Review: A Steel Heart by Amie Knight
Note: This ARC was provided by the author via Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review.
A Steel Heart is the spin-off of author Amie Knight's debut release, See Through Heart, which was published a little over a year ago. If you've read that particular book, then Miranda Jacobs should be someone you'll recognize, being the best friend of both Ainsley Jones and Adrian Davis. There's also a bit of a spoiler in See Through Heart because Holden Steel is already mentioned in the epilogue. Of course, if you're like me, that only made me want to find out how dear Miranda got her own and much deserved happy ending. Take note: both books are standalones, so don't feel as if you need to read one before the other, but hey, feel free to do that anyway--they're good reads!
Miranda Jacobs has always made a point of jotting down lists, the most notable being a list that noted everything she wanted in "The One"--the guy who would prove to be her knight in shining armor, the one who would love and accept her in a way her own mother seemed incapable of. Years later, Miranda has a pretty good life. She edits books, volunteers at the hospital, and has great friends. Oh, and she also happens to be crushing on her new neighbor. There's no denying just how hot the guy is, but there's something about him that has her itching to peel back all of his layers. He doesn't smile and he seems frustrated with the world in general and Miranda in particular.
Holden Steel is, indeed, frustrated with his neighbor. The woman behind Miranda Mae Editing is beautiful and he's frustrated over the fact that he acts like an ass every time she's around. But then what else would you expect from a man like him who still suffers from nightmares--nightmares filled with everything that led to him losing his leg and what little innocence he had left? What would a twenty-two-year-old like her with a sunny disposition want with a thirty-three-year-old like him who seemed to have a rain cloud hovering above? Maybe she's exactly who can get through the steel around his heart, but will Holden get to keep her if Fate threatens to take his Mae first?
It took me several chapters to get into the groove of things in the slow burn romance. I liked that Miranda and Holden appeared to create a foundation that started with them being friends that had a thing for one another (although it looked like neither one realized straightaway that the attraction was mutual) and then transitioning into them becoming more. Holden bears the scars of his time in the army both on the inside and outside, and Miranda has always been made to feel like she wasn't good enough by her mother, unless you counted being able to fork over money whenever her mother asked for a handout, but those don't make the story overly angsty at all.
This book was a step above the author's first published work, from which this new one was spun off of. The writing is stronger and the story and characters developed more smoothly in comparison. I enjoyed the book and found myself invested in the relationship that Miranda and Holden were fostering. I do wish that we could have delved a bit more into their pasts and maybe a better explanation as to how Miranda mended fences with her mother (who I did not like at all) rather than her suddenly becoming such a positive fixture in their lives in the epilogue. Still, overall, I enjoyed A Steel Heart and easily give it four stars, with the hope that Will gets his own story in the future. ♥
Miranda Jacobs has always made a point of jotting down lists, the most notable being a list that noted everything she wanted in "The One"--the guy who would prove to be her knight in shining armor, the one who would love and accept her in a way her own mother seemed incapable of. Years later, Miranda has a pretty good life. She edits books, volunteers at the hospital, and has great friends. Oh, and she also happens to be crushing on her new neighbor. There's no denying just how hot the guy is, but there's something about him that has her itching to peel back all of his layers. He doesn't smile and he seems frustrated with the world in general and Miranda in particular.
Holden Steel is, indeed, frustrated with his neighbor. The woman behind Miranda Mae Editing is beautiful and he's frustrated over the fact that he acts like an ass every time she's around. But then what else would you expect from a man like him who still suffers from nightmares--nightmares filled with everything that led to him losing his leg and what little innocence he had left? What would a twenty-two-year-old like her with a sunny disposition want with a thirty-three-year-old like him who seemed to have a rain cloud hovering above? Maybe she's exactly who can get through the steel around his heart, but will Holden get to keep her if Fate threatens to take his Mae first?
It took me several chapters to get into the groove of things in the slow burn romance. I liked that Miranda and Holden appeared to create a foundation that started with them being friends that had a thing for one another (although it looked like neither one realized straightaway that the attraction was mutual) and then transitioning into them becoming more. Holden bears the scars of his time in the army both on the inside and outside, and Miranda has always been made to feel like she wasn't good enough by her mother, unless you counted being able to fork over money whenever her mother asked for a handout, but those don't make the story overly angsty at all.
This book was a step above the author's first published work, from which this new one was spun off of. The writing is stronger and the story and characters developed more smoothly in comparison. I enjoyed the book and found myself invested in the relationship that Miranda and Holden were fostering. I do wish that we could have delved a bit more into their pasts and maybe a better explanation as to how Miranda mended fences with her mother (who I did not like at all) rather than her suddenly becoming such a positive fixture in their lives in the epilogue. Still, overall, I enjoyed A Steel Heart and easily give it four stars, with the hope that Will gets his own story in the future. ♥
Release Date: 09 November 2017
Date Read: 08 November 2017
Learn more about Amie Knight.
Purchase A Steel Heart on Amazon.
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