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Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. ArmentroutThe Harbringer #1
Published by Inkyard Press on June 11, 2019
Age Group & Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Publisher
Eighteen-year-old Trinity Marrow may be going blind, but she can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. Her unique gift is part of a secret so dangerous that she’s been in hiding for years in an isolated compound fiercely guarded by Wardens—gargoyle shape-shifters who protect humankind from demons. If the demons discover the truth about Trinity, they’ll devour her, flesh and bone, to enhance their own powers.
When Wardens from another clan arrive with disturbing reports that something out there is killing both demons and Wardens, Trinity’s safe world implodes. Not the least because one of the outsiders is the most annoying and fascinating person she’s ever met. Zayne has secrets of his own that will upend her world yet again—but working together becomes imperative once demons breach the compound and Trinity’s secret comes to light. To save her family and maybe the world, she’ll have to put her trust in Zayne. But all bets are off as a supernatural war is unleashed…
A copy of the book was provided for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore does not affect the opinion or content of the review.
Hello friends, it is I! Life has been very busy and all I’ve wanted to do is stare at the ceiling while hiding from all of the universe’s problems, including all the blasted mosquitoes. 😡 (But I sincerely apologize for continuously being an airhead since April-ish.)
But I’m popping out with my hopefully coherent review for Storm and Fury today! And then go back to my corner and cry over life.
So no one told me Storm and Fury was a spin-off series until near release day. 😬
The last time I read JLA was her Lux series, in which I have an intense love/hate relationship that bordered more on “I disliked it enough that I didn’t finish.” But I did decide to dive into Storm and Fury despite characters appearing from The Dark Elements series. I recommend reading The Dark Elements series first though unless you don’t mind spoilers.
But if you do care about being spoiled, I’d backtrack from picking Storm and Fury up.
JLA’s writing has truly grown — this is chock full of snark and humor.
Not reading an author’s works for years makes things eye-opening. Reading Storm and Fury definitely showed so much growth in JLA’s writing, but it’s possible that:
- My reading preferences changed over time.
- Lux series was just not the story for me.
That being said, one of my favorite things out of Storm and Fury is the writing. The first book in The Harbringer series is full of snark and humor from nearly all of the characters. I love the way Trinity tries to make her situations comical and particularly her interactions with Zayne. And I enjoyed seeing Roth make an appearance (I now want to read The Dark Elements just for his sass).
Is there anything actually going on in Storm and Fury?
When I sat myself down to write the review and really thought about this, there isn’t. There is nothing much happening in this book and what drove the story the most for me is the snark and humor. Everything seems to happen near the end of the story, but it seems like there is a constant state of action.
What we spend time doing instead:
- learning about the Warden life
- learning about Trinity with a lot of mystery surrounding her
- chasing down what could be killing both demons and Wardens
- romantic angst (chemistry?) between Trinity and Zayne
But we do get some kick-ass scenes throughout where Trinity is an absolute boss and she adapts to retinitis pigmentosa rather than let it hinder her. (Side note: JLA has this and I loved seeing how she integrated the eye disease in Storm and Fury!)
Lately, the first book in a series for me has been seemingly slow, focusing on the setup rather than the action, so I’m not letting this bother me with JLA’s latest. I enjoyed reading Storm and Fury and recommend it to those who enjoy a paranormal romance that will make you laugh.
Sophia started blogging in February 2012 for the hell of it and is surprisingly still around. She has a GIF for nearly everything, probably listens to too much K-Pop and is generally in an existential crisis of sorts (she's trying her best). More of her bookish reviews and K-Pop Roundups can be found at The Arts STL.
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A friend recently recommended the Lux series to me. Is it not good?
They were ordering books online and there were quite a few JLA books in their cart.
I personally didn’t like it since I felt Katy needed too much saving from Daemon and well… let’s just Daemon annoyed me way too much and it all just added together. I think it got worse in book two so um… I abandoned the series. But I know a lot of people enjoyed the Lux series, so maybe you would as well? If you like paranormal romance with hot aliens that look like humans, then yes.
I do in fact enjoy paranormal romance. I shall check it out.
Excellent. I’m available in the DMs of various places you have me on for chattering when and if you check it out. 😀
Girl, you need to read Dark Elements series, ESPECIALLY if you want more of Roth’s sass! You’ll get so much of it! Like you, I read Storm and Fury first. And then I decided it was time to read Dark Elements series and I truly liked it! Mostly because of Roth
Ahhh that’s good to know the Dark Elements is good and well worth it just to get more of Ross’s sass.
I didn’t mind that this was a spinoff even though I had NOT read the original series. I do see where fans found this a little underwhelming as the original couple had a bit more personality. Funny the plot did feel like it was more romance driven than plot driven. I felt it was obvious who was behind everything. ❤️
It was SUPER romance driven! I’m glad I’m not the only one who hadn’t read the original series first before diving into Storm and Fury. From the brief scenes that we get of the original couple, I agree – they do seem to have more personality; maybe it’s because the characters have a history already? Hopefully we’ll get more in the next book.
If Sam hadn’t mentioned it being a spinoff series I wouldn’t have known either until reading this review, so I’m biding my time to read the other series first, but I’m really hopeful reading your review of this <3 lol first books are slow, and Idk, I guess we're just gonna roll with it
Rolling with it is always a good option. You should definitely read The Dark Elements series first, especially if you don’t like major spoilers from that. It’ll give you a good feel of the world and some of the characters who will appear in Storm and Fury.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t realise this was a spin-off!! I love some snark and humour too… so may have to pick this up!
They didn’t make it clear apparently (I’m not the only one according to various Discord servers)! I’d give it a try and see if you enjoy it. 🙂
JLA is always hit or miss for me. I didn’t finish the Lux series either but there were a few of her books that I loved then a few I hated lol I doubt I’ll read this one but you never know. I seem to be a glutton for punishment with her books.
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t finish the Lux series. I can’t say I’m a hit or miss with her as well since I don’t have much experience with her books (I ran off quickly after Lux, I suppose). If you do give this one a try, though, I hope this will be a hit for you rather than a miss. 🙂
It’s good to know that this is a spinoff series. I enjoy a good read with full of snark and humor, but I don’t enjoy paranormal romance as much as I used to.
I had a really hard time with this one! I’m happy it worked for you though. I typically love all things JLA, so I was bummed when I didn’t like it. I thought everything that happened at the end was very anticlimactic and would have liked more resolution between her and… someone else.
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬
Ah yes, THAT. I wanted more from that as well rather than what happened, which felt… rushed? Unfinished? There’s more to the story than what was told in the first book? (Perhaps we’ll find out the reason for such a rush later; maybe there’s a purpose to the rush, which I hope so.)
I might miss Roth enough to pick this book up. I wasn’t big fan of Zayne in The Dark Elements because I felt like he was being a hypocrite but hopefully this book will change my mind.
I do hope you pick The Dark Elements up even if only for Roth and Bambi. I wasn’t big fan of the heroine but I still love the romance between her and Roth.
I can’t say for sure if he continues to be a hypocrite, but it’s good to know that about him before I dive into The Dark Elements! (Well, when and if I dive into the series.) It does seem like he sort of is in the spin off, but he could change later on in the books as well (and it sounds like he might). I won’t know for sure about that until I get to the original, though.
Ooooh, I didn’t realise that this was a spinoff at all! Thanks for the heads up. I guess I’ll eventually pick up a JLA but maybe not this year.
I’m rereading the first two books in the Dark Elements Series now (via audio) so that I can finally read book three and then read this one. I knew there would be spoilers, so I’m avoiding it until I get there. 🙂
Hope you enjoy The Dark Elements! I’ll be on the look out for your review to see if I should dive into it or if I simply carry on with the spin-off.