#BookReview – “Heart of Iron” by Bec McMaster

Blurb 

In Victorian London, if you’re not a blue blood of the Echelon then you’re nothing at all. The Great Houses rule the city with an iron fist, imposing their strict ‘blood taxes’ on the nation, and the Queen is merely a puppet on a string…

Lena Todd makes the perfect spy. Nobody suspects the flirtatious debutante could be a sympathizer for the humanist movement haunting London’s vicious blue blood elite. Not even the ruthless Will Carver, the one man she can’t twist around her little finger, and the one man whose kiss she can’t forget…

Stricken with the loupe and considered little more than a slave-without-a-collar to the blue bloods, Will wants nothing to do with the Echelon or the dangerous beauty who drives him to the very edge of control. But when he finds a coded letter on Lena—a code that matches one he saw on a fire-bombing suspect—he realizes she’s in trouble. To protect her, he must seduce the truth from her.

With the humanists looking to start a war with the Echelon, Lena and Will must race against time—and an automaton army—to stop the humanist plot before it’s too late. But as they fight to save a city on the brink of revolution, the greatest danger might just be to their hearts…

Review

In the second book in the London Steampunk series, Lena Todd has left the rookeries of Whitechapel to carefully maneuver through the glamorous yet backstabbing world of the Echelon—the London aristocracy of blood-drinking blue bloods—and she’s constantly living in fear. She needs to make an advantageous match as a blood thrall to live a comfortable life in high society, but she just can’t go through with it. With her illusions finally shattered, she starts working for the underground humanist movement that seeks to elevate the status of humans in the city.

Will Carver is known and feared as the Beast. He’s the only free verwulfen (werewolf) in all of England and Scotland, but there’s a price on his head. When he’s asked by the Council of Dukes to help negotiate a peace treaty with the verwulfen from the Scandinavian Empire, he agrees if only the persecution of verwulfen in England would be outlawed. On the same night, he learns about Lena’s violent, unwanted suitor. They’re thrown together by circumstance. Lena teaches Will how to properly move throughout society, he protects her from those wishing her harm, and their attraction finally burns out of control.

I didn’t like Lena at first. She would flirt and play games with Will, not realizing how much her teasing actually hurt and upset him. I found it strange she even returned to the Echelon, knowing how horrible and cruel most of those people were, and that her life would most likely be in danger. She also kept a lot of secrets, which landed her in trouble. Once she finally wised up and trusted Will with her problems, I started to like her much better.

Will is a wonderfully tormented character. Plus, he’s a virgin! He hates being a verwulfen, but he also embraces the strength, power, and reputation that come from it, so he just feels torn up inside.

Three years have passed since book one. Blade, Honoria, Leo, and other great secondary characters return, and awesome new characters are introduced, like Mercury.

Though I enjoyed the story for the most part, the pacing was a little slow in the beginning but finally picked up. The descriptions are detailed and concise, not overblown and lengthy. I’m looking forward to reading more books in the series.

3 Stars

Disclaimer – I borrowed this ebook from the library. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.