A review by amybraunauthor
Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine

5.0

Man oh man, this was another great addition to the series! With the group now split up, there are four very different perspectives and storylines that are followed: Jess, Kahlila, Wolfe, and Morgan. All of them are very strong in their own right and I have a hard time pinning down who had my favourite storyline, though Wolfe's was mainly an emotional gateway to his damaged psyche. There were a lot of inventive twists and drama and conspiracies, all of it leading to a truly epic showdown and a powerful finale that has me craving the final book. There were new and very important characters (and side characters you just love, aka Annis), and while every character grew, I felt that Morgan and Kahlila gained the most development as they continued to rise in power and become stronger women. There is plenty of romance, but nobody can beat the eternal love between Santi and Wolfe. I'm honestly super excited to see where how this series concludes now that the final lines have been drawn and the stage is set for the last battle. Our heroes have scraped past death multiple times, but I get the sense they may not escape it next time... but I'm going to read the final book and cross my fingers in hopes that they do!