Ironskin by Tina Connolly

 

So freakin’ disappointed in this one. I don’t even think it was the hype, which made it out to be steampunkish and so unique. It’s more of a fantasy/alternate history where WWI was fought with the fey.  It’s unique all right, but all the fantastic elements fall apart in the end.  It’s so very obviously a Jane Eyre-inspired piece which I didn’t know it was going to be going into the story.  I loved Jane Eyre and the romance in that book, but in Ironskin, the romance between Jane and Edward makes no sense. They spend no time together and Jane deciding she loved him seems to come out of nowhere.

The world was interesting, but the more I think about it, the more it kinda falls apart. Honestly, when the book was over, I felt more empathy for the fey than the humans. I’m fairly certain I won’t be picking up future books in the series. A creative world that falls apart upon inspection just doesn’t do it for me when there’s not even a good romance and interesting characters to prop it up.

Ironskin by Tina Connolly. A big fat dud.

Underwhelming romantic suspense

Finally got around to reading Maya Banks’ Echoes at Dawn. Here’s what I said at Goodreads:

I'm iffy about how I felt about this one. I read it fairly quickly, finishing in one night, yet I skimmed a LOT.
I just didn't get a sense of Rio and Grace actually falling in love. Maybe lust. And Rio....he talked too much. His speeches to Grace about healing and getting her telepathy back and whatnot just grew old after awhile.
I like the concept of this series, but I don't think it's working for me anymore. Makes me want to go back and read Linda Howard's Midnight Rainbow again. I want to read something like that again.

But now I’m in the mood for a good military romantic suspense. Help! I really like action and what something fast-paced. And no wimpy heroines. Grace, for all that we heard she was strong, was weak in this book.