So, first off, this is drunk book review, so swearing and general incoherence is going to be an issue. If you want a more cogent review you should check out others, like Elizabeth's or Lightread's or Kat's. It's possible I'll make those into links, but not likely. We'll see.

The alternate history in this book is pretty amazing. So amazing that I I spent a lot of time ignoring the weird rape fantasy stuff that was going on in the foreground. I totally didn't intent to start talking about the rape More...

This is the third novel I've read belabelled Steampunk and so far it is the best.

Unlike Clare's rendition of Clockwork Angel, Brook's The Iron Duke doesn't nervously flirt with Steampunk but wantonly embraces it like a Steampunk addict chasing after its next hit.

Similarly to Carriger's Soulless, The Iron Duke is heavy on romance though with far more satisfying love scenes and lacking in the supernatural, paranormal element.

No, Brook understands Steampunk and she executed it well, creating a worl More...

I won this ARC in a contest at Dear Author.

I have a confession to make... I was afraid to read this book. I have a serious love affair with this author's Guardian series. I mean, how many of my Goodreads friends did I nag into reading it lately? Five? I know they finally broke down and read it just to shut me up, but that's okay, because they loved it anyway and I got more people to talk about it with. So, I was afraid something would happen and I wouldn't be able to get into the new series and More...

zombies. kraken. pirates. automatons. marriage reform. nanotech. mongols. just another classic steampunk romance, right? or maybe not - this is my first one.

it was crazy - none of the other bodice rippers wanted to read the shapeshifter romance!! come on guys!!shapeshifters!!! romance!!! i am so curious about the mechanics of it, but i am not going to read one without the protective cloak of the rest of the rippers.

so -steampunk...

i mean, honestly, there wasn't anything wrong with this book; i More...

Hordes! Buggers! Bounders! Frenzy, oh my!

What a world. It took a while for me to understand this extremely imaginative world, but I enjoyed every moment of this book.

The Iron Duke portrays an alternative history in a very different Europe. The Horde controls people through nanotechnology. People, especially those living in polluted London, are infected with these agents because they have healing properties. When certain radio frequencies are transmitted, the infected people, known as the Bugger More...

All my life, I thought I liked pirates. I thought I found the romantic visions of them (stealing from the rich, burying treasure) appealing, as well as the more true-to-life accounts of the mutinies and murders. The romanticism of pirates, to me, made pirate romances seem romantic. But, as it turns out, pirate romances make me feel kind of ill.

Raping and pillaging is great when it is fictional and former never actually happens, but pirates in romances always have to stop themselves from raping. More...

Dear dad,

I know you follow and read my goodreads reviews, which I appreciate, really, but I just wanted to let you know that while this is a sci-fi/alternate history book that is pretty interesting in a lot of ways it is also a romance novel that I read for a book club and it has lots of VERY EXPLICIT sex parts that I might mention, explicitly, in this review. So it is ok if you don't want to read this one.

Sincerely, your son

The Iron Dukes sits at the intersection of everywhere and nowhere in More...

A few hundred years before the novel opens, the Asian Horde took over much of the Western world with a mix of force and superior technology. Lacking any navy of merit, they had to be a bit creative in their attack on Britain, choosing to smuggle nanoagents into the cheap sugar and tea they exported to the island nation. As the people ate and drank, they unwittingly infected themselves with tiny bits of self-replicating machinery. While the "bugs" made people stronger, hastened healing and allowe More...

"You may continue to call me inspector,"
"And you may call me Rhys.""I won't."
"Even when I'm in your bed?"
Mina dropped her hand to her gun.

"I agree. That was too brazen." he leaned in toward her, taking up too much space she could hardly draw. Breath. "I should have said my bed, yes?"

Who knew Steampunk, Zombies, Kraken, a feisty detective and a brazenly golden earring wearing gorgeous pirate could make for such an exciting and sexy read? Well I sure didn't! I should have never waited so long More...

Why does Germany get to have a cool cover???



@our cover: Dude! Put a shirt on!

I really have a problem with these typical shirtless dude covers. Could you get shallower than that? Buy a book just ‘cause a hot dude is on the cover. Book porn, that’s what this is…

My first thoughts when starting the book were (in this exact order):

A life without sugar!!! The horrooor!!!!

Pirates *droools*

Tahaeram or whatever wtf is that name?? I can’t even remember it! Why didn’t they call him Bob? That would be easy More...

I haven't loved a (urban) fantasy/steampunk/sci-fi/alternate history book in months, maybe longer. I haven't even liked one! I was beginning to think that all this time on goodreads, with the great recommendations and the discussions of Big-Fucking-Deal-books was turning me into a book snob of the worst sort and I would never enjoy a well plotted, alternate-something-fantasy story again. I didn't even like the latest Bujold book!

But then, through a series of events that are entirely my fault, I More...

Short review: this book rocked my world. Meljean has written a well-developed world with incredible steampunk technology and details, as well as characters and relationships that go beyond the surface. The only drawback to this book? There's not another ready for me to read RIGHT NOW!

Side note: it's not necessary to have read the novella Here There Be Monsters, which is in the anthology Burning Up, first, but you're going to want to read it after you read this book, just so you can revisit the More...

What I do like about romance novels is the belief that hurt people get better. That, somehow, people can change with a little love. I love that people start off broken and in the end they may actually have all their pieces taped back together. The difference between that and the marriage plot is the latter suggests that the reason the people are broken is because they aren't married yet. The woman is fixed (or saved) by marriage there. Marriage, in this sense, is just a giant band-aid, and I, fo More...

This book rocks my socks.

Action. Adventure. Mystery. Humor. Romance. Sexytimes. Fiercely determined and protective hero. Smart, loyal and courageous heroine. Wonderful secondary characters. NIFTY GADGETS.

Seriously, this book has it all.

This was my first steampunk read, and I loved it for all of the wonderful things I mentioned above. I found myself at work, glancing at the clock and looking forward to getting home so I could finish this book. The first 5-10 pages kind of throw you right into the More...

This book amazed me. I was reading an anthology called Burning Up and in it was a story called Here There Be Monsters and wow, did that writing rock my socks! I was a bit confused on a few points, but was so wow'd by the world and the characters that I immediately read The Iron Duke.

The world-building is complex, and intricate, and really really interesting. I think that the characters were really well-done, and I loved their romance. There was one scene where my eyebrows shot up, but I think it More...

I enjoyed this a lot, yet I still don’t feel like I really get steampunk. The worldbuilding seems largely based on “this is wicked cool and/or scary” rather than on a logical chain of events. I never did get how, in this obviously very sexist world, women get to be on the police force.

The book’s biggest strength is its heroine. Mina is brave, determined, caring, yet also vulnerable -- everything you would want in a cop, or a heroine. I found myself just a bit disappointed in Rhys, a fairly stand More...

I have never done steampunk before and I don’t know if I will ever go back there again, it seemed a bit grimey.
No not that “Grimey”
More like this


With all the pollution, dirt and I did not quite get the rules of fashion either. Do the ladies wear pants or gowns? Is Mina a rule breaker for wearing pants ??? Did everything have ruffles?
Anyways there were zombies, airships/balloons and Krakens why the Hell am I asking about ruffles?? These components make for a very interesting and exciting ro More...

Re-read 3/11 - Same reaction this re-read. I love the book, but the ending left me wanting more (and not necessarily in a good way). Cripes, is the next book out YET?

______________

Re-read 9/10 - I decided to do a quick skim-through of this novel before writing a full review for it, and ended up re-reading cover-to-cover. It was even better the second time.

I was more disappointed in the ending this time around. I think because I wasn't ready for the story to end. I wanted more; More Mina and Rh More...

Initial reaction: This book was exquisite. If I could give it 6 stars, I would. :o)

All I want to know is, what kind of peyote was this woman smoking when she dreamt up this amazing world? ^__^ It is proving exceedingly difficult for me to adequately express what it is about this book that makes me love it so. In fact, I can almost guarantee I won't be pleased with this review. ^_^ But I'll make mention of a couple thoughts in broad strokes.

...beginning with the world. Brooks' world(building) was More...

I enjoyed it a LOT, just one thing brought it down from 5 stars, which I will specify at the end. (BTW Has VERY racy scenes as a warning to the non-smutty lovers, but that wasn't my -1 star point haha)

I would give worldbuilding: 5 stars. The first chapter is a bit confusing, but the world that is spun out over the novel is ENDLESSLY interesting, one of the few books that has made me read SLOWLY to see what all the steampunk stuff really is about. FASCINATING history with the Horde and the nanobu More...

Audio was amazeballs. It took me a little time to get used to the narrator's accent, because she speaks very fast, and I am very Southern. But I loved it and was so sad when it ended. The audio was stellar. Just stellar.

4.5

What a wonderful start to a very rich and multi-layered new steampunk world! The book read like an urban fantasy story for the first half of the book, setting up the world and the lore and the alternative history. The second half of the book was full of action, adventure, swash buckling, air shipping, automata using, bad guy beating, all obstacle over coming romance.

At first the hero was difficult to like, but as the world filled out and my connection with the society, which was healing from More...

Based on Abigail's advice, I started with the anthology Burning Up. Meljean's contribution, my first experience in the world of the Horde, was immediately riveting. The Iron Duke itself is a meaty, satisfying book that I couldn't put down. Brook does a phenomenal job developing both the world and her characters. While I know it will be awhile before readers have an opportunity to pick up another in this series, I look forwared to filling the time between now and then recommending this book to ot More...

The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

I was not prepared for this book.

My expectation for a steampunk romance was based on The Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger. Those books are light-hearted fun, filled with kooky inventions and a no-nonsense heroine. The steampunk part of Carriger's world provides an entertaining and funky backdrop for the story. The humor is very tongue-in-cheek, right up my alley.

The Iron Duke couldn't be more different. While Carriger's world is political, it's also quit More...

I have to hand it to Meljean Brook. She created a wonderfully-detailed and fantastical world in this book. If a reader is wondering what 'steampunk' is, I will definitely point them towards this book. I was very impressed how she integrated nanotechnology into her world-building, and the nanotech fit very well in this universe. There are some aspects that seem rather dystopian, despite the fact that this is a Victorian-like setting. The use of robotic technology has some great applications, but More...

My review of The Iron Duke won’t do enough of justice. The entire time I read, my jaw was dropped in amazement. The Iron Duke has wowed me in some many ways. Meljean Brook is an author I’m loyal to, through and through. It’s a great feeling to have started with an author since the beginning of their writing career and watch them evolve and continue to astound with every single book they’ve written. The Iron Duke is mind-blowing in such a way that it may just turn the romance genre on its ear, in More...

Review to follow but I have to say one thing.


This is the book, this is the series, that is going to make Meljean Brook a superstar.

I'm going to give this book more stars than it deserves, probably because mostly i thought I was going to completely hate it and I didn't, plus it lead me to want to ignore a new genre, but more on that later.

Weird things people get to learn about me that relate to this book:

1. I'm a prude

Yes, yes I know, I'm a prude who has read a large portion of the french erotica writers, has a good knowledge of the early history of pornography (70s-80s my knowledge ends before I was born), and has no prob More...