Lady of Steel and Straw by Erica Ivy Rodgers (review)

Reviewed by: Lady of Steel and Straw by Erica Ivy Rodgers Kate Quealy-Gainer Rodgers, Erica Ivy Lady of Steel and Straw. Peachtree, 2024 432p Trade ed. ISBN 9781682636657 19. 99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781682636664 11. 99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 9-12 Ten years ago, the Guardians—essentially immortal, animated warrior scarecrows who fight off wraiths—were put into a decade-long sleep after they failed to protect the royal family of Niveaux. Now, Lady Charlotte Sand hopes that her family's Guardian, the lavender scarecrow who was partnered with her father when he died defending the crown, will awaken. To her horror, however, Captain Luc de End Page 334 Montaigne shows up with an edict saying that the Guardians will remain asleep, and their hearts will be taken to the Cardinal, the leader of the new religion of the Silent Gods. After one of Luc's men kills her brother, he cruelly leaves Charlotte to her grief with a demand that she bring the heart herself. Charlotte's pain, however, awakens the lavender scarecrow and the two head to the city, joining with other awaked Guardians along the way, to both seek revenge and find out why the spirits of the dead are stirring. It's a unique premise with a thoughtful commentary about the intersection of religion, colonization, and greed, but the world-building is shoddy, and the mechanics of the plot are overly busy with too many moving parts put together at an uneven pace. Chapters shift focus between Charlotte and Luc, though Luc is far more interesting as a self-flagellating devotee of a new religion that he believes will chase out the darkness he sees in himself. The attraction between the two leads is never quite believable, but the revelation of their connection to the wraiths makes a surprising twist. The bloody violence of the end and the villain's temporary victory will likely bring readers back for the promised sequel. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois