wouldn’t recommend reading until you’ve read the first book.

They were nice glimpses into the world and characters. With the Blushing Bounder it was a look into a side character which was fun. Tethered showed you after happily ever after so if you loved the characters from Heart of Steel definitely check it out.

They were all fun and I enjoyed them, the prices were all acceptable too.

4/5

Heart of Steel (The Iron Seas #2) By: Meljean Brook

Heart-of-Steel

Heart of Steel (The Iron Seas #2) By: Meljean Brook

Plot:

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:

Wow, those were some steamy sex scenes. Normally I end up skipping around those but holy cow, nice. They weren’t in your face too much, but they were hot.

Anyway, I read The Iron Duke, the first book in this series in 2012, loved it and then I don’t know what happened. This book has been on my kindle since then and I just didn’t read it. Not sure why because I ended up loving it.

Yasmeen was awesome as a heroine, she was so hard and filled with purpose. She knew what to do and did it, never backing down. I loved her. Archimedes was just as awesome because he recognized her strength and while he still wanted to protect her he didn’t try and take away any of her power. He accepted her for who she was and loved her because of it. I wish there were more books with couples like this cause they were incredible.

As much as I would love to jump into the next book in this series, I just bought a new phone and buying a kindle book for $7.99 is too much, so I’m having to wait on the library.

5/5