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    The Iron Duke
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    The Iron Duke
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    The Iron Duke
    Audiobook13 hours

    The Iron Duke

    Written by Meljean Brook

    Narrated by Faye Adele

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    First in an all-new series where seductive danger and steampunk adventure abound in the gritty world of the Iron Seas.

    After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power-and fear-of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.

    But when Mina uncovers the victim's identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans-and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen, as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateNov 1, 2011
    ISBN9781101523186
    Unavailable
    The Iron Duke

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    Reviews for The Iron Duke

    4/5

    434 ratings55 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This novel's core strength is its heroines vulnerability & heartache- a policeman shunned by society for being conceived when her mother was essentially raped by one of the Horde, the people who had tyrannically ruled England until recently overthrown, by controlling them with a nano bug they had "infected" them with. I really felt for Nina.

      The romance of the book is with the Iron Duke, the roguish savior of England with a dark past. The romance was steamy and intriguing, but ultimately unsatisfying for me. Mina resisted the romance fiercely for most of the book. She had good reasons to do so, but it unnerved me a little, took some of the fun out of the romance, even though it was nice and steamy. And there were a few foolish understandings between them towards the end that annoyed me- they seemed too smart for some of their misreadings/actions.

      The steampunk concept of the book was creative and clever, and tied in well to various themes explored by the book. As with a lot of steampunk, I felt like the secondary inventions- airships, mechanical prosthetics, steel armour etc. Were a little underdeveloped, just sort of thrown in there without a good description or backstory. They did make for some nice action scenes though.

      Overall a good read- but better if you don't think about it too much, and take it in as something a step above a mindless action film/low-end romance, but not quite on par with your A-Grade fantasy/scifi.


    • 5/5
      I cant even begin to describe how much I loved reading the Iron Duke. I could not put it down. The only thing Im sad about is that the next Iron Sea's story wont continue Mina and Rhys story cause I want to read about them more.
    • 4/5
      Plot: 5 stars - I loved the plot. This book may be steampunk but it has zombies, nanobots, steam powered vehicles and airships. The world was amazing. I feel like Meljan Brook did such an amazing job building the world without shoving it in my face. Yes some of it was the usual romanticizing of Britain but in a work of fiction that doesn't really bother me.

      Romance stuff: 4 stars - I know some people claim the 'rape' in the book is terrible, but I personally did not feel like it was rape or whatever you want to call it. The other sex scenes in the book were really well done and tasteful.

      Heroine: 5 stars - I love how sassy and strong Mina is. There are a few moments where I wish she wasn't so strong and would have just confessed her feelings, but her character is that of a doing what is best for everyone not just herself.

      Hero: 4 stars - He's very alpha male type. I liked him still though. Rhys came off as a strong male mostly due to his youth and it made sense. He had a rough life and this was how he learned to act. I think we saw him grow a lot as a character throughout the book. By the end I really liked him as a character though.

      Total: 4.5 (leaning more towards a 5 for me)
    • 5/5
      Dude! You have got to read this... OK, so the whole steampunk thing was newish to me, and I absolutely loved it. This is like my 2nd book that is a steampunk type, and there's just something about the images that I come up with while I'm reading, that makes ecstatic about the book.

      It reminds me of one of my favorite TV shows, but instead of it being in the future with cowboyish feel, it's the whole old school, and crazy machines and flying ships, and ships, and pirates, and I'm intentionally rambling here. So there really is everything I said and more. There are so many mysterious people in this book, that you don't really learn too much about them until later, but you sort of get a sense about them.

      DUDE what is Yasmeen? I mean really, she's effing awesome. Really, I like she could get her own book. SHE'S LIKE A EFFING NINJA!
      And the mom, dude could you imagine growing up knowing that your mother did that... (my page 40 freak out, it was one of the biggest shocking moments in a book, that I've read, in a long time.)
      Hello, Skarsdale, he's interesting too. I would like to read more about him. He reminds me of another character, but I can't put my finger on it. He's constantly drunk, but very observant and always aware of whats going on.
      So The Iron Duke, and Mina have that whole they meet, they resist, conflict, they're together thing that all romances have. I enjoyed this books as a whole more because of everything else that happened. I was going to run down about a lot of what happened, but i decided against that. Let's just say that there is CONSTANTLY some sort of conflict going on. Even til the last few pages. Whether is a romantic conflict, or someone just got murdered, there is always something going on.


      A MUST READ FOR SURE!!
    • 4/5
      This is a wonderful steampunk romp. We are introduced to bounders, buggers, a kraken, some armour-plated sharks, lots of aristocrats and a few poor people, and there is much dashing derring-do on the high seas, on land and while dangling from airships. I enjoyed this more than I should have done.
    • 4/5
      I love Meljean Brook's worlds. In this world the Mongolians successfully invade Europe in the 13th century and the course of history is changed but familiar. The Duke of the title and Mina,the investigator looking for a murderer examine their assumptions and find themselves with much more in common than they would ever have guessed.
    • 4/5
      I plucked this book off the shelf at Barnes and Noble, on a whim. I didn't know the author has several other successful series. But after reading this, I can see why she would be successful, although not one of the "Greats"First, her alternative history world is well-developed, realistic and imaginative. Her characters are well-rounded, flawed and believable. The love story develops naturally, with realistic flaws and problems. The story kept my interest, the secondary characters (three of which are featured in the next books in the series) are well-rounded and add a pleasant depth to the story, and the villain wasn't easy to identify, which for a romance novel was refreshing. It didn't wow me nor do I remember it as a good novel, more of a decent and pleasant steampunk romance novel, and I'd recommend it to people who enjoy both steampunk and romance novels. Note: This has several graphic sex scenes, but they are easy to skip if you wish.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed the first half of this book far more than the second half. The first half of the book introduced and described the alternate world, began an adventure and a romance. The second half of the book had some adventure, but also quite a bit of graphic sex. I'm not a prude but simply wasn't interested in reading it, so found myself skipping large seconds of text to get back to the actual story. Certainly on this YMMV.

      The second half of the book simply didn't engage me like the first half of the book did. I also found myself somewhat annoyed that I couldn't seem to understand what Mina's obstacle was in engaging in a relationship with Rhys. It could be I simply missed it, but I don't believe it was explained very well. Even at the end it didn't make any sense to me.

      I will give the author kudos on introducing a complex and interesting alternate universe. Three and a half stars.
    • 4/5
      A very enjoyable read! Alternate history, steampunk, zombies, pirates, romance, nanobots, and stellar worldbuilding - really, it's like Meljean Brook has thrown a handful of my favourite things into one book and then mixed them up with some really quality writing. Mina is an A heroine, very enjoyable indeed, and I would be perfectly happy to continue reading from her perspective for the length of a few more books. I did take offence at Rhys at first, but he grew on me a bit once some of the consent issues had been slightly better sorted out; let's put it this way, he wasn't great, but he didn't diminish my enjoyment of everything else, and he's the only reason I restrained myself from giving this book the full five stars. So much fun!
    • 5/5
      I LOVED this book. It's Steampunk and alternate history - England has only just come out from oppression by the Hoarde. The titular character saved England when he destroyed the tower that controlled people. The characters were great as was the world. Highly Recommend.
    • 4/5
      Could this be my ultimate holiday mind candy? A steamy regency romance crossed with sci fi robotics = steampunk fun. On to the sequel.
    • 4/5
      A few hundred years before the novel opens, the Asian Horde took over much of the Western world with a mix of force and superior technology. Lacking any navy of merit, they had to be a bit creative in their attack on Britain, choosing to smuggle nanoagents into the cheap sugar and tea they exported to the island nation. As the people ate and drank, they unwittingly infected themselves with tiny bits of self-replicating machinery. While the "bugs" made people stronger, hastened healing and allowed a wide range of prosthetic enhancements, the downside was that the Horde could control the infected via a radio frequency transmitted by a tall tower in London.

      The story takes place nine years after Rhys Trahaearn, now known as the Iron Duke, blows up the tower, freeing all of Britain from Horde control. After a bloody revolution where a mad populace attacked the Horde and each other in a fury borne of a lifetime of tight control suddenly ended, Britain is at a crossroads. The descendants of the wealthy Brits who fled England before they were infected have returned, creating tension between the infected "buggers" and the uninfected "bounders" as to who has more right to Britain. Does it belong to the people who spent the past few hundred years hiding out in Manhattan City in the New World, or to those who endured and overcame Horde rule, but will always be susceptible to control because of their bugs?

      In the midst of this heady drama, a body literally lands on the Iron Duke's front steps and Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth is called in to investigate. Born after a "Frenzy," where a Horde signal causes all buggers to copulate with each other, she's the half-breed daughter of a English countess and a Horde member who was at the state dinner her mother was attending. Though her parents are noble and she's a distinguished member of the Metropolitan Police force, she encounters constant abuse due to her Asian features. As a result, she's a bit like Eve Dallas - a big squishy ball of insecurities well hidden under a granite facade. Through the love of her supportive family and a singular dedication to her work, she gets by in a world she feels completely apart from.

      Working on the mystery of the body tossed onto the Iron Duke's steps tests her resolve. As a former pirate, Rhys is accustomed to taking whatever it is her desires, and he decides that Mina will be his latest acquisition. As they fly and sail around England, Europe and Africa unraveling the murder mystery and uncovering a doomsday plot that endangers all the buggers in Britain, the two also are working to figure each other out. Rhys is determined to have her, and Mina is determined to resist him, lest everything she or her family has worked for go up in smoke in the subsequent mockery of the Iron Duke taking up with a "Jade whore."

      The world-building was superbly done, creating a full, complex world and divulging it at a natural pace throughout the book. All of the secondary characters were fully-fleshed out, providing bits of humor, drama, action and everything in-between when the plot required it but without feeling convenient. The action keeps a steady, energetic pace throughout the book, making it a hard book to put down at times. Brook has created a stunning steampunk setting that's creative and expansive while remaining entirely accessible. There are easily drawn parallels to our own world and the messy politics of today without anything being obvious, sanctimonious or preachy. It's complex enough a world to let you forge your own theories of what is afoot, and approachable enough that you'd want to do so.

      While I loved the steampunk aspects quite a bit, the romance didn't move me. There was just something about the romance that left me kinda cold. I almost resented the breaks in the action plot and half-skimmed the sex. Their emotions towards each other felt a bit forced, so I felt like a voyeur watching them together. The sex didn't seem to be resolving a tension between them - anguish over memories of a past Frenzy notwithstanding - and so it felt gratuitous.

      Part of the issue might have been that I didn't feel I really knew Rhys or Mina. I loved them as catalysts for the action - Rhys the alpha, protecting what he considers his and Mina the fighter, always trying to forge order from chaos - but didn't get a good feel for them as humans. I was told that Rhys "respected the hell out of" Mina, but I was never really shown why. What made her so special to him? What about Rhys tempted Mina? I needed to see more talking, vulnerability and emotional intimacy between them. As it was, I was told they were hot for each other, and I watched them bone, and that was the romance.

      As a romance, it lacks a certain something. As a straight sci-fi, I think I'd have loved this book unreservedly. The world she's created and the secondary characters she populated it with are absolutely spellbinding. For all its faults, it was still a hard book to put down. I'm certainly itching to read the sequel a year from now.
    • 4/5
      This is a wonderful steampunk romp. We are introduced to bounders, buggers, a kraken, some armour-plated sharks, lots of aristocrats and a few poor people, and there is much dashing derring-do on the high seas, on land and while dangling from airships. I enjoyed this more than I should have done.
    • 5/5
      This is a must read! Great pacing and larger than life characters keep you at the edge of your seat.
    • 3/5
      A very interesting read. The worldbuilding is great; there's tons of nifty stuff, and it all fits together well. (I'm sure I could find holes if I poked at it, but it's so cool and shiny that I'm not looking for holes.) Mina is a believable character with interesting and logical views given her history; I admire her dedication to her work. Rhys is intriguing and compelling, and yet human; I particularly liked when he explained what was really going on when he broke the Horde's control over England.What I didn't care for: I'm not a fan of the alpha hero "let me inform you that I know you want me as much as I want you and I'm going to overcome your reservations and have you" trope. If I liked that trope, Rhys would've been a perfect hero -- he's very determined, and when he oversteps and hurts Mina, he reacts and apologizes like a decent human being rather than like an entitled jerk. But it doesn't really work for me, and after a while I started skimming the bits where Rhys was thinking about how much he's attracted to Mina.I also felt like the resolution of the romance was too pat. There are serious social barriers between Mina and Rhys, barriers that even Rhys was compelled to see, and I wasn't convinced that Mina would really decide "oh, it's not that big a deal after all".Still, did I mention the worldbuilding? Love the worldbuilding. The world is why I want to read further books in this series.
    • 4/5
      Loved the world the Brook created, and the love story did not overwhelm the action.
    • 3/5
      I first ran across Ms. Brook in an anthology that had one of her steampunk novella and was rather impressed so I immediately put this book on my wish list. When I first started reading it however I was disappointed. The beginning was rather slow and well dragged. It wouldn't be the first time that an author does really great novellas but are not able to translate into great novels. However this is one of those times that I am really glad that persevered. Once this book picked up it really picked up. The story became fast-paced with all kinds of twists and turns. I really enjoyed reading about some of the inventions in this world such as the metalmen and the butterflies. But what really made this book was the love story between Mina and Rhys. He was all ready to go full steam ahead and possess Mina but was willing to slow way down and help her conquer some pretty severe fears. For a man that had no idea about the softer emotions, he really impressed me by his willingness to learn.The ending was satisfying as far as Mina and Rhys' story arc. However there were a lot of loose ends that weren't tied up. I am hoping that those will be addressed in a future story. I do feel that this is an interesting world however for the reasons that I already noted I can only rate this book a 3.*This book is one that I purchased.
    • 5/5
      Excellent world-building in a dark steampunk romance.
    • 4/5
      If you want to try steampunk then start with this book. All the elements of the genre are there and it's not overpowering. I usually have a really hard time getting into steampunk books because to be honest I get confused by it, but it wasn't that way with this book. If you love romance with a lot of steamy scenes then this is the book to read.
    • 5/5
      Completely awesome - the world=-building in this books is seamless and fascinating! England was controlled for two hundred years by the Horde, who infected the English with nanoagents that could be controlled by radio devices. The Iron Duke - pirate, 'privateer', merchant - destroyed the Horde's hold over England and is seen as a hero by all of England, both those forced to stay when the Horde invaded, and those families wealthy enough to escape before and who have since returned.Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth meets the Iron Duke when a body is dropped on his front steps. He is instantly drawn to her, but she avoids his interest as being a poor member of the peerage who happens to have Horde blood in her veins, she's forced to suffer racism daily - a dalliance with the Iron Duke would cement her reputation as a whore in others' eyes and make it impossible for her to continue in her job, which would in turn remove a paycheck necessary to her family.Nevertheless, she must continue the investigation, which takes them out to sea and to zombie-invested jungles to discover the persons behind the murder.Very sexy, yes, but also VERY cool, this is an awesome scifi-steampunk adventure!
    • 4/5
      This is not my typical genre of book that I choose to read. However, after the first chapter or two, the story and the characters engaged me and I wanted to see where it was going. I really enjoyed this book.
    • 5/5
      This steampunk mystery/romance takes place in an England that has just thrown off the conquering Horde. The hero who saved the country is the Iron Duke - Rhys Trahearn who was a former pirate. Our heroine Mina Wentworth is a Detective Inspector, the daughter of an Earl, and the mixed blood result of one of the Horde's Frenzies. She looks like the hated Horde and faces much prejudice in England. She is called to the Iron Duke's home when a corpse is found on his front porch. The murder investigation quickly escalates to a vast conspiracy designed to change England and murder millions. Rhys sees Mina and wants her. Mina is much more wary. This was an excellent story with two great characters.
    • 4/5
      This was my first steampunk - I actually picked it up thinking up thinking it was YA, and OH NO, it definitely wasn't! However, I really, truly liked it - I wasn't prepared for how amazingly detailed the story was. It was fascinating, and I loved the story, which reminded me a bit of The Matrix here and there - I found Mina's story harrowing and gripping - what a backstory! I also liked how Brook put her in a position of authority, but made her shunned by society at large. It added a great, touching element to the story. About the only thing that kind of irked me was the just how alpha male the Duke was - it was a little over the top for me at some points, but I did enjoy the romance between the two. A great book, and I recommend it.
    • 4/5
      Alas for my girlish hopes. I heard about this one online many months ago and had been promising myself an uncharacteristically sappy Wellington of Waterloo fame. It was NOT wellington, but a made up duke. This made up duke was also pirate, as this is a reasonable job combination in romancelandia. The love story consisted of her going nonoIcan't and him going butyouWILLmypretty, over and over again. Which palled. But it was the steampunk world which grabbed me, not the romance. It is integrally steampunk, by which I mean that the steampunk is built into the plot and fundamental to the characters' lives and not a decorative extra. I'm delighted that this is the first of a series, as this is a tempting world to explore, at least on paper. To explore it for real, one would have to face down zombies, war and sea monsters, alongside the usual Victorian era unpleasantnesses such as industrial pollution, classism and racism. On the other hand, the women in this version of England do get to have careers without raising an eyebrow, which means we get a marvellous piratical lady airship captain, and the female lead of this book, a homicide investigator. Setting: unspecified late victorian, tensions between longtime occupants of an england that has been occupied territory and the returned descendants of colonists who fled occupation. Which reminded me of how irish americans used to say I'm Irish too! and we'd think No you're Not. It had a class system and industrial pollution and people worrying about money and while heroine's family came from sunnybrook farm school of unrelieved lovableness there were enough people around being horrid to offset the cloyingness of that. But! Zeppelins! A kraken! I will forgive much for zeppelins and a kraken who is used in plot. I will even forgive romance, am very open minded like that
    • 5/5
      Unlike anything I have ever read before. It was only the second steampunk book that I have ever read, but it did not disappoint. Mina is an extremely likeable character that you feel for throughout the book. What makes this book outstanding is its secondary characters like Scarsdale, Yasmeen, and The Blacksmith among many others. Scarsdale and Yasmeen provide great comic relief while the mysterious Blacksmith leaves you wanting to know more. This is an amazing start to a series that shows great promise.
    • 5/5
      This is the first book in The Iron Seas series by Meljean Brook. I couldn't find how many books are planned for this series. There is a short story from this series in Burning Up, which I enjoyed immensely. The second book in this series will be called Heart of Steel and is planned for a November 2011 release. According to Meljean Brook's blog the books in this series will occur in the the same universe but will follow different sets of characters. This was an excellent book, with exceptional world-building.Mina is half Horde and a Detective Inspector. When a dead body is dropped in front of the Iron Duke's mansion she is called in to inspect. Mina is drawn into a plot that is bigger than anything she has ever been part of and ends up traveling with the Iron Duke on a journey to solve this mystery. The Iron Duke is in inexplicably drawn to Mina and will stop at nothing to possess her. Mina is torn, she has intimacy issues because of the involuntary Frenzies that the Hoard used to send all bugged people into, and she has worked hard to gain respect in society despite her Horde blood and doesn't want to destroy that by becoming involved with the Iron Duke.This is an absolutely crazy and imaginative world. You have the Horde, an almost alien-like group of oppressors who infected portions of the population with nanobugs in order to control them via radio waves. As result of these nanobugs certain members of the population (called buggers) have exceptional strength, healing powers, and other disturbing abilities. As a resulting of bug infection gone wrong you have flesh eating zombies that can infect others with mutant bug strands. You also have a world where the industrial revolution is on crack. There are airships, crazy clockwork inventions of every type, and amazing mechanical enhancements and attachments to human bodies. The buggers abilities to graft anything metal onto their bodies has resulted in some interesting things. I am absolutely in love with this world...it is incredibly complicated and just amazingly engaging. It is also full of surprises; you never know what you will run into next.The politics of this book are also very intricate. You have many layers of society; the buggers (English population that stayed through the Horde invasion), the English population that fled and is now returning since Horde rule has been overthrown, people with Horde blood, pirates, the Black Guard, etc. etc. Brook does an excellent job of keeping track of these complexities and allowing the reader to easily follow them. You do have to pay attention though and you do have to use your brain a bit.Mina is a wonderful character; she is complicated, has a sense of humor, and wonderfully determined. She has such drive and can really kick butt when she wants too. There is a wonderful cast of characters that support her; all of them as complicated and interesting as she is. I was less enamored with the main hero of the book, the Iron Duke Rhys, although I must admit him and Mina had excellent chemistry together. The steamy scenes between Mina and Rhys are, for the most part, deliciously creative and have wonderful vibe to them.This leads to the only thing I really didn't like about the book and that was Rhys, the Iron Duke. The second he sees Mina he must possess her and control her; he does things to her against her will that gave me kind of a yucky feeling. It was odd because overall he was an interesting and sensitive character; it was just that at points he got carried away and began to channel this alpha male thing. Now I am more an urban fantasy fan than a romance fan so this may be why this was a turn-off for me. In the end I loved the relationship that he and Mina developed. It was just the beginning to middle parts where he was all like "I will possess you even if you don't want me too" that bothered me. If Rhys has toned it down a bit in the beginning and actually had some reason for becoming infatuated with Mina I could have loved their relationship, if he had grown to love her over time (and respected her as a person) this book would have been a five starer for me.Overall this is a great book. The world building, action scenes, and characters are amazing. This would have been 5 stars if not for the Iron Duke's overbearing nature and the crazy "love at first sight" thing that happened in the beginning of the book. Having a characters' relationship start this way always drives me crazy. I definitely recommend this if you are a steampunk fan or a fan of intricate fantasy. Just beware that there is a lot of romance in this and it channels that whole overly alpha male vibe. I think this would have been a perfect book if it had turned down the inexplicable romance factors a bit. I am still looking forward to reading Heart of Steel because I am absolutely in love with this world that Brook has created.
    • 4/5
      Steampunk meets romance - and what a delightful combination! A decade has passed since the Iron Duke helped run the Horde, invaderes who had occupied England for two centures. English society is an uneasy buggers - people infected with nanobots by the Horde - and bounders - the English aristocracy who fled to the new world when the Horde invaded. From this world, we get the Iron Duke and Mina, both wonderfully strong characters. The plot was a tad predictable, but honestly, it was so much fun tagging along with Mina and Rhys that I didn't mind. I loved Mina, but I didn't think Rhys stood out that much from other similar "I have problems with emotions and dealing with people" alpha males. The secondary characters were fun, and I'm looking forward to (hopefully) more backstory from them in future books. I felt the traditional romance misconception (the thing that happens to cause the hero and heroine to think they actually hate each other, just so that they can kiss and make up for the happy ending) was believable.Overall, definitely a fun book - and I'll be on the lookout for the next!
    • 5/5
      Really interesting Steampunk world building and fabulous characters. Not to mention a cracking story. What more can you ask for in some wonderfully escapist literature.
    • 5/5
      Based on Abigail's advice, I started with the anthology Burning Up. Meljean's contribution, my first experience in the world of the Horde, was immediately riveting. The Iron Duke itself is a meaty, satisfying book that I couldn't put down. Brook does a phenomenal job developing both the world and her characters. While I know it will be awhile before readers have an opportunity to pick up another in this series, I look forwared to filling the time between now and then recommending this book to others and re-reading for myself.

      Re-read #1 complete, still phenomenally impressed. With an eye towards the release of Heart of Steel, I paid special attention to Yasmine and Archimedes Fox. Thrown off the side of an airship for mutiny, talk about a difficult beginning to a romance. If anyone can pull it off it will be Meljean Brook, however. I am consistently impressed with the realistic set up and resolution of the difficulties her heros and heroines face. The prejudice of a nation is no minor issue to convincingly convey, Brook did a marvelous job in The Iron Duke.

      Re-read #2, prompted by Newbury's story in WILD & STEAMY. Just realized for the first time that the Horde are Mongols, not the Chinese. Sad, but true, I'm not terribly observant.

      See Abigail's review at All Things Urban Fantasy.

    • 3/5
      I'm hesitant to even give it three stars, considering what a raging dickwad the duke was. The rest of the novel was pretty good, but I hate the duke soooooooo much.

      I was willing to go along with his character for about two thirds of the book - he was imperious and controlling in a really irritating way, but as long as he didn't actually force Mina to have sex with him, whatever. Then he did. And I know the two of them 'hashed it out' afterwards, but *I* certainly couldn't forgive him. I finished the book out of obligation then.

      But Mina. Mina was awesome! Racial implications, gender implications, kickassery...she was great! She wasn't going to sit there and take the "you're a woman so you'll stay where I put you" bullshit. No, she's going to go shoot the kraken with the harpoon gun herself! "If you want help finding your brother, you're going to have to sleep with me! What would your family think?" Well, Mina's going to go, and she wants you to know that you're a creep and despicable sicko of the lowest order, Dukehole. And she'll shoot you when you rape her, because she's that cool. But unfortunately, it's still a romance novel, so she ends up with the duke. >:(

      Steampunk London late 1800's. I guess it was fine for a steampunk book with some token nods to actual history, but I still think it's a stupid genre. I realize I'm saying this as a fan of fantasy, but bleeeeeeeh. I didn't really care that much for Scarsdale or Yasmeen or their secrets. Just bland.