AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook

 

TITLE: Heart of Steel
SERIES: Iron Seas, Book #2
AUTHOR: Meljean Brook
NARRATOR: Faye Adele

PUBLISHER: Penguin Audio
DATE OF PUBLICATION: November 1, 2011
FORMAT: Unabridged Audiobook, 10 hours and 15 minutes
GENRE: Science Fiction/Steampunk, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
ISBN: 978-1101523179

SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

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

Growing up in the dangerous world of the Iron Seas, the mercenary captain of the airship Lady Corsair, Yasmeen, has learned to keep her heart hard as steel. Ruthless and cunning, her only loyalty is to her ship and her crew-until one man comes along and changes everything....

Treasurehunter Archimedes Fox isn't interested in the Lady Corsair - just the captain and the valuable da Vinci sketch she stole from him. When it attracts a dangerous amount of attention, Yasmeen and Archimedes journey to Horde-occupied Morocco - and straight into enemy hands.

MY REVIEW: 

 

I received this audiobook for review from Penguin Audio. I did not receive any compensation for my review, and the views expressed herein are my own.

This is the second book in the Iron Seas series.

I was initially disappointed that this book did not feature Mina from the first in the series, The Iron Duke. Rather, the heroine is Yasmeen who was also introduced in the series debut.

Yasmeen is the Captain of Lady Corsair, the airship. She is a wonderful character and extremely complex. I love that she is so head-strong and loyal. She initially comes across as cold-hearted and never lets her emotions interfere with her head (hence the title, Heart of Steel). She thinks of herself as practical, never allowing herself to become involved in matters of the heart.

Yasmeen’s heart is slowly melted by the dashing Archimedes Fox. I loved Archimedes from the moment he was introduced! He is such a romantic and is undeterred from his conquest, Yasmeen, no matter how much she pushes him away. Although they seem like an unlikely match at the outset, you soon see that he is the yin to Yasmeen’s yang. I thought they were perfect for each other! I loved their banter, and there a lot of humour:

                Archimedes to Yasmeen: “Goddammit. Can’t I save you just once?”

And there is sweetness:

Yasmeen to Archimedes: “Ah,” she said watching his face. Her sneer mocked him. “It is easy to fall in love with a woman who is always making you feel more of a big powerful man. You ought not have picked me, after all."

Archimedes: “That isn’t it.” He didn’t question his abilities. “It is simply difficult to know I offer nothing at all to the woman I’m falling in love with.” Her expression lightened.

Yasmeen: “You offer me nothing? Stupid man. You already give me what few men could. It is rare the man who has the confidence to let me be what I am, whether it is captaining an airship, climbing atop you in a steamcoach, or brawling in a tavern.”

This book is more of an adventure than the previous book. I was swept up in their quest to find the da Vinci sketch. I really enjoyed the story!

Now that I have become accustomed to Adele’s accent, I had no trouble at all with her narration. I thought she was well-suited for the book.

MY RATING: 4 stars! I really enjoyed it!! 

 

This book qualifies as:

#101 for my 2011 100+ Reading Challenge
#39 for my 2011 Audio Book Challenge
#39 for my 2011 "Whisper Stories in My Ear" Challenge
#11 for my 2nds Challenge 2011

View all my reviews