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| Book cover via Amazon.com |
Let me preface this review with the fact that I do not generally like the young adult genre, or rather, I didn’t know until this book. You may agree with me, you may disagree with me, but [book: Twilight and all of its sequels soured me on Vampires entirely in literature for a while. When Fifty Shades showed up, I just was done with any ideas of going near it. Now I have friends who suggested dipping my toes in, but I was determined not to.
And then Amazon did a cute thing and said “Hey, you should read this because you like steampunk. It’s on sale!”
Thank you Amazon, and thank you, Bec McMaster. Kiss of Steel is excellent. It healed a lot of wounds that I didn’t know I was holding onto as a reader. Bec is a skilled and brilliant writer and was able to show a strong female character, with layers of vulnerability infused with strength. This very well written woman did not crumble against a male co-protagonist. He didn’t’ wave some magic ‘I’m a big strong dude’ wand and fix all the things. Instead, there was a lot of struggling on both sides, and this book reminded me of what is right about relationships. At the very end of the book, the female protagonist is still a healthy and vibrant woman, who I have respect for, and the male is not some shill who is pushed into becoming a spineless fool either. Bec wrote this book with balance!
Now, let’s get into the meat of the review! I'm going to try to not get into the spoilers here, but I do want to call out what is good, and what I wasn't as big of a fan of.
I know in my previous review I wrote a lot about the hook of the story. The hook of this story is well crafted, and I feel, it really sold me on the book.
The story is about the lovely but beaten down by life, Honoria Todd. Honoria has had one hell of a crappy year when the story starts, and is facing life in very unfamiliar circumstances, and trying to make her life work. She is a very stubborn woman, and slowly but surely she is pushed to a man that she initially does not like, nor does she trust. Over time though, she discovers he is a righteous person deep down, and worth believing. Set in a world of steampunk Victorian England, with elements of vampires and nobility issues, this is an exciting book with a lot of factors.
Honoria Todd is the main protagonist of the book, followed by Blade, the underworld king of Whitechapel. There also are some side characters, and what I like, a pair of exciting villains. The main villain, Vickers, is very realistic, and the one that hides in the shadows, The Prince Consort, is also realistic and frightening especially when he’s not doing anything. I feel he is an overall story villain, but he should be mentioned for providing fear to a moment.
The characters in this story are credible and realistic. In a lot of ways, Honoria’s stubborn behavior is something I am struggling with in my own life. It is challenging for a person who is trying to hold the world on their shoulders, to ask for help. Pride is one thing, but stubbornness and pride, save this woman from comfort and peace for far too long. It is only when rationality and the fact that she has no other choice but to trust, that it works.
I do not want to give any spoilers, even though this is an older book because I hope you read it. It’s excellent.
Of all the characters in this book, my favorite is not Honoria nor Blade believe it or not. Oh, I like them a great deal, but there was one character I want to see more out of, and that is Esme. That is one dynamic character, and she’s not going to let anyone push her around. Esme is one of Blade’s little-adopted family, and she is incredible.
I loved this book.
But that said there are some small critiques I have. This book does have some erotic parts in it. Now, remember back with what I said about Twilight and Fifty Shades? I’m not a fan of the erotica genre. Love scenes are in and of themselves perfectly reasonable and sometimes necessary, but I felt that there was a part of the book that was a love scene lasagna, and it was layer upon layer of love scenes. That’s my only critique. I don’t mind one or maybe two, but there were a lot, and I felt that it also was shoehorned in toward the end then stopped. That’s my only critique. If you enjoy steamy love scenes, you might love this part. For me, eh. I’m not a fan of them.
I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who loves adventure stories, or strong female protagonists, or anyone who likes a good tale of science and fantasy. Kiss of STeel very well written. The battle and fight scenes are believable and natural to see in your mind as you read them. Bec writes very well.
GET A COPY!!!
This book gets a 5 out of 5 for me. A book that makes me reconsider my opinions on what I read, and makes me eat my shoe over my stupidity, deserves it.
