Book Review: The Iron Duke

Author: Meljean Brook

Title: The Iron Duke (Iron Seas #1)
Genre: Steampunk, Sci-Fi, Paranormal Romance, Adventure, Fantasy
Pages: 378

First Published: October 5th, 2010
Where I Got It: Borrowed from Library

"First in an all-new series where seductive danger and steampunk adventure abound in the gritty world of the Iron Seas. 

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.

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."

This is my first novel by Meljean Brook and my first full novel in the steampunk genre. I've read the occasional short story, but this is my first technically. 

I asked B over at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, what would be a good book to read as an introduction (of sorts) to this genre, she steered me towards this deliciously covered book. Thanks B! 

Well, being new to the genre its going to be really hard for me to review this, so I'll divide and conquer this book review:

The Good
-Great set of characters! Meljean Brook certainly has a great mind of having her characters interact to each other and the situations in the book. They felt very 3D and real. I especially loved Mina, she was pretty bad ass. Rhys was a little annoying at points, but I still liked him. 

-The world was pretty cool. Just imagine if our world was like that? 

-Meljean Brook did a wonderful job with imagery. I really could see every zombie, the interesting half-human half-machine, I could hear every spout of steam from the machines, and etc. She did a wonderful bringing this world to life.

-The zombies and the kraken were neat! When I read that she was going to have zombies in this book, I was a little unsure how she would do it. Too be honest I felt like it be forced and sort of cheesy, but she did very well in avoiding that trench of cheesieness. 

-Loved the ending! This was my face below. I can't say more than how shocked I was, because I might spoil something! 

The Bad and the Ugly

Okay....ummmm.....let's see.....

-The romance seemed very forced at points. I really didn't FEEL that they wanted each other, except for Rhys, but I doubted his emotions for her very much. He's a super rogue-ish pirate who use to rape and pillage for the fun of it. Such characters rarely do a 180 and can dedicate himself to one "broad". 

-I wish Meljean Brook went more into detail on the Hordes. They are interesting and I really want to know how they gained such technology. Perhaps more information will be given in future books.

-I didn't understand the hatred of the other "infected" people had on Mina. Aren't the majority of them part Horde due to the Frenzys? Or wouldn't they be more understanding? Seeing a half-horde shouldn't be too surprising or ghastly. 

-Even though there was a lot of adventure going on, I felt....bored sometimes. It's odd, but it's just what I felt.

-Don't get me wrong, I love romances, but I felt the romance trumped over the adventure sometimes. I was more interested in the adventure aspects sometimes. Perhaps that's why I felt bored at points. Hahaha, I think I found my reason now. The romance aspect seemed to appear at wrong spots....in my opinion of course.

Conclusion

I liked this book. It's a great introduction to the world of steampunk for others that want to check out this new-ish genre. When I shut the book and read the last word, I took some time to think deeply about my feelings of this genre as a whole....should I read more? Did I really like? Did I hate it? Well...to some up my  reaction to this genre and this book, just look down:

Okay, okay....the steampunk genre seems legit and I'll check out some more in the future. I would recommend this book to those that love the genre and for those that want to take this genre for a test-drive, like moi. In the end I give this 3 stars. It would be like a 3.4, but I don't give decimals, so I rounded. I really want to read Yasmin's book! 

Favorite Character(s): Mina (epic heroine),Yasmin (cold-hearted, but a strong and complex character), Rhys (sometimes), Newberry (^.^ he reminds me of O'Bryon from the show Copper), and Anne.

Not-so-favorite Character(s): Mina's madre/mother (>.> *spoiler* I don't care that you were raped, there was no reason to gouge out your own eyes because your baby looks Asian/Horde-an. That's horrible and not excusable. *spoiler ended*) and Dorchester (meh).

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<3CaroleRae

Thursday Book Teaser: The Iron Duke

A weekly meme created by Carole (me) to share excerpts and book teasers from books. Anyone can join, just make sure not to give away any spoilers.

Happy Thursday everyone! The weekend is nearly here and Halloween is right around the corner! So instead of my usual TBT meme picture, I'll temporarily use a Halloween version of the old one. hehehe. I am really getting into the spirit this year. I even have a great costume I'm wearing. No, not Anne Boleyn (never had a chance to save enough money due to my lack of a job for a while), but Marie Antoinette. I won't be able to wear it to work (*sighs*), but I'm wearing it to a Halloween party in November. Odd, but it works! I'm reusing my dress that I wore long ago at my sweet 16. It'll be big, because I was 30lbs heavier, but oh well. There are ties on it, so it'll fit. ^.^ I also plan on this time around as Marie to be a little morbid perhaps. I'm contemplating using red makeup around the neck of where she lost her head to the guillotine. Perhaps I'll be The Ghost of Marie Antoinette. 

Not every original though....mmmmm...maybe I'll be Princess Lambelle or Madame du Barry. ^.^ For the latter I can go nuts! I'll wear a ton of jewelry and be skanky. Lots of ideas! Maybe I'll just be a witch. Nah...I have been a witch twice already.......... 

Sorry for the rant...here is my book teaser for 'The Iron Duke' by Meljean Brook. I've barely broken the cover, so this teaser is a teaser for me too. In honor of Halloween and all the spooky stuff, I've picked page 66 starting at sentence 6. Of course you can pick your own starting point, but here we go!

Page #: 66

Starting at sentence: 6

"Remembering that, Mina's anger built into resolution. What could Trahaern to do her family that Horde hadn't already done? Nothing. And her family had always fought back, always survived. The only danger he posed was to Mina's person and her career - but no matter the damage he caused, she would survive that, too. 

She looked up. The rood of the lift had almost reached the next floor. The duke still hadn't spoken. Her tension began to loosen its grip. Had she mistaken his intentions, then? Perhaps he just hadn't wanted to be crowded.

Metal scraped, and the lift jolted to a halt. Mina stumbled forward before catching her balance - and realized that he'd timed it perfectly. They'd stopped halfway between floors. The lift's roof concealed them from above, and if anyone entered the corridor below, the gate blocked the view of the lift's interior.

Damn him. Damn him." 

Oooooooh. Can't wait to see what happens next! What are you guys wearing this Halloween (or at any event in honor of the this lovely holiday)?

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<3CaroleRae