Novella Review – The Kraken King Part V: The Kraken King and the Iron Heart (The Iron Seas, Book 4.5) by Meljean Brook (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Size: 102 pages
Publisher: InterMix
Release Date: May 13, 2014
ASIN: B00HZ1E67K
Stand Alone or Series: Book 4.5 in the Iron Seas series
Source: Bought
Rating: 5/5 stars
This is the fifth part at the eight part installment release of the Kraken King. The Kraken King with the 4th book in the Iron Seas series by Brook. I continue to enjoy this series a lot. Although the novellas always feel pretty short.
Zenobia is being held captive by the marauders who attacked Krakentown, while Ariq is forced to help these same men find the weapon Skybreaker. However, Ariq has no intention of showing them where Skybreaker is and is determined to escape and rescue Zenobia. Zenobia is certain Ariq will rescue her, but when she loses that she holds most dear, she decides that she will rescue herself.
This book was back to the action-packed plot of the first two parts. I was so happy to have all of the action back. Watching Ariq and Zenobia deal with their subsequent captures and escapes was exciting and wonderful fun.
Ariq is stunning in his daring and loyalty to Zenobia. He is truly the Kraken King and you see that more in this novella than in any of the previous ones.
Zenobia grows a lot as a character in this book. She’s been kidnapped and held for ransom a number of times, but this time is the last straw. She decides that she needs to rescue herself for once. She is a wonderful heroine; she is a lady and a bit of a dreamer, but she has a core of iron when she has too. I was really impressed with her as a character in this book.
In addition to the exciting action, there are some amazing new sights that Zenobia sees. I was enraptured by the jellyfish air balloon, some of the scenes in this world are just so creative and magical. There were also some exceedingly well done romantic scenes between Ariq and Zenobia, Brook does such a great job with making characters that have great chemistry and are completely engrossing.
Overall this was my favorite installment in this serial book so far. I absolutely loved it. Tons of action, interesting new steampunk creations, and wonderfully engaging characters made this an absolutely engaging read that was over way too fast. I am not a huge fan of the serial novella style here and in the future I will wait to just read the final book when it comes out. However I am really enjoying this story, I just hate having to stop just when I get involved in it again. This whole series is highly recommended to those who love steampunk stories with some romance.
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Ebook Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge