I loved The Kraken King so much. I have resisted reading Meljean Brook’s book because I knew from reading the books she has written as Milla Vane that I would love them. All I want to do now is read nothing but the Iron Seas series. Since I currently have 18 advance reader copies waiting for me to read and review, that won’t be happening. So I will attempt to be unlike myself and read them at a decorous pace over several months. (I’ll probably end up skipping sleep to read them all in one week and induce a psychotic break.)
It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that while new to me is old hat to others. There was a point when I worried that a side character was going to die. I was able to jump into one of the Discord channels and ask for spoilers. It was nice. That side character did not die. I was able to resume reading.
I loved this world that Meljean Brook has created and can understand why fans are hankering for more. She has a gift for creating landscapes and atmospheres with just a few choice descriptions. The Kraken King is a swashbuckling adventure with marauders, authors, and retired rebels who are just trying to help their people live in peace all set against the machinations of empires.
Zenobia Fox wants an adventure of her own so that she doesn’t have to rely on her brother’s letters for her adventure novels. Ariq, the Kraken King, wants to keep his people safe from the wars swirling around them. When he rescues Zenobia, he also wants her. Initially she rejects him and he decides not to pursue her, but they keep getting thrown together and she keeps getting abducted. The deepening emotional connection between them holds the peripatetic adventure together.
To recap, I loved this book. So. Good.