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A review by stephdaydreams
Steel Heart Iron Claws by Evie Marceau
5.0
The Godkissed Bride series has me hook, line, and sinker.
This series continues to expand, evolve, and exhilarate.
We rejoin Sabine and Basten in world in which they’ve been tore apart from one another. We follow each of their arcs as they try to make sense of new environments— for Sabine this is literal, but for Basten this is a world of never having known his love. What results is a plot that thickens exceptionally and leaves one breathless on a cliffhanger ending that will have you screeching and wanting to find out what’s in store for us next!
The world-building in this series remains top notch.
It’s easy to follow without hindering any of its intricacies and complexities. It’s intelligent world-crafting that amplifies its plot forward, without ever becoming too much. Now, some plot points do feel they’ve been put on pause, but its in many ways like a Game of Thrones episode— where a certain storyline needs to be introduced before we can return back to the others. It’s an excellent build up, teasing the future books to come. It makes you excited and brimming with anticipation to see how this plot point will interact with the awaiting ones.
Now for our gorgeous leads!
Sabine is such an enigmatic heroine, I always find her arc so enriching and mesmerizing. There is still so much about her to learn, and this book especially compounds on this. I will say, at times I grew quite frustrated towards Sabine. I wanted to shake some sense into her when it seemed she so easily fell for blatant falsities. Yet in the same breath-- I understood her. This is a young woman who has only ever known captivity, rules, and demands (until Basten, of course). Being offered something that feels like freedom and control is too tantalizing not to entertain. Not to fall for. The narrative brings just this to light brilliantly, so even if, like me, you become annoyed and irked, you also understand the reasoning. She grows even more in this story and her desire for her agency to remain her own is pertinent as ever.
Basten is my MVP this go around.
I have such fear when it comes to amnesia tropes. More often times than not, books with this subplot seem to unravel. The opposite happens here. His amnesia becomes a massive driving force. It broadens his arc fantastically, and further develops him as a character. The way it's developed in full in this story made immense sense to me and was highly satisfactory. I don’t want to give anything away, but fear not in ever doubting Basten’s love for Sabine. This book proved nothing can stand in its way!
That ending had me dizzy! Talk about ending with a bang! My heart was racing a mile a minute! It's a mind-blowing cliffhanger that had me at the edge of my seat-- and desperate for that fourth book to drop like yesterday! What's going to happen?! I need to knooow! AHHH!
Sabine and Basten: it continues being a pleasure following your epic adventure. Until we meet again!
Thank you Evie Marceau for this complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily.
4.5✨
This series continues to expand, evolve, and exhilarate.
We rejoin Sabine and Basten in world in which they’ve been tore apart from one another. We follow each of their arcs as they try to make sense of new environments— for Sabine this is literal, but for Basten this is a world of never having known his love. What results is a plot that thickens exceptionally and leaves one breathless on a cliffhanger ending that will have you screeching and wanting to find out what’s in store for us next!
The world-building in this series remains top notch.
It’s easy to follow without hindering any of its intricacies and complexities. It’s intelligent world-crafting that amplifies its plot forward, without ever becoming too much. Now, some plot points do feel they’ve been put on pause, but its in many ways like a Game of Thrones episode— where a certain storyline needs to be introduced before we can return back to the others. It’s an excellent build up, teasing the future books to come. It makes you excited and brimming with anticipation to see how this plot point will interact with the awaiting ones.
Now for our gorgeous leads!
Sabine is such an enigmatic heroine, I always find her arc so enriching and mesmerizing. There is still so much about her to learn, and this book especially compounds on this. I will say, at times I grew quite frustrated towards Sabine. I wanted to shake some sense into her when it seemed she so easily fell for blatant falsities. Yet in the same breath-- I understood her. This is a young woman who has only ever known captivity, rules, and demands (until Basten, of course). Being offered something that feels like freedom and control is too tantalizing not to entertain. Not to fall for. The narrative brings just this to light brilliantly, so even if, like me, you become annoyed and irked, you also understand the reasoning. She grows even more in this story and her desire for her agency to remain her own is pertinent as ever.
Basten is my MVP this go around.
I have such fear when it comes to amnesia tropes. More often times than not, books with this subplot seem to unravel. The opposite happens here. His amnesia becomes a massive driving force. It broadens his arc fantastically, and further develops him as a character. The way it's developed in full in this story made immense sense to me and was highly satisfactory. I don’t want to give anything away, but fear not in ever doubting Basten’s love for Sabine. This book proved nothing can stand in its way!
That ending had me dizzy! Talk about ending with a bang! My heart was racing a mile a minute! It's a mind-blowing cliffhanger that had me at the edge of my seat-- and desperate for that fourth book to drop like yesterday! What's going to happen?! I need to knooow! AHHH!
Sabine and Basten: it continues being a pleasure following your epic adventure. Until we meet again!
Thank you Evie Marceau for this complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily.
4.5✨