Iron Cast

by Destiny Soria

It’s Boston, 1919, and the Cast Iron club is packed. On stage, hemopaths—those “afflicted” with the ability to create illusions through art—captivate their audience. Corinne and Ada have been best friends ever since infamous gangster Johnny Dervish recruited them into his circle. By night they perform for Johnny’s crowds, and by day they con Boston’s elite. When a job goes wrong and Ada is imprisoned, she realises 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. An ideal next read for fans of Libba Bray’s The Diviners.

• ISBN13: 9781419721922
• Publish Date: 11 October 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 8 February 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Abrams
• Imprint: Amulet Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: https://abramsandchronicle.co.uk/book/9781419721922-iron-cast/

Reviews

[layawaydragon]

The Good:
+Loved the characters
+Loved the friendships
+Loved the magic & worldbuilding .
+Loved the writing
+Diverse cast and intersectional issues
+Did not see any of the twists coming

The Bad & The Other:
=Slower, start and stop pacing until the last 70% or so
=Kept mixing up Iron Cast and Cast Iron
=Open ending. Hope there’s a sequel…

This wasn’t quite the fun heist novel like several of the comparisons being made. It’s darker and more complex with different intersectional issues going on. There’s a lot of layers, players, and trust issues. When it seems to wind down, it ramps right back up.

It starts with Corinne posing as someone else while rescuing Ada, which threw me for a loop. Afterwards is when the introductions and worldbuilding starts and that inevitably slows the pace down. Since I found the set up fascinating and love getting lost in fantasy worlds, this worked for me.

Corinne, and Ada are inseparable best sister-friends. From different worlds and perspectives, they have natural volley conversations. But far from instant clicking and effortlessness, they work at being friends and overcome a lot to become friends in the first place. It’s really sweet, sarcastic, and wonderful to see. The foreword from Soria makes it clear how important this was to get right, and she smashed it out of the park for me.

The Cast Iron is the name of the club and oh my gods, I kept reading either the title wrong as Cast Iron or the club name as Iron Cast. There must be some significance and reason for this, but I’ll be honest, I’m at a loss. Not a big deal, but it did take me out of the story occasionally when I realized what I was doing. And Cast Iron makes me think of the pans…

Anywho, The Cast Iron crew is the definition of a motley crew and I loved it. They all have their own talents, pasts, and personalities. There are several couples running around but the romance doesn’t dominate. It’s intertwined and they keep their focus and priorities.

Also, these kids aren’t all on their own. Most have issues and disconnects with their families, but they’re still present and play a part. I’d say more but spoilers.

Once the plot gets past the blurb, I honestly had no idea what was going to happen or who would pop up. There are artists, cons, gangsters, politicians, and the elite running around, which is enough for any normal book but add in the hemopath powers and it’s explosive.

If you’re willing to commit or savor a well-written novel that reads like the set-up for a series (*crosses fingers*), I highly recommend Iron Cast.