Made of Steel — Ivy Smoak

I knew exactly what I was expecting when I picked up Made of Steel, but what I got blew my expectations out of the water. I started reading this book at around 9 pm and didn’t put it down until I finished. Absolutely 5-star worthy.

Ten years after Summer lost everything, she’s given a fresh start in the witness protection program. The only rule: don’t speak to anyone from her past. A rule that’s hard to follow when she finds out that the boy next door is living right down the hall. Unlike him, she never forgot. But she knows that the future she once dreamed of is no longer an option. And if she reveals her identity, she could get them both killed.

Miles fell in love with the girl next door when he was eight-years-old. When she disappeared in the foster care system, it felt like a piece of him was missing. So when she shows up in his life again with a different color hair and a new name? It doesn’t fool him. And this time he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her.

Review

I knew exactly what I was expecting when I picked up Made of Steel, but what I got blew my expectations out of the water. 

Have you ever felt like you were in a reading slump? Like everything you read just wasn’t living up to expectations? I was in such a slump right before I picked up this book. Made of Steel, by Ivy Smoak, began in a relatively straight-forward manner. Boy meets the new girl-next-door and immediately falls in love, though as an eight-year-old he doesn’t know what that truly means. Girl immediately falls in love with the boy right back. But then Summer’s life takes a turn for the worse. Her parents die in a car crash, and less than a year later she is placed into the foster care system after her Grandmother, her last living relative, passes away from a heart attack. The only connection to her old life is the letters she continues to write back and forth with Miles, the boy she will never stop loving. Until he stops responding. 

Fully expecting this book to unfold like a typical romance, I was surprised when Summer began her new life in the witness protection program by falling for a fellow college classmate, Eli. He seemed perfect, more like the hero of the story than the stereotypical “other guy”. But the story takes a surprising turn when Summer’s past starts coming back to intertwine with her present, and she no longer knows who she can trust. 

One of the reasons I loved reading this book is because of Summer’s character. She has truly been through hell. Her life for nine years prior to entering the witness protection program would surely break anyone, yet she remains optimistic. Though she berates herself for maintaining faith that her world will get better, it is exactly this sentiment that draws me in as a reader. She is an extremely well-balanced character. She’s honest and kind-hearted, but only as much as her past allows her to be. She sincerely cares about others and doesn’t want to involve them in the danger that surrounds her life, but also maintains a healthy dose of self-preservation. She’s a great heroine for this romantic thriller. 

Summary

I started reading this book at around 9 pm and didn’t put it down until I finished. Absolutely 5-star worthy. This book undeniably ends on a cliffhanger, but thankfully the next book in the series, Forged in Flames, is already out and available. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m signing off so I can get reading! 

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Link to Author’s website: https://www.ivysmoak.com/

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