Riveted by Meljean Brook

Riveted by Meljean Brook

Book stats:
Reading level: Adult
Trade paperback: 416 pages
Genre: Steampunk romance
Publisher: Berkeley
Release date: September 4, 2012

Series: Iron Seas #3

Source: Review copy from publisher

Reviewed by: Jenn

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

The New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Duke and Heart of Steel returns to the Iron Seas with a riveting new adventure of steampunk and passionate romance...

A century after a devastating volcanic eruption forced Iceland's inhabitants to abandon its shores, the island has become enshrouded in legend. But the truth behind the legends is mechanical, not magical— 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 an airship, longing to return home. But that home is threatened when David Kentewess comes aboard, looking to expose Annika's secrets. Then disaster strikes, leaving David and Annika stranded on a glacier and pursued by a madman, with their very survival depending on keeping the heat rising between them—and generating lots of steam...

I've loved steampunk for quite some time, even before I knew there was a term for it. Meljean Brook writes some of my favourite steampunk romance, which is why I was so excited when Tynga told me that RIVETED was available on Edelweiss.

RIVETED is a bit different than the other Iron Seas stories (which I talk about here and here). It features characters we haven't met before and it takes place in a previously unused setting: Iceland. This is good news for folks who haven't had a chance to read THE IRON DUKE or HEART OF STEEL (or their respective epilogue novellas) because it means you can jump in with little difficulty. There are references to secondary characters in previous books and you won't have as much knowledge about the Horde and other parts of the Iron Seas world but you will definitely be able to enjoy the book without any backstory. (Don't believe me? Hear it from the author herself.)

When I started reading RIVETED, I was quite excited to meet Annika and David and learn their stories. They both have such interesting backgrounds: Annika was raised in a secret village of women on Iceland and David is from the New World, unable to return home because he was infected with nanoagents and given new limbs by the Blacksmith. They meet under completely random circumstances and end up spending a lot of time together when David boards the airship that Annika works on. Watching them get together was really sweet, partially because their relationship is a slow boil. The previous couples in the series moved a lot more quickly. In fact, the previous two novels move a lot more quickly than than RIVETED, which starts out somewhat slowly and then builds to a crescendoing climax. For me, this meant that it took me a little bit longer to really get into the story but I truly enjoyed it as a whole. The set up is rather different than previous instalments, which have more action in the early parts of the novel, but I like that Annika and David had a chance to get to know each other before danger reared its head.

Perhaps my favourite part of RIVETED was getting to explore new parts of the Iron Seas world. Meljean Brook has developed some incredible mythology for Iceland and Annika's village and I was completely fascinated. I love the worldbuilding of the entire series but I thought Iceland's history was particularly compelling. The trolls were awesome and I love the way the technology was explored in this novel. I also enjoyed experiencing airship life from the perspective of a crew member, not the captain, which we got last time around.

While this isn't my favourite story in the Iron Seas series, RIVETED is a solid story that I thoroughly enjoyed. I love Meljean Brook's writing and think this series is a must for steampunk romance fans. Annika and David are unconventional people in a sometimes old-fashioned world and their love story is just so sweet and passionate!

Read an excerpt (scroll down)

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by jenn at Monday, September 03, 2012

 Meljean Brook, Penguin, Review, steampunk  4 People left their mark

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Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook

Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook

Book stats:
Trade paperback: 320 pages
Reading level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk romance
Publisher: Penguin
Release date: November 1, 2011

Series: The Iron Seas #2

Source: Personal shelf

Reviewed by: Jenn

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Return to the gritty, alluring world of steampunk with the New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Duke.

As the mercenary captain of the 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 the 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…

In case you didn’t get it from my Daring You To Read post last week, Meljean Brook has won my heart with her steampunk romance. The Iron Seas series is filled with exciting adventures, bold characters, and steamy relationships.

In The Iron Duke, Yasmeen and Archimedes’ story is a tiny vignette in the larger story of Mina and Rhys. In Heart of Steel, a title that refers to Yasmeen’s outlook on romance, our lady airship captain and the dashing explorer are front and centre, in the midst of a thrilling adventure, complete with zombies, explosions, passion, and exotic locations.

Yasmeen is a fearless protagonist. She’s independent, crafty, brave, and loyal to a select few. As an airship captain with a mysterious past, she lives the life she loves and she makes no bones about her mercenary lifestyle, living with her own code of honour. (This is a woman who, at the start of the novel, takes the time to visit Archimedes’ sister Zenobia after tossing Archimedes off her airship, presumably to his death in the zombie-infested canals of Venice, to let Zenobia know that she was going to share the proceeds from the sale of the da Vinci sketch that Archimedes recovered.) Yasmeen is an alluring combination of toughness and femininity, particularly to Archimedes, who’s half in love with her at the outset of the novel, even though (or perhaps because) she threw him off her airship. And Yasmeen, for her part, is unwillingly intrigued by Archimedes, having read all of the stories about him and appreciating the way Archimedes comports himself with a combination of courtliness, dashing bravado, and brightly coloured waistcoats.

The non-romantic part of Heart of Steel revolves around that da Vinci sketch. First, Archimedes pursues Yasmeen for it and then Yasmeen and Archimedes team up after the sketch is stolen from her airship, the Lady Corsair. The adventure they embark on takes them into Horde-occupied territory, offering us a glimpse at the other side. In the previous stories, we’ve only seen the world from the perspective of people who have been threatened by the Horde so it was really neat to see how people affiliated with the Horde live. It was also a lot of fun to go on an adventure across the continent, as Yasmeen and Archimedes explored places people rarely go.

I can’t say enough good things about the world that Meljean has created for the Iron Seas stories. I hope she never tires of writing them because I don’t want to say goodbye to this world any time soon!

Read an excerpt (scroll down)

Visit Meljean’s website for more information about the series!

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by jenn at Monday, January 02, 2012

 Meljean Brook, Penguin, Review, steampunk  5 People left their mark

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Daring You To Read…The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

 

For my last post of the year, I’m daring you all to read a more recent work: a delicious steampunk romance from Meljean Brook.

 

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.

Mina can’t afford his interest, however. Horde blood runs through her veins, and despite the nanotech enhancing her body, she barely scratches out a living in London society. Becoming Rhys’s lover would destroy both her career and her family, yet the investigation prevents her from avoiding him…and the Iron Duke’s ruthless pursuit makes him difficult to resist.

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.

Released on October 5, 2010, The Iron Duke is the first full-length novel in the Iron Seas, Meljean Brook’s steampunk romance series. (There are a couple novellas that were previously published but you don’t need to read them to get into The Iron Duke.) It’s a great adventure story filled with steampunk gadgets and amazing chemistry between Rhys and Mina. Rhys is a big hero, having freed England from 200 years of tyranny of the Horde (yeah, Genghis Khan’s descendants), an invading force that took over by sneaking nanotechnology, or bugs, into imported sugar and tea, and then using the bugs to control the population, until the Iron Duke destroyed the radio tower controlling the bugs, setting the population free. Mina is much less famous, and more reviled, as a half-Horde resident of London struggling to make a life for herself. Romantic entanglements aside, Meljean tackles a lot of issues in this novel, including some biggies like racism and women’s rights, and it’s done in a thought-provoking but not in-your-face way. And the worldbuilding is just fantastic. The world of the Iron Seas has just about everything you can think of -- zombies, the Horde, pirates, airships -- and more!

Plus, the cover is a lovely example of the trendy headless man torso we’ve been seeing more and more of. Check out those abs! ;)

Read an excerpt
(You’ll need to scroll down a little bit)

So what are you waiting for?

Don’t forget to add your own Daring You To Read… post in the linky below.

If you want to learn more about the meme, read the inaugural post!

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by jenn at Thursday, December 29, 2011

 Daring You to Read, Meljean Brook, Penguin, steampunk  1 Person left their mark

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