Review, Giveaway & Feature: Armored Hearts by Melissa Turner Lee & Pauline Creeden

Armored Hearts

By: Melissa Turner Lee & Pauline Creeden

Cover art by Marcy Rachel Designs

Model Photographer: WinterWolf Studios
Giveaway Rafflecopter at bottom of post!!!!

Book Description

When a crippled young lord rescues a girl falling from a tree, it reveals a secret about himself and his mother's side of the family that could put him at the center of a war with beings he thought only existed in fairy tales.

Tristan Gareth Smyth lived his entire life stuck at home at Waverly Park and left behind while his Grandfather makes trips to London, all because of his blasted wheelchair.

Then an American heiress falls in his lap, literally, and he must find a way to keep her at a distance to protect not only his secret, but everyone around him from an assassin sent to kill him.


*This is an exciting collaboration between a Steampunk writer and a Paranormal Romance author. Together we are blending the two cultures as seamlessly as possible so that fans of both genre will love what we’ve come up with.*

My Review:

I haven’t read a lot of steam punk novels, fair warning. The last being Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices series, which can fit right along the time period of this one. I absolutely loved Armored Hearts. It has steam punk and fantasy elements seamlessly fused to form unique historical storytelling at its best.

Tristan Gareth Smyth is a cripple, stuck in a wheelchair and unable to walk. He’s a grumpy guy, but he likes being alone and would rather keep everyone at arm’s reach. The only one he even listens to is his aunt Tabitha, who is a bit younger than him.

I loved the setting of this book, the old England feel of it felt authentic and the steam punk devices were an excellent touch. At first, I didn’t like Gareth and found him awfully annoying and grumpy. He was downright rude, even towards his aunt, whom he loves and is the only person who knows his secret. When Jessamine enters the picture, he is downright awful in how he treats her. I wanted to slap the guy around a few rounds for being so stupid.

When the fantasy elements come into play, frankly there were some surprises, especially with their housekeepers. I would’ve never guessed. Gareth is pretty observant of stuff but seems to shrug off other stuff that is begging to be discovered. Luckily, he does grow on the reader and softens his hardened exterior as time goes on. I really enjoyed how he develops as time goes on, though I wish he’d softened up a bit sooner. Jessamine was definitely intriguing. A tough girl who doesn’t take no for an answer seems to be the cure for Gareth’s annoying attitude.

It’s curious that he doesn’t know much about himself, just that his mother abandoned him and his grandfather doesn’t want much to do with him. One day, when he was 12, he rescued a young girl when she fell from a tree, revealing a huge secret of himself he had no idea about. Fast forward to seven years later, and he finds himself forced into a marriage with the lovely Jessamine, an American enamored of him, which baffles him at first. Discovering that someone mysterious wants him dead makes him want to be rid of everyone close to him, but events unfold which make secrets of the past hard to keep.

I highly recommend reading the prequel to this book called ‘Winter Fae’. Though it gives away some of the heritage that belongs to Gareth, you can view this story with a new light after reading it.

Awesome story, I can’t wait for the sequel.

5 out of 5 stars

Authors:

Melissa Turner Lee holds a BA in Communications with a concentration in Journalism from the University of South Carolina. She has studied fiction writing since 2008, attending various writing conferences and workshops, along with guidance from professional writing coaches. She resides in Spartanburg, SC with her husband and 3 sons.

Blog: http://melissaturnerlee.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/melissaturnerlee

Twitter: @MelissaTLee1975

Pauline Creeden is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy. In her fiction, she creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long.

Website: http://paulinecreeden.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/paulinecreeden

Twitter: @P_Creeden

Giveaway

1 Necklace, 2 swag packs and a signed Paperback 

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