Review: Iron Cast by Destiny Soria

Title: Iron Cast

Author: Destiny Soria

Genre: historical fiction, paranormal, YA

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams

Publication date: October 11th 2016

Pages: 384 (hardcover)

Source: Netgalley

It's Boston, 1919, and the Cast Iron club is packed. On stage, hemopaths - whose "afflicted" blood gives them the ability to create illusions through art - captivated their audience. Corinne and Ada have been best friends ever since infamous gangster Johnny Dervish recruited them into his circle. By nihgt they perform for Johnny's crowds, and by day they con Boston's elite. When a job goes wrong and Ada is imprisoned, they realize how precarious their position is. After she escapes, two of the Cast Iron's hires are shot, and Johnny disappears. With the law closing in, Corinne and Ada are forced to hunt for answers, even as betrayal faces them at every turn. 

Goodreads

Iron Cast is a really interesting read and I enjoyed reading it. The book had so many aspects that I liked. It was set back in the early 20^th century and I do love that time period; the world was on the brink of so many changes.  And I loved  that the author also portrayed characters whose lives were not that easy back then. My only problem was that it was a bit slow at first, it took about 50 pages before I really got into it. But after that I just could not put it down!

The historical setting in this book was really good. I had never read any books before that were set in the 1920’s in Boston. So it is always nice to read more about how the city was back then. I especially loved it that the author weaved in some crucial historical facts into her book.  The prohibition was a thing back then and it affected so many aspects of living back then. And since the book was set in a night club it definitely fitted in.

I really loved the main characters. Ada and Corinne were both such a headstrong characters with an unique personality.  Back then it was pretty uncommon for girls to be so independent so I really liked how the author portrayed that. Also their friendship looked so realistic to me. They had there issues  from time to time but they worked it out eventually and got past their issues. Most importantly they were not prejudiced about each other while they came from total different backgrounds. And they always had each other’s back so what else can you wish for?  What I also loved about the characters was that they were all quiet divers, back then your life was not easy when you were somewhat different than most.

The concept of hemopathy was so intriguing. It took me a while to understand what exactly it was but after that it was quiet fascinating. To have the ability to influence people’s emotions through music and other types of art is really interesting. In some ways art can already do that but this book took it one step further. It was just really interesting to read about.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It had a perfect combination of historical elements, fantasy and friendship. I am glad that I got the chance to read this one and I cannot wait until the next book in this series comes out!

Elien