Review: 4.5 stars - The world is amazing but the people in it really bring it to life
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2014
This episode finds Zenobia and the Kraken King in the Smuggler's Den, another vividly drawn corner of the Iron Seas world ...On the romance front, Ariq knows that Zenobia has secrets, so he tries to put distance between them - and fails miserably. As he continues to learn more about Zenobia and is determined to protect her, it is clear that his heart is not iron when it comes to Zenobia. The more I learn about this pair the more I love both Ariq, who is still a rebel at heart but fights in an entirely different way now, and Zenobia, who is cautious about those she lets close to her but is as unable to keep her distance from him as he is to her.This episode ends very well, can't wait for more.As a side note, I skipped the excerpts at the ends of Part I & II, since I'd already read the Iron Duke, but it was worth reading the one here for Heart of Steel because Zenobia appears and it was neat seeing her way back when.I originally received a complementary copy of this story for review but I also purchased my own copy (I had pre-ordered the entire serial eons ago, and at a third of the way through I can already tell that these are going on my keeper shelf:)