e-ARC, 480 pages
Release Date: February 27, 2018Published by: Balzer + Bray
Read from: February 14-21, 2018Stand-aloneSource: Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from the Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)For fans of: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Romance, Sparkly Covers, LGBTQ, YASeventeen-year-old Ana is a scoundrel by nurture and an outlaw by nature. Found as a child drifting through space with a sentient android called D09, Ana was saved by a fearsome space captain and the grizzled crew she now calls family. But D09—one of the last remaining illegal Metals—has been glitching, and Ana will stop at nothing to find a way to fix him.
Ana’s desperate effort to save D09 leads her on a quest to steal the coordinates to a lost ship that could offer all the answers. But at the last moment, a spoiled Ironblood boy beats Ana to her prize. He has his own reasons for taking the coordinates, and he doesn’t care what he’ll sacrifice to keep them.When everything goes wrong, she and the Ironblood end up as fugitives on the run. Now their entire kingdom is after them—and the coordinates—and not everyone wants them captured alive.
What they find in a lost corner of the universe will change all their lives—and unearth dangerous secrets. But when a darkness from Ana’s past returns, she must face an impossible choice: does she protect a kingdom that wants her dead or save the Metal boy she loves?
*MY THOUGHTS*
Looking over people’s reviews for this one, it was obvious, you either loved it or didn’t care for it. As someone who has been in a reading slump this month, I’m lucky enough to say I loved it!
“I’ll always come back for you. I promise you on iron and stars. It was more than a promise- it was an oath. Unbreakable. Strong like iron and steady like stars.“8%
Ana and her friends are outlaws. including the bot D09, her best friend. They always find themselves getting into trouble, especially when Ana & Co steal the coordinates to a lost ship that may have to potential to save her friend. But then an Ironblood beats her to it, everything begins to change and Ana realizes she doesn’t know half as much about her friends and all their lives as she thought.
“I’m sure they’d follow you to the ends of the stars,” the woman replied wryly, “that doesn’t mean you take them there.“16%
I kept reading that this has some Anastasia moments in it, and it made me realize that I had never seen it before. Ok, so ahead and throw tomatoes at me, but I think that’s the reason why I loved this so much. Everything that those who have seen it might have seen coming, I didn’t. And so when everything started to come out, I was shocked and didn’t see it coming. All those surprises caught me off guard and made me love the book so much more.
“May the stars keep you steady.” “And the iron keep you safe,” they echoed and dispersed […].“66%
I also loved the non-stop action. For the most part, it seemed as if it were a setup for the next book in the series (there is another book right?) but to me it was never boring. It felt a bit like a filler, but since there was always something intense or exciting going on, that made me forget that it was a filler. I can always tell when I love a book based on how many times I update my Goodreads and well, I updated it alot with this one lol
“Dvarek et su Lait. In Darkness We Shine.“45%
I was also really interested in the romances in this one. One was completely out of the blue and I found it super interesting that Poston went that route. It was unlike anything I have read and I was shocked when I read it. But let me tell you, that did NOT stop by ship from going down. My other ship sailed as well and I’m very happy with it. However, with both of them, I was NOT happy with the outcomes. But I’ll leave that alone to avoid spoilers.
“All stories are built from the bones of something true.”60%
But weirdly, what I loved the most about this book was the way it was written. For it to be sci-fi, I think I most enjoyed it because it was just sci-fi because of the updated technology and being in space and bots. I’m not a “sciencey” person, I usually gravitate (no pun intended) towards sci-fi books that seem light on the science. And since this one didn’t go too in-depth with it, I really enjoyed it. I can see where this may not be for some people, but because it merely talked about it, it helped me to love this.
“Because I will follow you anywhere,” he insisted. “To the ends of the galaxy, if I have to. I want to exist where you exist, and that is enough.“82%
However, the one thing I DIDN’T care for was….. the world-building. Since space or the Iron Kingdom isn’t a place I’d likely visit, I wanted to see more of the world. Poston merely glanced over the details of the palace and outside the Kingdom, only enough to get by. I would have loved to see more of their world.
“But… if there was a way for you to forgive me, no matter how long it takes, would you let me? Will you let me try to be worthy of you?“97%
When I love a book I find that I can talk FOREVER about it. Clearly, this is one of those times. There was so much suprise and intrigue in this book with characters that made me fall in love with them. I can’t wait to see what else is going to happen in Ana’s world.
Overall, I give this
Yeahhh you and I had different experiences with this book. The ending was surprising through.