I checked out Meljean Brook‘s The Iron Duke and Heart of Steel from my local library.

About the book:

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.

Review:
Oh, this was marvellous! I adored just about every aspect of it. Mina is a wonderful action-oriented heroine. The Duke is a great alpha hero. (He does come across as a little too alpha, borderline rapey in the beginning. But it’s also kind of fun seeing him learn how not to be that way.) And the side characters, they’re also amazing.

There are all the expected steampunk elements–mechanical men, zombies, kraken, airships, etc. There’s a very intricate and intriguing dystopian world, exotic local and romance.

But I also really appreciated that the book is adult themed. Not erotica or anything like that, but it explores some very dark human elements and a lot of people in it have a history of abuse. This was all handled without feeling extraneous to the plot or pointlessly titillating.

Plus, there are real, grown up main characters. She is almost 30 and he’s past his mid thirties. I appreciate not having to imagine 21 year olds with the bearings and life experience of older characters. Much better to just be given an appropriately aged character in the first place.

There was a bit of insta-love. I could have done without all Mina’s tears in the end and some of the ‘misunderstandings’ were cliché  and predictable.  But my final says is *winner.*

About the book:

The Iron Duke introduced the gritty, alluring adventure of the Iron Seas, where nanotech fuses with Victorian sensibilities—and steam.

As the mercenary captain of 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 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.

Review:
Well, we have another winner! I very much enjoyed Yasmeen and Archimedes’ story. Yasmeen was a great, strong female lead and Archimedes was like an anti-alpha. The man had some definite subby tendencies that I found adorable.

Though the world-building is as impressive as in the first book, I didn’t feel the plot was quite as expansive. Therefore, I wasn’t as wowed here as I had been with The Iron Duke (though I still really liked it).

I also thought Yasmeen’s attitude toward Archimedes seemed to shift suddenly and without a lot of clear reasons, especially considering how vested she was in not falling in love. Plus, as I’ve seen frequently in romances, the deeper in love she fell the weepier she became. This especially annoyed me as she was otherwise so…well, not unemotional, as she’s passionate and full of emotion, but also not one inclined to the softer emotions. Tears seem drastically out of character.

Despite a few little niggles, I’m in love with this series and hope my local library gets the rest of the series.