RECOMMENDED: The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook is $1.99.
If you've been a little curious about steampunk, you should buy this book. If you really like emotional and imaginitive stories with excellent worldbuilding skills on display, you should buy this. If you've been thinking about trying the Iron Seas series, but the price of the books both digital and paper was too high, I feel your pain, I have no idea what Penguin is smoking sometimes, and yes, you should buy this book. This is the first full-length novel in the series, and when you're done, there are more, including novellas, novels, and soon-coming digital stories as well. You can read a guide to the world of the Iron Duke at Meljean's website to see how she took our history and twisted it just a bit to create her world.
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.
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Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina is .99c right now. This book is first in the Magnificent Devices series, and has a 3.8 star average on GR. This book follows a young woman who is a gifted scientist through a divided society in an alternative Victorian era.
London, 1889. Victoria is Queen. Charles Darwin’s son is Prime Minister. And steam is the power that runs the world.
At 17, Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, was expected to do nothing more than pour an elegant cup of tea, sew a fine seam, and catch a rich husband. Unfortunately, Claire’s talents lie not in the ballroom, but in the chemistry lab, where things have a regrettable habit of blowing up. When her father gambles the estate on the combustion engine and loses, Claire finds herself down and out on the mean streets of London. But being a young woman of resources and intellect, she turns fortune on its head. It’s not long before a new leader rises in the underworld, known only as the Lady of Devices . . .
When she meets Andrew Malvern, a member of the Royal Society of Engineers, she realizes her talents may encompass more than the invention of explosive devices.
They may help her realize her dreams and his . . . if they can both stay alive long enough to see that sometimes the closest friendships can trigger the greatest betrayals . . .
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Cinder by Marissa Meyer is still $2.99. This is book 1 in the Lunar Chronicles, a YA fairytale retelling wherein Cinderella is a cyborg, and hated by many, including of course her stepmother. This book has a 4+ star average on GR with many breathless, happy reader reviews.
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing.
A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction.
Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
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Shadow Walker by LA Banks is $3.99 right now, and some of the reviews on Amazon say that for the length of the book, $4 is a steal. This is a paranormal YA dystopian novel which follows a young girl heading to a secret supernatural boarding school with huge expectations following her due to the fame and talents of her parents. That's a familiar setup for sure, but Banks was a very talented storyteller. If you like this, you can read about the main characters' parents in Banks' Vampire Huntress series.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world following the Armageddon, in Shadow Walker, the teenage children of the world’s Guardians of the Light must learn to hone their extra-sensory talents to one day join in the battle with their parents.
While they are secreted away in the Temt Tchaas Academy, (aka Neteru Academy), these students must learn to fight evil as well as learn to resist the temptation of fighting with each other. Although these young people have super powers, they still struggle with the same dramas and insecurities like any other high school student – and just because their parents may be superhuman doesn’t mean their parents are perfect. Far from it. That only makes life more confusing, as peer pressure, budding romances, decisions about whether or not to snitch, or whether or not to use one’s supernatural gifts for personal gain must be sorted out.
In this coming of age story, Sarah Rivera and her twin brother, Alejandro, must figure out when to use their wings or fangs, how to get along with their compound siblings, how to fit in with others in a huge new school, and perhaps most importantly, how to pick their battles to always fight for what is right.
Just a note to say that Lady of Devices is actually part of a four book “boxed” set on sale at Amazon right now for Kindle… for 1.99! If you’re interested in the series, for an extra buck you might as well get the other three. 🙂
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CE1P4CC/ref=s9_hps_bw_g351_i2
I liked the worldbuilding in The Iron Duke a lot, but I HATED that character. He felt way too much like a bundle of the worst alpha male tropes than, well, an actual character, and it felt like once the romance came into play, he undermined the female lead so much in everything she tried to do that she lost a lot of her effectiveness when she was supposed to be so brilliant and capable. It’s disappointing for me because I really did think the world concepts were amazing, but this was a big fat DNF for me personally.
Yaaaassss! I’m excited to finally read The Iron Duke. I’ve heard so many good things about it. I just hope the hero doesn’t annoy me the way he annoyed Dora, because I have a big ol’ hate on for alpha heroes. :-/
For those who liked the world building in Iron Duke but not the hero, try Brook’s book Rivited – same world, same great storytelling and use of language, very diff hero. One of my favs.
Heartily second CarrieS. Rivited really was the best. It is in my Bad Day Re-read queue because it has almost everything I love- action, adventure, great story and characters that I care about. Brook’s world building and story telling for all the books/novellas/etc.. was really well done.
While I didn’t hate iron duke, it’s my least favorite in the series. Riveted is great and I love love love heart of steel
I really liked The Iron Duke. Yes, he was an overbearing alpha, but I felt that he learned some important lessons in the course of the story. Certain scenes might have been triggery for some, but didn’t bother me. Mina actually came through as stronger than him in many ways. Also, for first time readers, The Iron Duke is the most comprehensive introduction to the world of the Iron Seas novels.
I thought I would really like Cinder but it was actually rather disappointing. I thought the world building was interesting but the fact that it was also an homage to/ripoff of Sailor Moon on top of being an adaptation of Cinderella made it move into weabooish territory for me and I just couldn’t take it seriously. And don’t get me wrong, I love Sailor Moon, but it was just too much.
If you’ve been thinking about trying the Iron Seas series, but the price of the books both digital and paper was too high, I feel your pain, I have no idea what Penguin is smoking sometimes
Yes!!! I’ve been lusting after Riveted ever since it came out. But I wasn’t about to pay $15 for trade paper and no way in H*LL am I going to pay $13 for an ebook. Now the MMPB comes out on April 1 at $8 and the ebook is STILL $13. Maybe I’ll get lucky and Penguin will lower the ebook price to at least match the MMPB price. That I could live with.
I quite liked Riveted (heroine was a little annoying but overall likable) but to me The Iron Duke is the best in the series thus far. I think Rhys makes sense even if he wasn’t exactly likable (and I will give you a lot of leeway if I can understand you). I actually bought the book even though I already read it because a) it was cheap and b) I have been wanting to reread it.
I believe that I got Lady of Devices free at one point because its on my kindle. I haven’t read it yet I might actually get around to it at some point. Cinder is in my wishlist so I’ll probably get around to eventually but it is pretty low down on my to read list.
I tried to read L.A. Bank’s Vampire Huntress series when it first started but I couldn’t get into (which made me sad as I love Urban Fantasy and I love seeing PoC characters in a genre I love). Though I did follow Ms. Banks’s career and was quite sad to hear about her illness and death.
I loved The Iron Duke. I know there are a lot of people out there who dislike Rhys but I loved him. He has no social manners and the things that he says often are blunt and awkward. What makes it forgivable is that he knows that he’s somewhat socially awkward and tries to learn how to be a little more sensitive for his lady love. Mina was such a wonderful character as well, she has her own personal issues she deals with and always comes out on top.
Another plug for the Lady of Devices series. The books are well written and each one contained several unexpected plot twists. There’s a sequel following the twin girls a few years later which is also pretty enjoyable.
I got caught up in Maljean Brook’s world. It is such a different world history, with politics and science and penny dreadful series all mixed up. Rhys is an alpha male, all the way. But to do what he did, which was brainless and gutsy, to achieve his hero status, he has to be dominant. There is one scene that is triggery. The thing is that he gets how much of an asshole he was/is. He continues to screw up, but each time, he grows a little less of a jerk. But Riveted is my favorite in the series. The ending made me cry because the hero’s emotions, and no I won’t spoil it. I’ve read all of the novellas but one. Since I’m not a fan of novellas, I came away from them as okay, but I’d rather have a full novel with secondary characters and more drama. Well, one of the novellas had enough drama to kinda make me happy. And yes, I’m waiting until August or October or whenever to read her current series, $1.99 per episode with a wait doesn’t do it for me.