Series ✦ Penny’s Take
Smoke and Iron
Rachel Caine · 2018
79/100
👍 Worth It
Smoke and Iron is the point in the Great Library series where Caine fully opens up the world, and the shift to multiple POVs pays off — the rebellion feels genuinely earned rather than manufactured. The themes around censorship and institutional corruption have real weight, and the pacing is relentless in the best way. Parents should know the violence is on the harder edge of YA and there is same-sex romance depicted, but for readers who have followed the series it is a satisfying escalation.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety72
substance80
craft82
originality78
accuracy80
hype75
age-fit78
human-eye80
Penny’s verdict79
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