Meljean Brook

Was it just me, or did anyone else think there was no conflict in this story?

- It is revealed, through backstory, that at one point Archimedes was unable to have feelings, and so we understand, by being told about it, why Archimedes wanted to fall in love. Which he does, because he decided to do it. Uh, yeah. Good follow-through, dude.

- Yasmeen decides she will sacrifice Archimedes the minute he betrays or embarrasses her, but he doesn't, so she doesn't. And so she gradually falls in love show more with the guy who is always good to her.

- And, SPOILER ALERT: The bad guy is reasonable and so he just gives up at the end because it's the right thing to do. So, that's nice?

I have complained umpteen times about kickass heroines that never actually kick ass. And while Brook never sacrifices Yasmeen's kickass-ed-ness for the sake of the love story, I don't think she ever really put either character on the line either. They just kept suiting each other! They are the ulimate well suited couple! Yasmeen is afraid of Archimedes betraying or undermining her power and position? He intuitively understands and acts beta. Archimedes wants to adventure on and on, forever? Yasmeen won't stop him because she does too! And so, I felt, the whole story went, until our heroes ride off into the sunset together.

For an adventure story set in alterna-steampunk Europe filled with zombies and menacing nanotechnology, I never once felt like anyone was truly in any danger-- either emotional or physical. And to finally get to the last grand adventure, when Yasmeen and Archimedes are set to confront the Big Bad, and have him decide to abdicate his power because he is just so reasonable was just... so underwhelming! And a little undermining of all of the adventuring it took to get to there.

So, points for Yasmeen staying Yasmeen. But I can't say this book really moved me, especially compared to the emotional powerhouse that was The Iron Duke. show less

In [b:The Kraken King|15788727|The Kraken King (Iron Seas, #4)|Meljean Brook|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386056737s/15788727.jpg|21509319] (book 4 in the Iron Seas series) pulp adventure writer, Zenobia Fox, has had a target on her back ever since her brother acquired a fortune on one of his treasure hunts. Now anyone looking to make a quick buck knows that kidnapping her will easily get the ransom from her brother. Tired of living in fear and closeting herself away, Zenobia takes the show more chance to sail with her friend to Australia. But misfortune loves Zenobia as she quickly finds herself caught in the midst of a brewing conflict over a war machine and suspected of being a spy.

I’ll admit that I haven’t been following Meljean Brook’s “Iron Seas” series all that close. I read the first novel, [b:The Iron Duke|7864587|The Iron Duke (Iron Seas, #1)|Meljean Brook|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1409873492s/7864587.jpg|11022865], but didn’t have the urge to jump into the rest of the series. Now, however, I definitely want to go back and read the other books because The Kraken King was fantastic. It feels like Brook has a much better grasp on the world and where she wants to go with it than she did in The Iron Duke.

The Kraken King offers a new look at Brook’s “Iron Seas” world as we’re taken for a romp in a new setting. I was pretty impressed with all the different politics that Brook incorporated as Zenobia and crew traipse across the continent. It gave the impression that this is a country that is divided and barely hanging onto peace time. Adding to this was the turmoil of the war machine and how the burden of it has fallen onto just a handful of average people.

One thing that Brook continues to do right is that she doesn’t include past main characters from the series unless they serve a function to the plot. This is one area that a lot of long running romance series fail in. Often characters will be inserted into the story to show just how bright and shiny their lives are now, which drags the plot down. So, instead of dreading seeing past characters appear in Brook’s novels, I’m excited because I know they’re appearing for a reason. This was the case here as we got an appearance from Archimedes and Yasmeen ([b:Heart of Steel|10558533|Heart of Steel (Iron Seas, #2)|Meljean Brook|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1307582794s/10558533.jpg|14654952]).

All in all, The Kraken King was a lot of fun. Also, I don’t feel like I missed anything by skipping Heart of Steel and [b:Riveted|13409405|Riveted (Iron Seas, #3)|Meljean Brook|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331346129s/13409405.jpg|18643874] to get to this one. Can’t wait to see what Brook will come out with next. show less

I have not had so much fun reading in a long while. People describe stories as fun. Fun is a highly under-appreciated word. "Oh, the beach was fun." or "Girls night was fun." or "Why did I drink so much...wasn't that fun?" Normal fun. Average fun.

No. This story was capital F.U.N. kind of fun. The best kind of FUN. Im Now A Bonafide, Die-Hard, Meljean Brook Fan kind of FUN.

Farging Unbelievablyawesome Novella kind of FUN.

Even though this story was broken into 8 vol, novella sized parts, I show more devoured each ebook volume as soon as I could get my hands on them. (mad props to my local library)

If you like piratey, steampunkey, romancey adventures, this is a must-read.

I enjoyed every twist of phrase. Adventure buried in rapidly turning pages. Development of character, of story arc. Flowing sentence of whimsy and invention. I cannot say enough positive things about this book.

I have the paper and ink book preordered for my very own this coming November. Its a keeper...a fun one. show less

Fourth book in the Guardians series and its Jake's! I adored Jake in [b:Demon Night|1543965|Demon Night (The Guardians, #3)|Meljean Brook|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1280028953s/1543965.jpg|1536223], so I was thrilled that the next book in the series was his. Jake is one of the younger angels. Turned during the Vietnam War and let out of his training early, Jake is a little more enthusiastic than the older guardians. He often lets his mouth run away from him and is forced to pay five show more dollars to Ethan for saying something offensive. In this story, he starts working with the guardian Alice. During her human life, Alice made a bargain with a demon that she would bring him Micheal's heart. Fearful of being forced into fulfilling that bargain, Alice has never gotten close to many of the other guardians. At the beginning of this story, Alice's fears are being realized. The demon has gotten impatient for Alice to finish their deal and Alice is getting desperate to find a way out of it.

I really adored this entry in the series. Jake's out-going and enthusiastic nature was a great contrast to the modest introvert that was Alice. Watching Jake get attached to Alice and having to constantly pay her five dollars for saying stupid shit was pretty amusing. Alice's treatment for hysteria during her mortal life was morbidly fascinating, as was the lingering impact it had on her. The only reason why this isn't getting a full five stars is because the main plot featuring the bargain seemed to get a little lost in the middle of the story. Jake and Alice get stuck in hell for a little bit and while it was interesting, it was a little jolting getting back to the main plot on Earth. The time spent in Hell was important though. It was just more important to the over-arching plot of the series rather than the one focused on in this particular book. We also got a lot more background on Michael in this story and I love him even more now. I can't wait to see what Brook does for his book. show less