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A review by threerings
Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook
4.0
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and was initially disappointed that this book isn't about the same characters as the first one. It focuses on two minor characters from the first book: Yasmeen, known as Lady Corsair the mercenary captain; and famed adventurer Archimedes Fox. Although I had liked them both well enough in the first book, it wasn't like I thought, "Hey, I want to read a whole book about them!"
But I ended up really liking this book. The romance that develops between the two of them is really appealing to me. Archimedes has decided to fall in love with Yasmeen and get his heart broken, just to have had that experience. Meanwhile Yasmeen has the titular "heart of steel" and doesn't believe herself capable of love, though she's all for sex. Except Archimedes refuses to sleep with her because he wants to wait until he's truly in love with her. It's sort of a unique dynamic that became very satisfying to me.
There's also plenty of pirate-y action, seeking of vengeance and that kind of thing. This series is pretty well balanced between the action and the character stuff. The world was expanded a bit and most of the book takes place in the Near East and West Africa, so it's nice to get away from stereotypical steampunk England. However it would be very difficult to understand this work based solely on this book because the whole history of the Horde occupation goes pretty much unexplained. So although this book really stands alone from the first one, I think it's required to read that one first.
But I ended up really liking this book. The romance that develops between the two of them is really appealing to me. Archimedes has decided to fall in love with Yasmeen and get his heart broken, just to have had that experience. Meanwhile Yasmeen has the titular "heart of steel" and doesn't believe herself capable of love, though she's all for sex. Except Archimedes refuses to sleep with her because he wants to wait until he's truly in love with her. It's sort of a unique dynamic that became very satisfying to me.
There's also plenty of pirate-y action, seeking of vengeance and that kind of thing. This series is pretty well balanced between the action and the character stuff. The world was expanded a bit and most of the book takes place in the Near East and West Africa, so it's nice to get away from stereotypical steampunk England. However it would be very difficult to understand this work based solely on this book because the whole history of the Horde occupation goes pretty much unexplained. So although this book really stands alone from the first one, I think it's required to read that one first.