In a London ruled by blue-blood vampires who control a clockwork army, humans must submit to the tyranny of the Echelon. Lena Todd thought she wanted the safety and glamour of a life among the Echelon, but trading in the hazardous life of the Rookery for the dangers of court is simply submitting to a different form of slavery. Unwilling to submit, Lena becomes a perfect spy for the Humanists against the Echelon, but does she really know what type of people she's gotten herself mixed up with?

Being a verwulfen is illegal in England, but Will Carver's looking to change that. The Echelon has asked Will for his services in persuading the Norwegian clans of verwulfen to ally themselves with England. In exchange for Will's help, verwulfen will be legal citizens and they will no longer be enslaved and pitted against each other for entertainment. Will must protect this alliance from all threats, including the Humanists and the delectable Lena Todd.

HEART OF IRON by Bec McMaster is the second book in the London Steampunk series. I loved Kiss of Steel, the first in the series, and I had high hopes for HEART OF IRON. Ms. McMaster did not disappoint. While, the world is sufficiently built in both novels that you can read them separately, they are even better together.

Let me just say how much I love the world Bec McMaster has created in this series. It's rich in details and complexity but still remarkable easy to slip into. One of my biggest pet peeves about fantasy novels of any sort is the overload of unnecessary details when creating the world. Too many names and places and creatively naming objects and everything gets jumbled and confusing. The London Steampunk series thankfully avoids this trap. McMaster doesn't skimp on the world building but it all makes sense and is paced evenly throughout the novels. There are none of those long passages describing the history of the world I usually feel inclined to skip over.

This richly complex world allows the build-up of tension on multiple levels. There's the larger cultural and political tension that comes from class struggles, but the tension between Lena and Will practically sizzles off the pages. This pair absolutely knows they can never be good for each other, but their desire can't be denied. Every time they're together there's a wickedly delightful spark. Will was my favorite character in Kiss of Steel and his character evolution in HEART OF IRON only made him better.

HEART OF IRON by Bec McMaster is a fantastic addition to the London Steampunk Series. If you're a little hesitant to jump into the fantasy of steampunk, don't be. It's an amazingly rich genre and Bec McMaster delivers not only an amazing world but amazing characters with depth, passion, and loads of sex appeal.