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A review by emleemay
Iron Cast by Destiny Soria
2.0
This book just did not hold my attention. I liked the idea, but the plot was so uninteresting and the two MCs had the exact same (and dull) personality.
Things I Liked
* Diversity
* Low on romance
* Addresses racism
* Black cover model (and the cover in general is quite appealing)
That's kind of it, though. I think even some more romance would have been welcome here to give the dragging pace and boring story some life.
[b:Iron Cast|28818313|Iron Cast|Destiny Soria|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1456595105s/28818313.jpg|48183733] starts slow, plodding along as a lot of time is taken to explain and demonstrate the concept of hemopathy. It's basically a way of conjuring illusions through various forms of art and making people believe what you want them to believe; and it's also illegal in this world. Corinne uses words, poetry usually, to create her illusions, and Ada uses songs. When they're not performing for the crowds at Johnny Dervish's Cast Iron club, they're conning rich people out of their money.
Then Ada is imprisoned in the Haversham asylum after a job gone wrong. Corinne helps her escape but then stuff goes down and Johnny disappears. This is nothing that the blurb doesn't tell you, and yet it is a huge chunk of the plot. Problem is, not that much happens in the book. The author prefers to spend time playing with the illusions or talking snoozeworthy gangster politics, and when things did start to move forward, I just didn't care. Maybe I am simply not that interested in gangster and con stories, or maybe this wasn't a great example of one - either way, it was a struggle to finish.
I also think a lot of my problem hangs on my lack of interest in any of the characters. ALL of the characters are forgettable and that is, for me, unforgivable. I need to care about my characters if I am to care about the story. Not only do Corinne and Ada remain indistinguishable throughout, but they also feel very modern. I just realized I've gotten this far into the review and not mentioned that it's set in 1919 Boston. That's because I keep forgetting.
The hemopathy scenes in the club are well-crafted with lots of attention to detail, but beyond that, there's very little atmosphere. I got no sense that I was in the early twentieth century, sneaking around clubs in Prohibition-era America.
[b:Iron Cast|28818313|Iron Cast|Destiny Soria|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1456595105s/28818313.jpg|48183733] is a book I took a chance on, knowing very little about it. Sadly, it didn't work out. I wanted so much more from the characters, from the plot, and from the setting. If you want a paranormal historical novel set in the early twentieth century, read [b:The Diviners|7728889|The Diviners (The Diviners, #1)|Libba Bray|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1336424966s/7728889.jpg|10501517] instead.
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Things I Liked
* Diversity
* Low on romance
* Addresses racism
* Black cover model (and the cover in general is quite appealing)
That's kind of it, though. I think even some more romance would have been welcome here to give the dragging pace and boring story some life.
[b:Iron Cast|28818313|Iron Cast|Destiny Soria|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1456595105s/28818313.jpg|48183733] starts slow, plodding along as a lot of time is taken to explain and demonstrate the concept of hemopathy. It's basically a way of conjuring illusions through various forms of art and making people believe what you want them to believe; and it's also illegal in this world. Corinne uses words, poetry usually, to create her illusions, and Ada uses songs. When they're not performing for the crowds at Johnny Dervish's Cast Iron club, they're conning rich people out of their money.
“Unlike his predecessor, Johnny ran the club like a business instead of a social fraternity. Those who did the work earned a cut of the profits. Some of the jobs were less legal than others, but in times like these the line was blurred at best.”
Then Ada is imprisoned in the Haversham asylum after a job gone wrong. Corinne helps her escape but then stuff goes down and Johnny disappears. This is nothing that the blurb doesn't tell you, and yet it is a huge chunk of the plot. Problem is, not that much happens in the book. The author prefers to spend time playing with the illusions or talking snoozeworthy gangster politics, and when things did start to move forward, I just didn't care. Maybe I am simply not that interested in gangster and con stories, or maybe this wasn't a great example of one - either way, it was a struggle to finish.
I also think a lot of my problem hangs on my lack of interest in any of the characters. ALL of the characters are forgettable and that is, for me, unforgivable. I need to care about my characters if I am to care about the story. Not only do Corinne and Ada remain indistinguishable throughout, but they also feel very modern. I just realized I've gotten this far into the review and not mentioned that it's set in 1919 Boston. That's because I keep forgetting.
The hemopathy scenes in the club are well-crafted with lots of attention to detail, but beyond that, there's very little atmosphere. I got no sense that I was in the early twentieth century, sneaking around clubs in Prohibition-era America.
[b:Iron Cast|28818313|Iron Cast|Destiny Soria|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1456595105s/28818313.jpg|48183733] is a book I took a chance on, knowing very little about it. Sadly, it didn't work out. I wanted so much more from the characters, from the plot, and from the setting. If you want a paranormal historical novel set in the early twentieth century, read [b:The Diviners|7728889|The Diviners (The Diviners, #1)|Libba Bray|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1336424966s/7728889.jpg|10501517] instead.
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