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The Iron Duke (Iron Seas, #1)

Meljean Brook

Start date: August 1, 2011

Finish date: August 31, 2011

Discussion: Book of the Month

Why we're reading this: Steampunk voted BOM
Discussion Begins 1 August
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Book of the Month

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* BOM: Group Read History [2025]
By Steph , Serious series addict · 10 posts · 22 views

last updated Sep 27, 2025 10:28PM

* BOM: Comments & Suggestions
By Steph , Serious series addict · 38 posts · 229 views

last updated Mar 15, 2012 06:15PM

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What Members Thought

May 13, 2011 Thenia rated it liked it

Shelves: series, romance, reviewed, 2014, r-ab, historical-romance, steampunk

An original story that I'm not quite sure how to review.

I was drawn into the story at first, wanting to know more about both the strong and unusual heroine (view spoiler) and her strange world. Then I was curious about the iron duke, his myth and what kind of person would have such a nickname and why. The various devices were also quite interesting and I was looking forward to seeing where the story went.

There came a point where th ...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Christal rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance, dystopian-post-apocalyptic, multiple-leads, alt-history, steam-punk, pi-detective-cop, disappointing, shady-government-agency, vaginal-fantasy-hangout, pirates

I didn't really care for this one. While it isn't awful, it didn't suck me in or make me care about the characters very much. To me, the beginning was slow and clumsy, the middle picked up but had some "romance" elements I didn't care for, and the ending was just a disappointment.

I liked the world-building Ms. Brook created, but I felt like the first chapter was a horrible introduction. The steampunk elements were interesting, but at times a bit overdone. I still don't see why there was nanotec I didn't really care for this one. While it isn't awful, it didn't suck me in or make me care about the characters very much. To me, the beginning was slow and clumsy, the middle picked up but had some "romance" elements I didn't care for, and the ending was just a disappointment.

I liked the world-building Ms. Brook created, but I felt like the first chapter was a horrible introduction. The steampunk elements were interesting, but at times a bit overdone. I still don't see why there was nanotech in a steampunk novel. That is something you normally find in cyberpunk or scifi. The fact that the city's buildings and houses were crumbling but there were so many people walking around with advanced metal grafts and body parts didn't really make sense. Complaints aside, I still like the alternate history that was created and wished that had been the focus of this novel instead of the romance.

Mina is our leading lady and I really liked her most of the time. She was strong and smart, she had a firm sense of self, and she wasn't afraid to take help when she needed it. All in all, a very likeable heroine. The Iron Duke, one of the many names he is called throughout the novel, was our main man. I hated him. He was an awful character and quite a bit rape-y. He really dragged this book down. The characters that I liked most were Scarsdale, the always drunk dandy best friend of the Duke, and Yasmeen, captain of an airship, Lady Corsair. If I read the next book, it will only be because Yasmeen is the lead character and the male lead, Archemedes Fox, seems totally different from the Duke (thank goodness).

The novel started out slowly and then picked up when Mina and the Duke had to leave on a mission. This was the interesting part, political intrigue, assassination, threats from the evil league of evil, a complicated rescue mission, and a kraken. The only things that brought it down for me were the romance elements. I don't like the Duke as a character and I don't find his interactions with Mina very sexy. (view spoiler) After this incident, I was done with their relationship. I wonder if Ms. Brooks was too because it wasn't really developed further than sex. Also, their HEA seemed to come out of nowhere because these two characters surely couldn't communicate with each other.

The ending also lost me. Everything seemed to be solved too easily. It was as if Ms. Brooks gave up on the actual conflicts and just focused on the sex scenes. Then she remembered she had to tie up the loose threads so 1, 2, 3... done. I was disappointed.

I really liked the world that was created in this novel and the character of Mina, but the romance and the character of the Duke really diminished my enjoyment. Like I said earlier, I might delve into the next novel, but only because the Duke is not the main character. Hopefully, he won't open his mouth in it at all. ...more

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Jul 05, 2011 Charlotte (Buried in Books) rated it liked it

Shelves: paranormal-romance, steampunk

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 06, 2012 Christina (AKA Babbling) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-books, part-of-a-series, favorite-series, 2012

(SOS Bingo Round 4, Team 4 & x-post to blog)

Skimming some of the reviews, just before I began reading this book, I was almost convinced not to even start it. Steampunk is relatively new to me. I'm pretty sure I haven't read any, and some of those reviews had me wondering whether I'd like this author's take on the genre. I've read science fiction and fantasy, so I knew I could do the "suspension of belief" bit and hopefully understand the world she created with minimal confusion. Even so, I went ...more

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Mar 05, 2011 Lara rated it really liked it

Grrrrr........needed a little change and this was definitely a good one!! Too good, now I don't know what I feel like picking up next. I think the only time I exited out of my kindle app while reading this story was when I was driving - lol, definitely a page turner and I was through it before I even knew it! ...more

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