You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by jess_78
The Kraken King by Meljean Brook
5.0
Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads
Blog rating: A
Let me start by saying that I originally started reviewing this story when it was being released as a serial. And also a disclaimer, I would receive 3-4 parts in each review bundle, so I didn’t have as long of a wait between parts as some readers did. That said, I realized something valuable with that experience, my first in reading a serial – I am NOT a serial reader. At all. I found that having a forced break between parts was more frustrating instead of building suspense and excitement for the next part. I was easily pulled out of the story and once I read through part 6 I believe, I didn’t have any desire to start back up once the final review bundle was sent out. It wasn’t that story was boring, quite the opposite, I was enjoying it immensely. But I had a really hard time not only remembering what I had previously read, keeping all the world details straight and finding the renewed interest to start back up again. So, when The Kraken King was published as a full, complete book I jumped all over him it, and started over from the very beginning and read straight through, no interruptions and it delivered on every level for me, making it one of my top reads of 2014.
I’m not going to recap or rehash any of the main plot details or storylines for a few reasons. The biggest being there is a lot of detail that’s provided and it’s impossible to do the story justice with a short pre-review recap. I’ll simply say our heroine, Zenobia, writes stories based on her brother’s crazy adventures and is often the center of abductions to force her brother to pay a ransom. She lives a solitary life and is finally about to embark on her very own adventure as she travels with her best friend to Australia. Ariq, The Kraken King and Zenobia’s hero, is the leader of a town he established, Krakentown, a town that’s now under threat of war and it’s up to Ariq to work every negotiating angle he can to try and prevent his town from being destroyed. His path crosses with Zenobia and their adventure takes off, and it is more adventure than Zenobia ever dreamed she’d be a part of.
The Kraken King is full of adventure and romance. First, the romance. Oh my. Ariq and Zenobia, at first glance, are an odd couple and one you’d never imagine working. But Ariq knows there’s so much more to Zenobia than meets the eye and he’s determined to get to know her, both in and out of his bed. She brings him to his knees with her sharp mind, her intellect, and her ability to keep him on his toes. He learns of her past, which is sad and heartbreaking, and he wants to show her only love and to be her fierce protector, a role he takes very seriously. For Zenobia, she initially sees Ariq as the ultimate adventure, never really believing that a man like him could ever love a woman like her. But when she starts to let the walls around her heart crumble and she lets him in, it’s a huge leap for her, trusting someone so much when everyone else in her life, save her brother, has taken her trust and crushed it. It takes a lot of determination on Ariq’s part, but he proves to her time and time again that he will put her above everything else in his life and it’s quite an emotional ride to see Zenobia finally start to believe that his love for her is real. Gah, I just loved them together. They have snappy dialogue, they’re quick to tease and play with each other and Ariq shows Zenobia pleasure like she’s never known before. Even then, during some of their sexier, steamier scenes, they still bring that fun and lightness that made them so enjoyable to get to know.
Ariq and Zenobia’s adventures take them both on a wild ride. Whether it’s battling a boilerworm, escaping in a balloon, or riding in a machine that’s beyond anything anyone has even seen before, Zenobia comes away with adventures that she can’t keep up with for her future books. She’s also a changed woman from her entire experience. She goes from a quiet, scared woman who only lets herself live when she’s lost in her writing to a woman who’s a force to be reckoned with. She comes into her own, yes with some help from Ariq, but more importantly she realizes on her own what she’s truly capable of when she lets go of her constant fear and lives. I dare anyone not to love this woman and the journey she goes on.
I admittedly don’t read a lot of steampunk, but Meljean Brook’s Iron Seas series is one that I can’t get enough of. Brook’s has created such a vivid, unique world and it is so incredibly easy to picture everything she describes and it’s captured my attention from the very first book, The Iron Duke. While steampunk and this alternate world is the backdrop for this series and The Kraken King, this story comes alive with adventure and romance. Ariq and Zenobia are characters that will grab hold and not let go, just like the Kraken King himself.
Blog rating: A
Let me start by saying that I originally started reviewing this story when it was being released as a serial. And also a disclaimer, I would receive 3-4 parts in each review bundle, so I didn’t have as long of a wait between parts as some readers did. That said, I realized something valuable with that experience, my first in reading a serial – I am NOT a serial reader. At all. I found that having a forced break between parts was more frustrating instead of building suspense and excitement for the next part. I was easily pulled out of the story and once I read through part 6 I believe, I didn’t have any desire to start back up once the final review bundle was sent out. It wasn’t that story was boring, quite the opposite, I was enjoying it immensely. But I had a really hard time not only remembering what I had previously read, keeping all the world details straight and finding the renewed interest to start back up again. So, when The Kraken King was published as a full, complete book I jumped all over him it, and started over from the very beginning and read straight through, no interruptions and it delivered on every level for me, making it one of my top reads of 2014.
I’m not going to recap or rehash any of the main plot details or storylines for a few reasons. The biggest being there is a lot of detail that’s provided and it’s impossible to do the story justice with a short pre-review recap. I’ll simply say our heroine, Zenobia, writes stories based on her brother’s crazy adventures and is often the center of abductions to force her brother to pay a ransom. She lives a solitary life and is finally about to embark on her very own adventure as she travels with her best friend to Australia. Ariq, The Kraken King and Zenobia’s hero, is the leader of a town he established, Krakentown, a town that’s now under threat of war and it’s up to Ariq to work every negotiating angle he can to try and prevent his town from being destroyed. His path crosses with Zenobia and their adventure takes off, and it is more adventure than Zenobia ever dreamed she’d be a part of.
The Kraken King is full of adventure and romance. First, the romance. Oh my. Ariq and Zenobia, at first glance, are an odd couple and one you’d never imagine working. But Ariq knows there’s so much more to Zenobia than meets the eye and he’s determined to get to know her, both in and out of his bed. She brings him to his knees with her sharp mind, her intellect, and her ability to keep him on his toes. He learns of her past, which is sad and heartbreaking, and he wants to show her only love and to be her fierce protector, a role he takes very seriously. For Zenobia, she initially sees Ariq as the ultimate adventure, never really believing that a man like him could ever love a woman like her. But when she starts to let the walls around her heart crumble and she lets him in, it’s a huge leap for her, trusting someone so much when everyone else in her life, save her brother, has taken her trust and crushed it. It takes a lot of determination on Ariq’s part, but he proves to her time and time again that he will put her above everything else in his life and it’s quite an emotional ride to see Zenobia finally start to believe that his love for her is real. Gah, I just loved them together. They have snappy dialogue, they’re quick to tease and play with each other and Ariq shows Zenobia pleasure like she’s never known before. Even then, during some of their sexier, steamier scenes, they still bring that fun and lightness that made them so enjoyable to get to know.
Ariq and Zenobia’s adventures take them both on a wild ride. Whether it’s battling a boilerworm, escaping in a balloon, or riding in a machine that’s beyond anything anyone has even seen before, Zenobia comes away with adventures that she can’t keep up with for her future books. She’s also a changed woman from her entire experience. She goes from a quiet, scared woman who only lets herself live when she’s lost in her writing to a woman who’s a force to be reckoned with. She comes into her own, yes with some help from Ariq, but more importantly she realizes on her own what she’s truly capable of when she lets go of her constant fear and lives. I dare anyone not to love this woman and the journey she goes on.
I admittedly don’t read a lot of steampunk, but Meljean Brook’s Iron Seas series is one that I can’t get enough of. Brook’s has created such a vivid, unique world and it is so incredibly easy to picture everything she describes and it’s captured my attention from the very first book, The Iron Duke. While steampunk and this alternate world is the backdrop for this series and The Kraken King, this story comes alive with adventure and romance. Ariq and Zenobia are characters that will grab hold and not let go, just like the Kraken King himself.