Heart of Steel

By: Meljean Brook

Narrated by: Faye Adele

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Journey to New York Times best-selling author Meljean Brook's gritty, alluring world of the Iron Seas, and gear up for passionate steampunk adventure....

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....

©2011 Meljean Brook (P)2011 Penguin

Excellent! And very steamy!

I continue to be impressed with these books and this author. This is SUCH a fun story - a good balance of likeable characters, story, and smoking hot sex (but not every 5 seconds - it supplements the story). It is less weighed-down then the first one with world-building details. The story is not silly, or shallow or coarse and I never rolled my eyes. I even got a little misty-eyed over a few scenes. I will absolutely re-listen to these.

Steampunk With A Sizzle

Nice steampunk story with a little sex, a lot of emotional angst, zombies, death, gore, and a real plot that is intriguing. It was a fun listen, however it had some tedious stretches. Wait a few minutes and the action and story will pick up again. Listened to it twice, so it is worth it.

Worth the wait

This is the 3rd story in Iron Seas series. I've been waiting for this series in audio since the first novella, Here There Be Monsters came out. It was a wonderful surprise to have them all come out on the same day. This is very good Steampunk! It's a popular genre right now and sometimes Steampunk elements can feel shoehorned into a series. NOT so here. It's fully integrated as part of the plot and worldbuilding. Nothing feels contrived. The writing does a very good job of painting a picture of the world, again, strong visual writing style works best with Steampunk as it's elements are very visual. It does have romance but I never feel like it interferes with the storytelling. The lead female is kick ass and remains so.

Faye Adele is a new reader to me. I think she does a very good job. The pacing is well done, her character voices are sound and consistent and the production value is excellent.

Highly recommended. I'm off now to DL Iron Duke, the first full novel in this series. It will be fun to experience it as a listen after having read the story several times.

Tomb Raider goes zombie steampunk

I enjoyed this book 2 better than book 1 because there’s more adventure and humor to balance the rather dark alternate steampunk world, and better than book 3 which features a rather ditzy Anika and a pacifist David in an okay on-the-run romance. Whereas book 1 focused on London, and book 3 focused on Iceland, this one spans multiple exotic lands, where treasures lay abandoned to the nano-bot zombie apocalypse. Here, Lara Croft is instead Archimedes Fox, an adrenaline junkie, treasure hunter and ballsy romantic- yes, that’s totally a thing, and a great thing as he sets his sights on the formidable, lethal and wicked mercenary captain Yasmeen.

These two MCs are my favorite from the first three books. I am thrilled that the usual regency tropes are completely upended as Archimedes announces at the outset that he intends to fall in love with Yasmeen, as Yasmeen is the pessimist who stubbornly resists the idea of an HEA, and as Yasmeen retains the H role with Archimedes’ h role supporting her leadership as an airship captain.

The journey is better than destination here, both in terms of the treasure hunting along the way to an empire toppling mission, and the deadly tango between Fox and Yasmeen along the way to an HEA. Indeed, the long set-up to knock the king off his hill ends up fizzling to nothing, and several plots conveniently wrap up in tidy, effortless packages.

The other frustration is the lack of details and depth beyond the MCs. Although setting and backstory details are still sketchy here, it’s better than in book 1. I finally got enough detail to understand that the Horde was a Genghis Khan-led, steampunk-fueled invasion. But there’s still a lot of ambiguity. I’m pretty sure Yasmeen is either Black, Egyptian, or maybe Iranian? And I think blonde haired, green eyed Archimedes is South African (might have been an alternate Johannesburg mentioned).

Still, these are minor criticisms. All in all, I recommend this as a great steampunk adventure with a sexy, swashbuckling romance. There’s fairly explicit get-togethers from the midpoint and mild treatment of r@pe, but not as angsty or triggering as book 1.

Better Than The Duke

Any additional comments?

This series is amazing: World Building, Plot, Characters....everything is top notch. I loved The Iron Duke and will re-listen to it many times. Great characters, and Yasmeen could have stolen the show if she was given any more time in the first book. I'm glad she got her own book. Heart of Steel raises the bar for the rest of the series and Faye Adele is a wonderful narrator, but she knocks it out of the ball park when she plays Yasmeen. These books do stand alone, but I suggest reading them in order as characters from past books do show up.

A Thrilling Adventure with a steampunk twist!

The book is engaging and full of spine tingling adventure. Lady Cosair and Archimedes Fox are a delightful pair that make even misfortunes fun.

Dynamite!

We meet Yasmeen and Archimedes Fox in The Iron Duke and even with the miniscule interaction we see between them, these characters set the pages on fire!

Yasmeen is captain of the ship, the Lady Corsair. She is tough, ruthless, and takes no crap from anyone, but she is loyal and fair. Archimedes Fox is a treasure hunter, and after seeing Yasmeen, he is smitten by her and wants desperately to prove his worth to her. Used to risking his life for the treasures he acquires, he will risk that and so much more for her heart.

This story was DYNAMITE! This story rocked from beginning to end. It starts out with letters going back and forth from Archimedes Fox and his sister, showing you a glimpse of their funny and heart-warming relationship. It really sets the stage for the type of character Archimedes Fox is and he is adorable! Yasmeen is a tough cookie! She is fierce because she has to be. She has fought all her life and as captain of a mercenary ship, any show of weakness and she can have a mutiny on her hands. Her tale comes out as the story progresses and you feel for the captain. There is a lot to like in this book. So many details that if I write them all down, this will turn into a really long review with spoilers, and truly, the journey through the tale is a huge part of the fun! Rest assured the story is solid. More is revealed on the world Brook has created, some new characters and some old. It is bloody and unabashedly fierce with harsh and bitter events, but it has love, kindness, friendship, and trust.

Like I said in my review for the Iron Duke, there is a lot happening in this book, so in audio form, you need to not drift too much or you can get lost, fast.

Narration
Narrator: Faye Adele
Performance: 5/5
Speed: 1.25-1.5x
Excellent performance. The pace, tone, character distinction, and accents were spot on in what I imagine this fabulous world and the characters in them would sound like. Adele is easy to listen to and consistent in her readings. She makes it easy to follow an intricate story like this in audio form.

Steal of a Book.

Awesome adventure, engaging characters, narration good, a story to take you away. Meljean Brooks has become one of my immediate downloads, too bad she only has a few on audible as of right now. I'm planning on asking for the remainder of the short shories from the Iron Duke series to be added to audible and hopefully Meljean Brooks writes fast. I wasn't sure this one was going to be as good as the others but it was fantastic. I will also be looking for other Steampunk authurs out there.

Simply Brilliant!

If you could sum up Heart of Steel in three words, what would they be?

Exciting, Erotic and Entertaining

What other book might you compare Heart of Steel to and why?

I cannot think of a good comparison. Usually the male character in a romance situation needs to be the dominant one or he gives the impression of being weak. Not so with this book. Hats off to Meljean Brook for this not so ordinary cast of characters.

Have you listened to any of Faye Adele’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, The Iron Duke. Often when I listen to the second book in a series by the same narrator, I feel as though I am listening to the same characters as I did in the previous book. Not so with Faye Adele's performance. She is very good at her craft.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I found myself at times laughing out loud (and sometimes to my embarrassment). Meljean Brook has written some darn witty lines in this book.

Any additional comments?

If you are looking for a steamy romance with an exciting plot and an intriguing cast of characters (including zombies and villains) then this book is for you.