Book Review : Steel Rose by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

Steel Rose by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

Series : The Cardinal Winds #1
Genre : Fantasy Romance, Dystopian, Dieselpunk
Publication Date : March 19th, 2020

The commander of the East Wind Dominion is a terrifying man. He leads an army of automatons. He can control lightning itself. And now, Rose Calder is his prisoner of war.

All Rose has ever known is fighting. When the invading forces of the East Wind Dominion robs away her friends, her family, and her home, she takes to the skies to battle for her freedom. For hope.

When the war comes to a sudden end at the hands of commander Viktor Lang, she is certain she is about to die. When he discovers her impossible secret, she becomes a mystery he is desperate to solve, and that may be worse.

The war may be over, but now she stands to lose much, much more.

Available on KU!

Kathryn Ann Kingsley has hit it out of the park again with this one!

Steel Rose is set in a completely different world that is more dystopian and a little dieselpunk-ish. The author never fails to dazzle me with her creativity and imagination!

Rose Calder has been fighting against the forces of the East Wind Dominion as a pilot for years, and the rebels are on the losing end. When the rebels are finally defeated and captured by the Dominion forces, she fears that it's her end, but a sudden turn of events puts her in the Commander's clutches and a few of her secrets are revealed to him. She doesn't know what to make of the man that she has considered as an enemy for so long and what does he plan to do with her?

If you want me to be completely honest, I think I liked this book better than the author's Halfway Between series and I believe that's mainly because of the characters. Don't get me wrong, The Masks of Under series will always be my favorite, but the Steel Rose has quickly captured the second spot!

Rose was a refreshing change from the typical stubborn heroines that we see in fantasy books. She's strong, scrappy and intelligent, but she knows her faults too! And she was more cheerful and optimistic than I'd expected and that's mainly because she's a go-with-the-flow type of person.

On the other hand, Viktor was a complete enigma in the beginning! But as we slowly get further into the book, the author reveals his inner characteristics and I loved them! Also, the chemistry between Rose and Viktor is literally off-the-charts!*fans self*

Kathryn really knows how to write her villain romance stories, because there is no sort of taming-the-beast routine in her books! The anti-heroes don't suddenly change for good just because of the heroine's love. The heroines love them just the way they are and the couple learns to meet each other halfway, which is so realistic!

And the world-building is off to a good start in this one! I would describe it as something similar to what would have happened if communism had ever been implemented successfully! What set this apart from other dystopian worlds was that, it wasn't actually dystopian. Rose learns that though she might have thought she was fighting for freedom, the common citizens see her as something close to a terrorist as most of them are content with their lives! That was a unique standpoint!

I think there's a lot more for us to see and I'd have loved to find out more about how the select few(like Viktor, Rose, Nero, etc) got their powers and what sets them apart! I hope we get to find out more in the other books! I think Nero's book is next and I have a feeling that it might be even more delicious than this one(because I know the author is evil haha!) Can't wait! xD

*I was provided with an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Kat has always been a storyteller. With ten years in script-writing for performances on both the stage and for tourism, she has always been writing in one form or another. When she isn’t penning down fiction, she works as Creative Director for a company that designs and builds large-scale interactive adventure games. There, she is the lead concept designer, handling everything from game and set design, to audio and lighting, to illustration and script writing. Also on her list of skills are artistic direction, scenic painting and props, special effects, and electronics. A graduate of Boston University with a BFA in Theatre Design, she has a passion for unique, creative, and unconventional experiences. In her spare time, she builds animatronics and takes trapeze classes.

Tales Of A Bookbug

Book Review : Steel Rose by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

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