Made of Steel by Ivy Smoak ~ Review & Teaser (@IvySmoakAuthor)

I haven't read anything by Ivy Smoak before, and I really hoped this would be a good read. Before you pick it up, please know it's part of a trilogy and the story will continue...

Title: Made of Steel

Author: Ivy Smoak

Series: Made of Steel #1

Genre: Dark Romance

Published: February 2018

Buy Now - Amazon US | Amazon Aus

Once upon a time, my name was Summer Brooks. I fell in love with a prince and my dreams went as far as the stars. I had my whole life figured out. I had my whole life in front of me. But my life wasn’t meant to be a fairy tale. Everything I knew was taken away in a flash.

Broken.
Lost.
Abandoned.
Beaten.

Ten years of pain. Ten years of torture. I’m finally free. But I’m not Summer Brooks anymore. That girl died as soon as the devil himself put his hands on me. Now I live amongst the villains. They follow me like a plague. And I have a darkness inside of me that I can’t seem to escape. I lost everything, and I don’t know how to keep breathing in a city that has no stars.

But even though my appearance has changed, deep down I know that a shadow of the girl I once was still remains. I don’t want to give up on my past. I just need something to hold onto. Anything. And the only one that could possibly understand is someone who knows what it’s like to hide in the shadows. Someone else who knows what it’s like to live behind a mask.

The only thing I know for sure is that someone in this city is watching me. And I just hope to God it isn’t my past catching up to me.

I picked up Made of Steel and I had such high hopes for it! The blurb made it sound so exciting, and I was looking forward to a second chance at love. What I ended up getting was a story that confused me at times, some action and an ending that leaves it wide open for the next book.

The story built slowly as everything that Summer had was gone in a blink of an eye. She lost everything she knew and in the end lost her best friend too. When they cross paths again, she has been told that she is now Sadie, and cannot have any ties to her old life, or she'll have to move again.

Honestly, I was confused by a lot that happened through this book, and hoped that things would get easier. The suspense built, the characters didn't quite go the way I hoped and everything was thrown into turmoil.

I lost a lot of interest in the story and skipped parts to see what would happen... getting towards 95% of the book and I hoped for no cliff hanger, but of course I didn't get what I hoped! I was left disappointed and I don't really have a care as to finding out how the story will unfold. I was left frustrated, that's for sure! 

This was a sweet moment that gave Summer/Sadie some hope.

"It'll kill me if you leave," his voice rumbled.
"Why? Why do you care so much about me?"
"Because I see the real you, the you that you try so hard to hide. But you can't hide from me. I've always seen you. Your beauty, inside and out, captivates my soul. There's a goodness in you that I crave. I can feel the pain in your heart. It cripples me. I'm tormented by your frowns. I'm only at peace when I see you smile. You're everything to me. You're the calm to my chaos. The silence to all the noise. You're the air that I breathe. And I know you understand me, the way no one else possibly could. Because you know what it's like to hide behind a mask too," he whispered.

Kindle Page 291

Ivy Smoak is the international bestselling author of The Hunted Series. Her books have sold over 1 million copies worldwide, and her latest release, Empire High Betrayal, hit #4 in the entire Kindle store.

When she's not writing, you can find Ivy binge watching too many TV shows, taking long walks, playing outside, and generally refusing to act like an adult. She lives with her husband in Delaware.

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