Brook, Meljean. The Iron Duke. 2010. New York: Berkley, 2012.
Mass Market Paperback | $7.99 USD | ISBN-13: 978-0425244265 | 440 pages | Steampunk Romance
3.5 stars
The Iron Duke was Book of the Month in one of my book groups, and Meljean Brook had been on my radar for a while, so I decided to finally give it a shot, despite reservations I may have had, mostly pertaining to the alpha hero. Those mostly turned out to be (largely) unfounded, however, I did find myself much more interested in the world building than the romance.
Because this world is wonderful. Not having read much steampunk aside from Nancy Campbell Allen’s stories, I did not know what to expect, but I loved that it went beyond the incorporation of steampunk tech into a Victorian environment, with a smattering of supernatural creatures, to full-on alternate history territory. Between the hints of past events given in the text of the book itself and the deeper history on Brook’s website, which included a revised world map to acknowledge the Horde’s continued presence,. I found myself fascinated with everything she had created, bringing something completely new to the genre.
And the secondary characters were intriguing. I enjoyed Yasmeen and what I got to see of her, and I can’t wait to read about her own adventure in the next book, especially since that one was recommended by more than one person in my book groups.
However, while I did not find Rhys a horrible hero, I didn’t find him and Mina all that compelling either. I did like Mina a bit more than Rhys, given that she’s definitely a kick ass heroine and can handle herself with him. And Rhys does improve in terms of his alpha behavior coming on a little less intensely later in the book, but I still did not feel much in the way of positive feelings for him.
I think fans of alpha heroes might enjoy this one for the romance a little more than I did, especially if they also happen to like stories with great world building. And even if they don’t like the former, the well-crafted nature of the world and the promise of the series improving is impetus to at least give this one a chance to try it.
Courtney Reads Romance 