Thank you to Peachtree Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Lady of Steel and Straw by Erica Ivy Rodgers is a Wizard of Oz-inspired YA fantasy that will appeal to adult readers as well. The story is told from a dual 3rd person POV, focusing on Lady Charlotte Sand and Captain Luc de Montaigne. Charlotte has the magical power to stop dead spirits who have turned into wraiths. Luc de Montaigne is from a rival religion and he meets Charlotte while on a mission to collect the hearts of guardians from Charlotte’s religion. When the two meet, sparks fly, but since they are from rival religions, their relationship is absolutely forbidden. Will the pair learn to look past their differences or will they be killed by the wraiths around them?
Here is a beautiful excerpt from Chapter 1, which is from Charlotte’s point of view:
“”Every creature from here to town can feel the discontent rolling off you,” called Grandmother. “You’ll wake the wraiths on your own, if you aren’t careful.”
“It’s not discontent,” grumbled Charlotte. But Charlotte didn’t know what to call it either-this feeling akin to emptiness. Maybe it was emptiness, just not the desolate kind. It was a vessel waiting to be filled. A place in her chest, wide open and ready for possibilities.
From the ground, a shard of white caught the sun, and Charlotte knelt to touch the bleached bone. The wraith inhabiting it gave a small shiver. Charlotte forced a smile, encouaging the wraith to rest. Its weak consciousness grasped greedily at the edges of the peace she offered before quieting as Charlotte pressed the bone deeper into the loam.”
Overall, Lady of Steel and Straw is a YA fantasy that I think will appeal more to adult readers, especially fans of The Witcher. From the title and cover art, I was expecting something like Syfy’s Tin Man mini-series or NBC’s Emerald City series. Instead, the Oz references were far and few between, which was a bit disappointing. One highlight of this book is the premise. After reading the summary, I was so excited to dive into this fantasy world. I was so excited to start reading.
I did take off 1 star because I had to force myself to keep reading through a lot of this book. It’s very long, for starters, which is one of the reasons why I think that this book would appeal more to adult readers in general. I took off another star, because I felt like I couldn’t connect to any of the characters. The book is told from a dual 3rd person POV, focusing on the male and female leads. Although I prefer 3rd person when the POV has to be told from dual perspectives, I didn’t particularly like Charlotte or Luc. If you’re intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you’re a fan of YA fantasy in general, you can check out this book when it comes out in June.
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