"I intend to brand myself so deep into you that you could write a thousand stories but still not picture a life without me. That is my purpose."

The first third of this serial, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. I was feeling a bit irritated by Zenobia's insecurities, was wondering if Brook is going to do another back and forth, felt upset about the separation...and then BAM! *insert a turn in the story* And I was all over this shit!

I was eating out of Brook's hand, was gobbling up each word, was feeling gooey, was impressed, awed and well; another pile of mush on the floor, wishing it was Tuesday.

So as you might gather out of my rumblings, the story lines was rather satisfying.

The world building. Should I repeat myself? Oh well, I am going to. If you don't wanna hear AGAIN how amazeballs it is.. go ahead and skip this. But seriously, this has probably the least world building of all the installments so far. But even then Brook added new exciting elements to the ever growing world of Iron Seas. Her descriptions had me mentally gasping. She painted beautiful moments with her words, added another surprising element to it all and well, it. well.. left me moved by the beauty she described and kinda speechless.

This installment is heavy on character building. It left me officially and certified in love with Ariq. I could fangirl for hours on end. But I shall just say: Loyal, strong, caring and hot! *Fans herself*

Zenobia was a tad annoying about certain things, too insecure too doubting.  And coming from miss commitment issues over here that says a lot. But then again it does fit her character, it is understanding given her history.

In fact in this installment I connect most with the two MC's, it felt like I got to become friends with someone I kinda knew.

The best part: their dialogues, especially their banter! *swoon*

I am swamped with work- so Serial Thursday ended up being the following Monday post. I think this might have been one of the few times I was glad that I only had time to read on Sunday night... less wait till Tuesday. Cause I am waiting here with baited breath! Less the 48 hours to the next installment! *looks at her kindle in anticipation* soon! *grins*

On a different note:

As I said before, I like the idea of Serials. For sentimental reasons mainly, but also I enjoy the whole getting tidbit here and there, waiting, the anticipation, the waking-up to a new serial on my kindle... all of it is fun. Though I had my doubts after the third serial- I am loving the process and enjoying the whole event.

My biggest issue though about it is the price, quite frankly I refuse to pay more than $11 for ebooks- with very few exceptions- I then rather will spend money on a hardcopy. So paying $1.99 per serial... makes this nearly a $16 book. SO frankly I have been wondering if I should have just waited and bought a paperpack. There have been lots of discussion about that issue and this week Brook sent out a mail explaining why she does a serial:

And with that Brook has won me over on the price tag as well. Because honestly, I spend more than $2 on coffee each day. After all I am enjoying my Serial Thursdays and with that I am actually happy to pay that price.

So this week Brook won me over on many many levels and reconfirmed her place among my favorite authors.

I was one of the super lucky people who got this as an ARC. Part I and II were part of said ARC, and since I read gobbled up both parts in one go, I wrote a review for both of them. I simply wouldn't be able the separate the two afterwards.

The good news for fans of the series. This is another fabulous addition to an already great series. The "bad"news this will be published as a serial. Which means a lot of waiting time.
Because after finishing this my first reaction.. running to amazon pre-ordering part III and then freaking out because it was weeeeeeeeeeeeeks away. So my first thought after reading, maybe I shouldn't have started. Because this left me wanting more- no wait that's not right. It left me needing more.

The world building, is superb. If you read any of the previous books let me reassure you your expectations will be met. It is set in the Iron Seas world, in Australia to be exact and Brook adds her brand of fabulous gadgets and monsters. The world is described in detail and her gadgets are imaginative and a delight to this geeky heart.

The novel is written from Ariq and Zenobia's POV. The character building is as in the previous books slowly built, layer after layer of more depths is added to all the characters. There are actually quite a few support characters, I love how one sees different angles to them when the POV changes from one MC to the other.

The plot is true to Iron Seas form a mix of fantastic action and heart-melting sexy romance. Right from the beginning one is thrown into a whirlwind of action.
The romance just taking off at the end of Part II - the dance between Ariq and Zenobia being in full-force pull and push mode. But one is also left with a great amount of questions, a bit of mystery and worry over several characters wellbeing.

The pace of this is actually pretty amazing! There are rather beautiful moments of stillness alternated with super-exciting super-fast moments of heart-stopping action. Brook has mastered the art of just giving enough time for those more reflective moments to give the novel beautiful depths and throwing in enough action to keep the readers on their toes.

Brook's writing style is descriptive, subtle yet direct, full of depth and simply beautiful. Which is what made her one of my favorite authors in the first place.

I think the fabulously of the Iron Seas novels all lie in the incredibly perfect balance between world building, plot and character building.  The Kraken King is another example of Brook's superb knowledge of her craft and talent.


This is part of the Iron Seas series but can be read as a stand-alone as well. If you haven't read any of the previous books in the series following the serial is definitely a great way to start it!
If your a fan- you won't be disappointed.

And the verdict on reading it as a serial?  There was never a real choice...
An absolute MUST for lovers of the genre!

After the last serial I was kinda iffy, annoyed and definitely divided. Don't missunderstand me, I did pre-order this one, I was left wanting more, but also wondered if I can take any more of the on and off in the romance. I needed some sort of solution. 

Which admittedly is a bit silly, since I don't need to read the end to know where the romance is going.

I guess that speaks for Brooks character building. It's as always pretty good. It's subtle yet solid. And more importantly it leaves me invested. I care about Zenobia and Ariq.

And in this one I really really grew fond of both of them. As much as I wanted to shank them both in Kraken King Part 3-  this, changed my perception of everything that came before. Lots of things suddenly fell into place. Not just for the two of them but also details that irritated me, previous behavior I found a bit (in some cases a lot) frustrating, suddenly made sense. I fell in love with both of the MCs.

Damn I even care about the support cast- so many of them left behind by now. I found myself wondering how Taka is doing, and if Brook is possibly going to write a book about him... yep. I know, he was in what all of one or two chapters? And Helen, though she is annoying as hell, dizzy the only kind comment I can muster. I want to know how she will fair. And Mara and Cooper... Ah, but I am getting distracted.

Back to part four:

The world building is again, beyond superb. Each serial Brook just blows my mind away. All of Zenobia's traveling brings them into unchartered territory, every single place being described with amazing detail. I know I have said that about each and every single serial. And I am sorry to tell you, that I probably will gush about each and every following one as well. If you read Brook before, you will understand. Her world building is spectacular. ALWAYS. The world she built in Iron Seas is clever, imaginative and never ceases to impress or astound. And in the Kraken King she put it a notch up. Each serial brings an entire new surrounding, delves deeper into the mechanisms of the politics and ties it cleverly, yet subtly to the previously described world and happenings. I could gush for hours! But I shall not bore you anymore.

As you guessed. The plot of the romance is more satisfying so no more ranting, sadly I can't say much more other than I was swooning and sighing. More than half is all about the romance all about the feelings and insecurities, the two of them trying to sass each other out, but also both of them being brave and opening their hearts.

Oh and how could I forget there are a couple of twists as well... *evil snicker*

And with those Brook warranted my full attention and I am looking forward to next weeks serial. 

An absolute treat to read that left me a gushing fan girling googey ... something. 

About halfway through this one, I felt rather annoyed by Ariq and Zenobia. In fact, I decided I couldn't handle them and put it aside for a couple of days.. The pull and push between them, was just annoying. It felt like it was going on for forever, and I would have shouted at them to get over themselves if I wouldn't have been in a restaurant. So thankfully I have some sort of social awareness- which saved my kindle of being thrown against a wall and me throwing a hissy fit.
Well, maybe I am exaggerating at tad bit. But seriously I was really annoyed and not so sure I would get the next installment. Buuuuut I finished this one and now? Can Tuesday just come around really really quick please?
Yes it does get better, not that much happens between the two dorks. But Brook just gave me that crumb of hope for more in the next installment.
And now that I have finished it, I wondered if it feel worse since I am reading this over weeks, rather than in one sitting, like I usually do. Not sure, but I think it could be connected to it.
Then there is the world building. I think I say it every SINGLE time, but no one does steampunk quite like Brook. I love her dark gadety world. And each and every time I am completely flabbergast by shear astounding. As the story goes on and the MCs travel there are new undiscovered parts of this world, and each and every time Brook does a fabulous job at it. She every single time, goes far beyond my expectations. And let's just be honest, by expectations are huge when it comes to Brook.
So here I am waiting for tuesday. Despite, grumbling about the price of the serials, despite being super annoyed with the MC's I have pre-ordered the next serial already. So let's see what's next tuesday brings, shall we?