House of Steel

Unraveled #1

by Raen Smith

Life has a way of coming undone. One single moment can set the undoing in motion, unraveling our neat, tiny stitch of life. For young art professor Delaney Jones, the treacherous spiral begins when she makes one unforgivable mistake - she sleeps with her student. Her silent Wisconsin winter turns deadly after she witnesses the brutal murder of a man she had fought hard to forget. As Delaney battles to deal with the undoing of her tight-stitched life, the small liberal arts university is devastated by the discovery of a bloody crime scene on campus. A mysterious text entangles her in the violent scandal, and Delaney must follow the rules of the anonymous messenger to stop the perpetuating descent toward death. But the line between good and evil is blurry. And maybe, just maybe, there is no line at all.

Genres: Romance, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Crime

324 pages, Paperback

First published June 23, 2013

About the author

Raen Smith is the author of the Unraveled Series and Southbound Surrender. She loves writing about complex characters with a sprinkling of happily ever after.

When she isn't writing novels, she spends her time wrangling two small sons and teaching at a technical college. She lives in a small corner of Wisconsin with her husband and two sons.

Visit Raen Smith's website, Facebook page or follow Raen on Twitter.

Reviews

[Alizon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could go on continuously about what I loved about this book, however I'm not a fan of spoilers and I don't think I'd be able to do it without them. Therefore, I'll leave just that the intrigue alone kept me flipping the pages of this book! There were also things that I absolutely did not see coming. I can't wait for the next book!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was first approached to review this novel for the author I knew it was going to be a book I really enjoyed and I was 100% correct. House of Steel was one of those books that just blew me away with the writing and since I loved it so much I am going to be intentionally vague and avoid any spoilers in my review.

House of Steel is a wonderful thriller, and I'm glad to see a woman writing in a genre that while it has some great stand out female authors it is still dominated by men. Raen Smith is a prime example of how well female authors can pen excellent, heart pounding gorey thrillers.

Anyway, when I read the novel it had been ages since I read a thriller so when I picked this one (and the one that follows it) up to read I was jonesing for a read that would have me on the edge of my seat and this one totally did. I loved how the author was able to weave so many different things into the plot of the book and make everything come together so cohesively that I couldn't help but love it.

The characters, were actually a lot more well developed than I thought they would be. I thought this would be more of a plot driven thriller but the plot as well as the characters equally made the book as good as it was. I liked that the characters actually had some very good development to them and I ended up rooting for Delaney a lot more in the end than I would have thought when I first started the book.

Overall, I thought that Raen Smith put forth a fantastic debut novel with complex characters and a fascinating, engaging plot that kept me guessing and kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning. I loved the violence and the gore and I thought that it was great to see a female author writing in the genre.

I would recommend House of Steel to fans of darker thrillers who want to show their support for a fantastic indie author.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my free and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are 100% my own.

[Hayley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was confusing from start to finish. Delaney, our main character, was indecisive and generally a bit stupid. A big deal was made out of her traumatic past (she was raped at the age of 14), yet, the line between that event and her future/current behaviours was not very clear or logical. I didn't like her at all and found her a difficult main characters to sympathies with.

The writing style was repetitive, and as it was written in third person there were a lot of times where I was confused as to which 'she' or 'he' was being referred to. The writing style could have been improved greatly in some places. I also didn't understand why Delaney always thought of her parents as 'Micheal Jones' or 'Ann Jones' - always with the last name. Why? I knew who they were and it made no sense. It made Delaney seem like an outsider to her own family, but she didn't act like that was the case and they didn't treat her like that.

They mystery at this centre of this story was also not particularly interesting and, in the end, not resolved. I understand this is a series and so there needs to be suspense heading into the next book, but at least some of the key mystery (i.e. what the hell does Holsten Parker want with Delaney?) could have been answered. Instead, more confusion and question, and no feeling of closure and resolution at the end. So I will not be continuing with this series.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so lost... The premise was interesting but it was just, I don't know how to describe it. I just wanted to bang my head by the end cause absolutely nothing was cleared up. I know there is a second and third book, but it would have been nice to just get a morsel of how these people and story lines are connected.

[Kristin Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

So loved this book! So suspenseful! There is so much mystery and intrigue and a lot of "What the hell is going on" moments. I could not put it down!

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was a little disorganized in the beginning. There were a lot of characters introduced as well as a lot going on. I don't like to give up on any book so I continued and it got a lot better and seemed like a good mystery.

However, this book "unraveled" to become a cliff hanger. I was disappointed that once again, some authors continue to write series books without the reader knowing it would have a disappointing ending. Please let readers know this is a series that requires the reader to purchase more books.

I sometimes like to read series books but at least let us know up front. This is the reason for my low rating.

[Erinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars because I liked the location... quite frankly though, I don’t know why the main character wouldn’t question a posh job at a university fresh out of school or risk it for a one night stand. I also don’t think a family would simply accept without question life-saving cancer treatment and fly to a new center for treatment when the patient is too ill to hold a book. I really didn’t understand the pink heels and corset our main character was instructed to trip around in while “fleeing” the enemy either. In short, a lot of this made no sense, editing was lacking, and none of the “revelations” were particularly rewarding.

[Connie Bredernitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Great book. Very good story. Not the usual same story. My pet peeve did raise its ugly head. Very poor proofreading and/or editing. Verbs seemed to pose a major problem. Really looking forward to book 2.

[Anny hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

******** I receive an ARC copy of this book for an honest review ********

Holy smoke this is the first book that i read from this author, and i did not think that i was gone like it at all.
Well think again i love it, and when i say that i love it a mean it, this book is feel with so much suspense, and drama that it’s not even funny. This story had me seating at the edge of my seat, when i started reading this book i did not know what to expect. I love it how you could read it from both point of view, while reading through this book i just kept on wondering who the second person is since they did not give you the entire name just one letter. Half way into the book i finally got a full name and that just had me more intrigue. The more i read it the more i wanted to know i love this book.
I love the characters in this story, love how well they play their part and how they all end up connecting with each other. i really had a great time reading through this excited, action, drama and twisted story cause yes when i though i had everything figure out of this book just kept twisting the story.
I love the character of Delaney jones, she an art professor, she has her own house, and she likes the quiet life she has in Wisconsin. I love how strong she is mentally and physical and how she doesn’t give up when it time to fights back.
I love the character of V, now let me just say that v is fast, strong, and smart. Doesn’t take crap from nobody and have e thing in mind. And you just gone have to find out for yourself.
I just want to say thank you to author Raen Smith, for introducing me to your amazing twisted world, and wonderful characters and book can’t wait to read more of your books

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED "House of Steel." I cannot believe this is Raen Smith's debut novel as it's one of the most intriguing novel of suspense I've come across in quite some time. Checking out novels of the same genre on Amazon I just happened to come "House of Steel" and thought I'd give it a try, and I'm so glad I did as it's an absolute gem. Just a couple of chapters in and that was it, I couldn't let it go. I kept reading to the very end finishing it off in one sitting. I needed to know the "who," "what," and "why" of it all; I just had to get to the heart of the story. As I read on I kept thinking how bizarre and atypical "House of Steel" was in comparison to so many other novels of suspense that I've read. Smith does a terrific job weaving a labyrinth of narratives that kept me guessing at each turn, all of it culminating towards the end leaving you with the sense of gratification of reading a great story. I loved the characters and was surprised at how well-developed they were, and how likeable some of the characters turned out to be. Everything about the novel was not what it seemed, always keeping me in the dark never knowing what's around the corner.

In the end, I highly recommend this novel to all lovers of the suspense-thriller genre. It's currently listed for "free" on Amazon so there's no excuse for you to miss out on this well-written, intriguing and spellbinding novel that will grab you hook, line, and sinker. I hope you end up loving it as much as I do.

A quick FYI: "House of Steel" is not a stand-alone book. The story continues with book 2, "House of Fire," and book 3 "House of V" - both of which I've already downloaded.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll admit that it took me a while to get into this book. It was a little slow moving at first as the characters and their situations were introduced. I stuck with it though and I’m glad that I did. Once all of the necessary introductions were out of the way the tension started to mount and continued to build until the story reached it’s thrilling climax. It had mystery, intrigue, twists, turns and plenty of “I don’t know who the heck to trust anymore!” moments. It was well written, well thought-out, and incredibly hard to put down. After finishing the novel I had so many unanswered questions that it would have driven me crazy having to wait to read the second book. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to be able to dive into the second novel immediately (more on that later!). I was amazed when I read that this was actually Raen Smith’s debut novel. When I checked out her Goodread’s page I was expecting to see a long list of credits to her name and there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll all be hearing a lot from her in the future. My only warning about this novel is that there is blood, gore, and a scene that could be triggering to sensitive individuals. In short, this is not a book for the faint of heart. But it’s sooooo worth reading!

NOTE: I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for my honest review.

[Louise Cable · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a competition, its not the type of book I usually read however I'm always happy to give anything a go!!

It was slow starting for me to get into this and with a few storylines going on at the same time it took some following and I had to stop myself from trying to either jump ahead or guess what was going to happen and just read.

I'm so glad I did, the further into the book I got the more I enjoyed it and when it all came together well I had an inkling what it was and I was partially right but not to the fully extent revealed and there is still more to come!!!

Looking forward to reading the next installment now....

If you like a book that gets you thinking, like a bit of mystery & numourous storylines that come together then go get this I think you'll enjoy it x

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

House of Steel was hard to get into at first, it just started off slow. However, it didn't take too long to pull me in. It was a enjoyably confusing. There were characters you hated (like Gunner) and ones you were hoping would make it. I was constantly trying to figure out everyone's secrets and motives which there seems to be many. Especially Holston's. I did guess correctly regarding V and Delaney's connection. There is still so much to figure out and more characters entering that I want to know more about. I defiantly plan to continue the series.

[Jen Newby · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book. It's like a puzzle. All the pieces were laid out and gradually put together piece by piece. I liked how stuff you wanted to know right away was revealed yet there was still enough mystery to keep you intrigued. I hate how some books keep everything hidden until the end. There is still a lot to this story that books 2 & 3 will reveal. But for now I'm content and loved how it's all coming together. This is written well.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Iva Readit for Kota's Book Kollection

"The dialogue is brilliant and captures each character flawlessly which really brings each scene contained within the story to life. The plot is riveting with twists and turns, which at times are predictable, but at other times not so much, that it gives it a more realistic and believable storyline." - Iva

For full review Visit

http://kotasbookkollection.blogspot.c...

[Alisa Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book five stars as the story really captivated me to read and not sleep or eat or tend to housework. What i most enjoyed was the developement of each character and as the story went on how each character was center to ther story and related in one way or another to each other. Whether it was friendships that were years old, to blood relationship, or a working relationship, or a love relationship. I immediately read book 2 House of Fire and it was equally as good.

[Marlene]

Just started reading this book and am already irritated with the grammar. The first time could be a mistake, but there are two places within the first few pages where the word "passed" was used instead of "past".
Example: "The penetrating gaze looked passed the couple embracing ..."

I'm looking forward to reading the story, but glaring mistakes like these, like ads in the middle of a movie, can be very annoying.

[Lexie Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit of mystery a little bit of scandal oh and murder! Not everyone is perfect but when the Delaney has a one night stand with a student and private calls with certain gentleman it makes for one sticky situation. It is nice to see the secrets of the families come spilling out and you start rooting for one of the main characters V to put it all together and solve why this is happening. Fun and catchy read that is set up perfectly for the sequel.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I found it very difficult to put down. I was so intrigued by the suspense and just wanted to find out what was going to happen next.

That being said... I found many parts of this book very confusing. I sometimes got lost in the train of thought of the characters and it didn't always seem consistent. And as others have pointed out, not a lot was cleared up in the end. I'm excited to see how the next two books go.

[Narada · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books was actually to start and buck up the story and with a few storylines going on at the same time it took some following and I had to stop myself from trying to either jump ahead or guess what was going to happen and just read.

Glad I finally made it, it was well written and pilot I have read recently.

[Kelly Mccurdy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was hard for me to get started. But once I did get it started, I loved it. There were some slow parts in it, and a ton of inner dialogue. After you get past the inner dialogue, then the story really moved. There are twists and turns in the book that you don't see coming until they are right in front of your face. Raen writes beautifully and I can't wait to read more of her work!!

[Kathy Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book.... My book club votes to read this book for our December book. I finished in one day.... I won't go into too many details, I don't want to spoil it for my book clubbers. But the constant mystery that surrounds Delaney, following her every move and knowing all about her past and present! The suspense is well..... Suspenseful! I MUST READ! Can't wait for book 2!

[bill robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lousy ending

Good story and lots of twists and turns but the end made no sense at all. To write a book with an expectation that the reader buy the next installment to find out where the story goes does not set well with me. I want know how it turns out because I want be buying the next book.

[Bobbi Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book! It is so suspenseful and full of crazy twists! First book I read in awhile that I wanted to just keep reading to see what happened next! And this is a local author too! How exciting is that!? Cannot wait for book 2!

[Cathi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Actually, I couldn't finish this. This book made no sense at all. The editing was nonexistent. I think the author never made it past 9th grade. I got this free on kindle, it wasn't worth what I paid for it. Don't read this book.

[Anne Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was entertaining and had some suspense. I liked it and will someday read the sequel.

[torque · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite all the action and intrigue in the book, I couldn't get into it. To me it feels there was no story here to tell. I still might read the sequel though.

[SthTx Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, quick, action-packed read..

[Justine · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW, it's not often you get a AMAZINGLY good free book..but I must say..I LOVED this book! It did start kinda slow..however..it becomes a story you can't put down. Definitely worth reading.

[Cindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The twists and turns never stop coming. Suspenseful. This book will keep you on your toes.