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A review by megsbookishtwins
Iron Cast by Destiny Soria
4.0
I received this free from the publishers via NetGalley
It’s 1919, and the Cast Iron nightclub in Boston is haven for Ada Navarra and Corinne Wells – two hemopaths. They are considered outlaws, their blood is “afflicted” which allows them to create illusions through their words and music. They make a living at the club putting on shows at night for the rich – a line of work that is illegal and looked down upon. By day they are con artists for Johnny Dervish, the owner of the club and a gangster. Prohibition is just around the corner and the Cast Iron club is on the brink of going under. Ava and Corinne pull a risky job that goes wrong and Ada is imprisoned things start to spiral out of control even more after Johnny Dervish is killed and the club is no longer a safe haven.
Iron Cast is an original and captivating historical read with a brilliantly written world and atmosphere. Iron Cast actually featured one of the best openings that I have read in a very long time. It was slow paced – in the same way The Diviners by Libba Bray is, but it never lost my attention. The setting and atmosphere was very 1920s jazz era which I loved and for anyone else who loves that atmosphere should definitely not miss this one.
I think the characters were fun and interesting BUT I think they could have been fleshed out more. While the friendship was supposedly the centre of this book, I sometimes felt like it was pushed to the side for the sake of both romance and the plot of the story (although saying that – there was a fantastic scene near the end that was really great and really showed their love and devotion but also showed Corinne’s privileged background coming in to play very strongly). I would have liked to have seen more of Ada and Corinne’s past and how two girls so different became such close friends. But the book was very female centric and empowered so that is always a plus. I did love both Ada and Corinne – both witty and fun so that is also another positive. I think the romance was nice but unnecessary, so I felt a bit meh about it.
The world of hemopaths was done exceptionally well and I thought it was interesting and original. Definitely a must read for fans of diverse historical paranormal novels. The plot itself took some predictable turns at some points, but overall Iron Cast was an interesting, magical, and atmospheric read, so I do highly recommend it.
It’s 1919, and the Cast Iron nightclub in Boston is haven for Ada Navarra and Corinne Wells – two hemopaths. They are considered outlaws, their blood is “afflicted” which allows them to create illusions through their words and music. They make a living at the club putting on shows at night for the rich – a line of work that is illegal and looked down upon. By day they are con artists for Johnny Dervish, the owner of the club and a gangster. Prohibition is just around the corner and the Cast Iron club is on the brink of going under. Ava and Corinne pull a risky job that goes wrong and Ada is imprisoned things start to spiral out of control even more after Johnny Dervish is killed and the club is no longer a safe haven.
Iron Cast is an original and captivating historical read with a brilliantly written world and atmosphere. Iron Cast actually featured one of the best openings that I have read in a very long time. It was slow paced – in the same way The Diviners by Libba Bray is, but it never lost my attention. The setting and atmosphere was very 1920s jazz era which I loved and for anyone else who loves that atmosphere should definitely not miss this one.
I think the characters were fun and interesting BUT I think they could have been fleshed out more. While the friendship was supposedly the centre of this book, I sometimes felt like it was pushed to the side for the sake of both romance and the plot of the story (although saying that – there was a fantastic scene near the end that was really great and really showed their love and devotion but also showed Corinne’s privileged background coming in to play very strongly). I would have liked to have seen more of Ada and Corinne’s past and how two girls so different became such close friends. But the book was very female centric and empowered so that is always a plus. I did love both Ada and Corinne – both witty and fun so that is also another positive. I think the romance was nice but unnecessary, so I felt a bit meh about it.
The world of hemopaths was done exceptionally well and I thought it was interesting and original. Definitely a must read for fans of diverse historical paranormal novels. The plot itself took some predictable turns at some points, but overall Iron Cast was an interesting, magical, and atmospheric read, so I do highly recommend it.