Storm Born by Richelle Mead
Or: hmm what’s missing here?
Goodreads || The Book Depository
Synopsis: Just typical. No love life to speak of for months, then all at once, every horny creature in the Otherworld wants to get in your pants. . . Eugenie Markham is a powerful shaman who does a brisk trade banishing spirits and fey who cross into the mortal world. Mercenary, yes, but a girl’s got to eat. Her most recent case, however, is enough to ruin her appetite. Hired to find a teenager who has been taken to the Otherworld, Eugenie comes face to face with a startling prophecy—one that uncovers dark secrets about her past and claims that Eugenie’s first-born will threaten the future of the world as she knows it. Now Eugenie is a hot target for every ambitious demon and Otherworldy ne’er-do-well, and the ones who don’t want to knock her up want her dead. Eugenie handles a Glock as smoothly as she wields a wand, but she needs some formidable allies for a job like this. She finds them in Dorian, a seductive fairy king with a taste for bondage, and Kiyo, a gorgeous shape-shifter who redefines animal attraction. But with enemies growing bolder and time running out, Eugenie realizes that the greatest danger is yet to come, and it lies in the dark powers that are stirring to life within her…
This book was good but there was something missing from it that I cant quite put my finger on.
I’d give this book 3 stars after some time to think on it.
Richelle Mead has held my devotion for many years, and now that the Vampire Academy series and Bloodline Series were over, I was determined to read more of her work. I accidentally stumbled across book three in this series in store and then quickly realised my mistake after purchasing the book and returning home. Determined to like the series, I ordered this book.
This story is good, but it doesn’t sweep me up and overwhelm me. I’m not sure if its because I have extremely high expectations when it comes to Mead’s work or I’m just used to the slightly different style of the VA and Bloodlines series.
Will I read the rest of this series? Definitely; I’ve seriously got a crush on Dorian. Would I go out of my way to recommend it? No, I’d recommend her other stuff.This is the sort of book you read when its a cold, wet day and you have not much else to do. This is a great time waster with a very strong heroine who is in strong command of herself. This is the sort of book you’d take away on vacation. A ‘pool’ read if you will.
Once again, Mead’s ability to create such a dense and complex new world that runs parallel to our own is amazing; the Otherworld is amazing and something you’d find in a true world-built fantasy. Yes there are a few holy parts to this world- for example there are times when you kind of just sit there confused as you try and imagine it in your head- but I think Mead intends well. I’d say the Otherworld for her is so dense and complex, she has a hard time describing it because she leaves a lot of the world to the reader’s imagining. For a lot of reviewers (god bless goodreads) this is a deal breaker. For me it isn’t.
While yes, there is definitely a love triangle in this book, it’s not unnecessary and it’s hard to imagine Eugenie’s story existing without both Kiyo and Dorian in the way that it does. Does Eugenie become solely dependent on either one? no. Not at all. This book does however revolve around sex so if you’re not into sexually independent women, it’s best to put this book down and walk away, because there is A LOT of sex in this book. It’s almost as if Mead is making up for the very wisely abstinent Bloodlines and VA series here.
It’s easy to draw a lot of parallels between Rose Hathaway and Eugenie Markham, but Eugenie is still fresh and original and has just enough dry sarcasm to set her apart from Mead’s other spunky heroine. Eugenie, like most of Mead’s heroes, makes mistakes and like Mead’s previous offerings, is totally forgivable. You can’t help but root for Eugenie, and pray she stays strong enough to keep moving on her own path. While there are some moments Eugenie almost slides into Mary Sue mode, they are rare and brief. If your tolerance for Mary Sue moments is limited, again, its probably best to put down the book and move away. Eugenie isn’t a Mary sue… totally. Hopefully this improves as the series goes on.
I don’t know if that intangible missing part will appear in the next couple of books, but I’m definitely committed to this story line and will read the series anyway.
The Undecided Bookworm 