Title: Mina Wentworth and the Invisible City
Author: Meljean Brook
Series: The Iron Seas #1.5
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Pirates, Steampunk romance
Dates read: 30th April 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novella
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: When he left, Geordie asked me to ‘Take Billy.’

Eight months after The Iron Duke, can their marriage survive a new danger?

After Mina is called in to investigate the murder of an aristocratic bounder, her husband Rhys—known to the world as the Iron Duke—must overcome his fear for his new bride before his need to protect her tears them apart. But when she invites him to join her at the murder scene, a search for a mysterious killing machine puts her in more danger than ever before…a danger that leads straight back to Rhys.

One of the most frustrating things that I tend to find about paranormal romance stories are that you don’t really find out how they live their lives after they ride off into the sunset, happily ever after. It’s all well and good to have that amazing story about passion and fire and those first, loving moments together when everything finally fits. But that isn’t entirely realistic… there is another kind of love, when the fiery passions become a slow burn that continues over the years. So the fact that there is a novella about Mina and Rhys 8 months after they get married… I was much happier and more settled in their happiness.

Although this story is very much about settling into a new way of life, and understanding what it means to love another, there is also a great secondary story. Like The Iron Duke there is a bit of a mystery as to who the villain truly is. And a bit of a risk lingering for both of the primary characters. One that you know is going to come to head fairly quickly. It gave the story a little more pressure and spice than just an insight into the daily lives of this unique couple. And one that made it impossible to put down this novella… even though I really, really needed to sleep.

<- The Iron Duke Review

Heart of Steel Review ->

Image source: Goodreads