Hearts of Steel by Elizabeth Camden

 

Hearts of Steel

Isn't that an eye-catching cover?

Here’s the summary:

His steel empire has catapulted him to the top of the world, but loving her could cost him everything.

Maggie Molinaro survived a hardscrabble childhood in the downtrodden streets of Manhattan to become a successful businesswoman. After a decade of sacrifice, she now owns a celebrated ice cream company. But when she offends a corrupt banker, she unwittingly sets off a series of calamities that threaten to destroy her life's work.

Liam Blackstone is a charismatic steel magnate committed to overhauling factory conditions for the steelworkers of America. Standing in his way is the same villain determined to ruin Maggie. What begins as a practical alliance to defeat a common enemy soon evolves into a romance between two wounded people determined to beat the odds.

And now, my review:

The heroine’s occupation is very original! I enjoyed learning about ice cream making in the 1890s. She’s a competent, intelligent, courageous businesswoman. I liked how determined and capable she was.

The hero suffers from a medical condition that I found interesting as I haven’t seen it very often in fiction. He’s a hothead who acts before he thinks, at times. Flawed but trying. So one theme would be caution and decorum.

I noticed a pattern in this novel of the author telling us something before the following scenes or dialogue showed those elements to us. This order issue was jarring.

Throughout the romance, I wanted to feel more chemistry. His referring to the heroine as gamine (boyish) jarred me from there being much attraction. At times I felt a little lost, as if I’d missed more to Liam’s story in an earlier volume in the series.

I liked that they teamed up to solve the story’s problem. He freely shared his resources, which is noble.

There were some technique issues that bumped me from the story—like having the same chapter hookouts three chapters in a row. Redundancies (of concepts/themes/sentiments) and overused words. I did end up skimming and skipping scenes.