MADE OF STEEL

A college student’s chance at a new life is complicated by her dangerous past and a mysterious man who tracks her every move.

Eighteen-year-old Summer Brooks nervously awaits the beginning of a new life and identity at Eastern University in New York City. Ten years earlier, she enjoyed an idyllic childhood in Wyoming with her best friend and crush Miles Young. After the deaths of her parents and grandmother, she winds up in the foster care system, eventually ending up in the home of Don Roberts, who brutally attacks her. After agreeing to testify against Don, she enters the witness protection program. Now known as Sadie Davis, she befriends roommate Kinsley and starts dating fellow freshman Eli Hayes. But her past may be catching up with her. She discovers that Miles is her dorm’s resident assistant, although he doesn’t seem to recognize her. Despite assurances she is safe, Summer believes someone is following her. When a series of threats leaves her wondering whom to trust, she discovers an unlikely ally in a vigilante intent on helping victims find justice. The first installment of Smoak’s (James the Christmas Grouch, 2018, etc.) Made of Steel series is a twisty, page-turning thriller that offers equal doses of romance and suspense. Summer Brooks is a compelling hero. A young woman whose childhood was marked by tragedy and abuse, she is determined to rebuild her life and seek justice against her attacker even if it means assuming a new identity. Some of the novel’s strongest moments occur as she explores life as “Sadie Davis,” determined to embrace different experiences and take a chance on romance with Eli Hayes. A subplot about an elusive vigilante is similarly well-developed as Summer investigates his identity for a class project.

An intriguing, compulsively readable start to an exciting new series.