Book Review: Iron Cast by Destiny Soria

Read: September 7-8  Verdict: 4.5 Stars

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback. 

Ada and Corianne are living in Boston in 1919 and are extremely skilled hemopaths. Hemopathy is a form of magic where the people with the power of hemopathy can create illusions through art whether it be a wordsmith, a songsmith or an artist. The Hemopathy Protection Agency (HPA) is closing in on Ada and Corianne’s tails and they are at risk at being thrown into an asylum and losing everything and everyone they love.

I loved this - the setting, the AMAZING female friendships, the magic system. It was great. At the start of the book, I felt like as a reader i had been thrown into the quick of it and it took me a while to really gather the details of the story around me and get into it but soon it wasn’t long before I was devouring each chapter.

Ada and Corinne are amazing characters - strong in themselves, their powers, their opinions. They’ve been allowed blossom into amazing women by their protector Johnny Dervish who looks after them by running a club where hemopaths perform. The brief romances the girls have are very much in the background and the main relationship focused on in the book is the girl’s friendship which I loved.This book contains characters of colour and different sexuality and no fuss is made of either (except some of the racism Ada experiences as a black woman in 1919 America).

The story was engaging and really kept me on my toes as the girls showed more of their powers (I really loved their way of practising their illusions against each other as a game) and then as they tried to solve the mystery of the asylum’s basement. There were twists and turns, especially in the second half and it left me gasping and not knowing what would come next. 

And can I say how beautiful it is that at someone's last moments, Corianne has the power to send them anywhere in the world for their dying breath. So emotional and beautiful

I really loved the end, and I hope this isn’t the last of Ada and Corinne cause I'd love more.