ARC Review: Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston releases on February 27th and I am very thankful to Balzer + Bray for access to an advance copy! Access to the ARC in no way influences my opinions or my thoughts below on this book. If Heart of Iron sounds good to you be sure to add it to your TBR and check out Ashley Poston’s pre-order incentive!

 

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston

Category: Young Adult, Sci-fi
Publication: February 27th, 2018; Balzer + Bray
Purchase: Amazon, TBD, … your local indie!

Seventeen-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?

 

ARC Review:

[book rating=4.5/5]

This was a lot of fun! Space pirates, political intrigue and plotting, a mysterious past to unravel, and of course, a darkness to overcome. It had little bits of everything from romance to humor.

I loved Poston’s 2017 offering, Geekerella so I couldn’t wait for her follow-up. I found the synopsis to be interesting. And a fantasy in space is always something I’ll be interested. It didn’t let me down.

Heart of Iron is a fast read. I mean it. Straight out of the gate, it’s a whirlwind of action. I don’t think there is ever a dull moment throughout. Maybe it has to do with Poston’s writing, too, because it’s narrated from several points of view. And each voice is unique and interesting—another piece of the overall puzzle. I did guess several of the “twists,” but I don’t think the idea is for them to be difficult to unfold. Instead, it’s more of the idea that the reader knows but the characters need to unravel and unlock the pieces for themselves.

The romances are adorable. My favorite pairing is one that’s probably underrated and less acknowledged, but for whatever reason, it grabbed me. Those who enjoy stories featuring diverse characters will definitely appreciate the characters inside this story.

The plot is not necessarily original, but Poston adds just enough new elements to the familiar tropes to make it feel unique and different. I wasn’t ever gripped with tension, biting my nails out of worry, but I was breezing through it all just the same. I couldn’t wait to see how it would end. And WOW! That ending. I cannot wait for book 2!