Novella Review – Here There Be Monsters (The Iron Seas, Book 0.5) by Meljean Brook (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 125 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: October 1, 2013
ASIN: B00938UJYW
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Delirium series
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 5/5 stars
Print Length: 125 pages

“Two years ago, blacksmith Ivy, desperate to flee London, purchased her overseas passage by agreeing to spend the voyage in the bed of the pirate captain, Mad Machen. Saved at the last minute by his rival, Ivy scraped out a new life in Fool’s Cove…until Mad Machen finds her, forces her to accept a job that will create a monster, and reminds her that she still owes him the price of a journey…”

Once I started reading this story I realized that I had read it previously in the “Burning Up” anthology. It doesn’t matter I went ahead and read it again. This is an absolutely fantastic steampunk romance and I enjoyed reading it just as much the second time around.

I am not sure how Brook does it but this Iron Seas world is amazingly creative and engaging. The characters are fantastic too. I loved Ivy and her creative blacksmithing and Mad Machen is his noble bad-boy thing.

This story is just-written so well. Brook does a fantastic job of balancing world-building, character growth, romance, action, and plot. It’s just so incredibly well done.

Overall I would definitely recommend picking up this novella and reading if you are a fan of steampunk romance (or even just steampunk in general). This is a fantastic glimpse into the Iron Seas world and would be a great read even if you aren’t familiar with the rest of the series. Highly recommended.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge
– Pick Your Genre (Steampunk) Reading Challenge