Review: Heart of Iron by Ashley Polston

Title: Heart of Iron 

Author:  Ashley Polston
Publisher: Blazer and Bray

Publishing Date: February 27th, 2018

Pages: 480
Genre: YA Sci-Fi Retelling

Series:  Heart of Iron #1
Source: ARC

 

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?

This book took me a little bit of time to get through. I really went into this book blind. I think I read somewhere it's an Anastasia retelling but had forgotten about that part until I came across the reveal in the book. "Then I was like oh yeah, I remember that now" Inthe beginning I wasn't sure about this book but I stuck with it and ended up really enjoying the read. 

This story centers around four people- well three people and an android. Ana, who is an orphan and was discovered by space pirates as a child. She was rescued from a pod. She shared this pod with an android, Di. There is also Jax, who is the pilot of the space pirates ship. He has some secrets of his own. Then there is Robb. An iron blood, a royal, he is on the run from his family so he can discover what really happened to his father...who everyone but him believes is dead. Altogether these characters make this story. It is their adventure. Each with their own agenda but finds they are all tied together. 

In the beginning, this book was a little slow for me. I think this is the only issue I had. The pacing was a little off. I had a really hard time getting into but I stuck with it because I have seen some great reviews for this book. It wasn't until about 60 percent through the book where things got good and interesting. Up until this point, there was world building and background stories. A lot of space talk and some character development. I could see that if things took off, it would be interesting. It was too. Once it all came together, I couldn't put the book down. It really was exciting and fun. 

I didn't feel there was anything special about the story except for a few things that set it apart from other Anastasia retellings. It was set in space. I love space settings. Sometimes the space talk gets a little too much and confusing but I do love a good space story. 

Another interesting factor in this book. The romances. I liked the romance between Robb and Jax. I feel it could of been less rushed. It was a bit quick but it wasn't full on. It was a start of attraction and let me get to know you better, but still a little rushed as everything happened fast in the timeline. The romance between Ana and the android. That was interesting too. I didn't get it at first, and it felt a little too strange, but the story has a moment where it all makes sense. At that point I was like oh okay I can get on board with this. 

The characters for sure made this story. There was a lot of character development but it was slow. Eventually I really liked them all but it took a bit for me to connect. In the end I loved them and wanted more of them. 

Ana was sharp, loyal, brave, and very independent. A little sassy and a lot fun. I adore these characteristics in my heroines. Di, the android, well he was an android. At times he was funny and it was strange to be in his head but he was a robot. So hard to get connected to him for the first half of the book. Jax was funny. He was very snarky, sometimes rude, but once you get to know him he kind of grows on you. Now my favorite was Robb. He was just too funny and lovable even when he was rude and obnoxious. He had a screw you attitude but really had a really big heart. 

I really think this read was enjoyable but was missing some soul. IT did start to come out in the end but then the book ended.... I was like really. So I will be getting the second book when it comes out. I will continue this series and look forward to it. I think this was the build up and the next book will really come alive. 

A solid read with lots more to come. 

Ashley Poston’s is a part-time author and full-time fangirl. She was born in rural South Carolina, where you can see the stars impossibly well...

Tweet her at @ashposton and read her inner-most rambles at www.ashposton.com.