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onespaceymother's review
4.0
Delighted to read a book that was not advertised as LGBTQA, but definitely celebrates having a bisexual character. As the blurb on the back of the book makes clear you’re still looking at a generally cis heterosexual relationship, but the fact that it was a non-issue that the man was bisexual, and had sexual history with other men, was just such a relief from other romance novels.
I’m not sure I felt too strongly about the characters or that they were developed quite enough for me to care strongly about them, but the world building was really creative and pretty good. I read it in two nights so I’ll probably read the next in the series.
I’m not sure I felt too strongly about the characters or that they were developed quite enough for me to care strongly about them, but the world building was really creative and pretty good. I read it in two nights so I’ll probably read the next in the series.
bookwife's review
2.0
I enjoy this kind of storyline.. where a character somehow comes to the future. But I didn’t like these characters or this world. It was rushed and nothing was really explained. It felt like a second book.
And the weird love triangle thing with the soul of the past love in the sword was just weird. Idk. I felt like there was waaaaay more of a connection with the guy and the soul sword
And the weird love triangle thing with the soul of the past love in the sword was just weird. Idk. I felt like there was waaaaay more of a connection with the guy and the soul sword
see_sadie_read's review
4.0
3.5
Having read this, I can now say that I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. I thought both Amris and Darya were lovely characters. They were just so unfailingly kind to one another and those around them—good people. Plus, they’re both well into adulthood. I also very much appreciated being given a bisexual hero (without it being any drama) and several LGBTQ side characters. Similarly, Darya and Amris had different skill-sets, but both were allowed to excel together and apart. (And they do fight apart, even after getting together.) So often, us readers are given a ‘badass heroine’ who goes limp in the presence of the hero. Cooper didn’t do that to us. Darya stays just as competent and dangerous after meeting Amris as she was before and I loved that.
I did feel a bit thrown into the story. The book starts at the re-ignition of a magical war and there is a lot of history to absorb quickly. I never felt like I got a real feel for the villain. For that matter, I don’t really feel like I got to know Darya and Amris particularly deeply either. I liked them, but they are on the go for the entirety of the book and I didn’t feel like there was ever a chance to pause, breathe, and get to know them outside of the circumstances of the story.
All in all, however, I can’t wait to jump into book two. Though I do want to make a quick point about the cover. One presumes that is Amris, the male lead. He spends the entire book in plate armor. He briefly takes it off to bathe, sleep, and for the single (very mild) sex scene. But he is notably in armor the whole book. So, why are we given a shirtless cover? It’s not that I dislike the cover, or that I’m a prude about skin. But I do feel like it misrepresents the sort of story one will find under that cover. Just, sayin’.
Having read this, I can now say that I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. I thought both Amris and Darya were lovely characters. They were just so unfailingly kind to one another and those around them—good people. Plus, they’re both well into adulthood. I also very much appreciated being given a bisexual hero (without it being any drama) and several LGBTQ side characters. Similarly, Darya and Amris had different skill-sets, but both were allowed to excel together and apart. (And they do fight apart, even after getting together.) So often, us readers are given a ‘badass heroine’ who goes limp in the presence of the hero. Cooper didn’t do that to us. Darya stays just as competent and dangerous after meeting Amris as she was before and I loved that.
I did feel a bit thrown into the story. The book starts at the re-ignition of a magical war and there is a lot of history to absorb quickly. I never felt like I got a real feel for the villain. For that matter, I don’t really feel like I got to know Darya and Amris particularly deeply either. I liked them, but they are on the go for the entirety of the book and I didn’t feel like there was ever a chance to pause, breathe, and get to know them outside of the circumstances of the story.
All in all, however, I can’t wait to jump into book two. Though I do want to make a quick point about the cover. One presumes that is Amris, the male lead. He spends the entire book in plate armor. He briefly takes it off to bathe, sleep, and for the single (very mild) sex scene. But he is notably in armor the whole book. So, why are we given a shirtless cover? It’s not that I dislike the cover, or that I’m a prude about skin. But I do feel like it misrepresents the sort of story one will find under that cover. Just, sayin’.
barbaragorgon's review
2.0
DNF. It's just a draggy Witcher ripoff. One of the characters is literally named "Gerant."
e_curran's review
2.0
Romance book club pick, April 2021
This is maybe a 2.5, but that’s pushing it. Story & plot was interesting but pacing was way off. It should’ve been spread out over weeks/months — they’re in a horse powered society! And they’re walking! It could take them 3 weeks to get back to civilization and then it seems less like proximity sexy times but actual love.
Ratio of romance to battle is skewed (like, 2 pages vs multiple chapters
This is maybe a 2.5, but that’s pushing it. Story & plot was interesting but pacing was way off. It should’ve been spread out over weeks/months — they’re in a horse powered society! And they’re walking! It could take them 3 weeks to get back to civilization and then it seems less like proximity sexy times but actual love.
Ratio of romance to battle is skewed (like, 2 pages vs multiple chapters
bookishhill's review
3.0
2.5/5 ⭐️s
I’m still not entirely sure what’s going on in this book, but I like the relationship between the core three characters. I have book 2 on NetGalley, so hopefully I’ve retained enough of this plot for that one to make since.
I’m still not entirely sure what’s going on in this book, but I like the relationship between the core three characters. I have book 2 on NetGalley, so hopefully I’ve retained enough of this plot for that one to make since.
loveinpanels's review
3.0
This premise is a lot of fun and I'm always happy to see a bisexual, queernormative world. Unfortunately, the world events overshadowed the romance and the love triangle with the wizard trapped in the sword (yes, that's what you just read) pushed the romance to late in the book, after the MCs got approval from the wizard. I wanted more development there, more evidence that the two MCs were compatible in the long term.
The battle magic was interesting, if gross. Overall it reads like a shorter, less rape-filled version of Milla Vane's books crossed with The Witcher.
The battle magic was interesting, if gross. Overall it reads like a shorter, less rape-filled version of Milla Vane's books crossed with The Witcher.
thenaptimewriter's review
3.0
I had read a novel by Isabel Cooper before and, 2020 having me craving all the fantasy romance there is, was especially eager to give her newest release The Stormbringer a try. Unfortunately, though the world-building is intricate & unique, this one falls flat for me.
Amris, a General, has been locked in time for 100 years, a magical effort that he & his lover Gerant undertook to try to contain an evil sorcerer named Thyran.
Darya, a sentinel who makes use of her special gifts in service of defeating evil creatures, discovers Amris, & thanks to her magical sword (through which the aforementioned wizard Gerant speaks) knows who Amris is & how to free him.
Darya & Amris soon realize that someone came & released Thyran earlier & he’s likely figuring out a way to amass his evil army again. They decide to travel to the city they believe will be attacked in an effort to warn the forces there and help bring Thyran down.
The Storm Bringer is an inventive romance that feels different from anything I’ve read before. The battle descriptions are detailed & fast-paced, often filled with visceral imagery.
While I was impressed from a world-building perspective, I was disappointed by the romance storyline. The relationship between Darya, Amris, & Gerant is layered & interesting, but Gerant—the spirit that speaks through Darya’s sword—takes on a big role in the story and in the leads’s relationship itself.
This made me particularly uncomfortable for a couple of reasons: (1) Amris processes these big events so quickly; he was frozen, awakened & learned his partner Gerant has died, & then decides he wants to kiss Darya, and for him, it feels like the moment before he froze was recent. (2) Add to that that Gerant is still able to “see” & “hear” & “sense” what’s happening most of the time...
It just seems as if there would have been more emotions to unpack before Amris rushed into a physical/romantic relationship with someone else. & some of the relationship dynamics—the question of whether what Darya & Amris are doing from a physical standpoint is crossing a line since Gerant is still part of their lives—unsettled me.
So in the end, it seems that I warmed to the fantasy aspect of this novel; the romance, not so much.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.
Amris, a General, has been locked in time for 100 years, a magical effort that he & his lover Gerant undertook to try to contain an evil sorcerer named Thyran.
Darya, a sentinel who makes use of her special gifts in service of defeating evil creatures, discovers Amris, & thanks to her magical sword (through which the aforementioned wizard Gerant speaks) knows who Amris is & how to free him.
Darya & Amris soon realize that someone came & released Thyran earlier & he’s likely figuring out a way to amass his evil army again. They decide to travel to the city they believe will be attacked in an effort to warn the forces there and help bring Thyran down.
The Storm Bringer is an inventive romance that feels different from anything I’ve read before. The battle descriptions are detailed & fast-paced, often filled with visceral imagery.
While I was impressed from a world-building perspective, I was disappointed by the romance storyline. The relationship between Darya, Amris, & Gerant is layered & interesting, but Gerant—the spirit that speaks through Darya’s sword—takes on a big role in the story and in the leads’s relationship itself.
This made me particularly uncomfortable for a couple of reasons: (1) Amris processes these big events so quickly; he was frozen, awakened & learned his partner Gerant has died, & then decides he wants to kiss Darya, and for him, it feels like the moment before he froze was recent. (2) Add to that that Gerant is still able to “see” & “hear” & “sense” what’s happening most of the time...
It just seems as if there would have been more emotions to unpack before Amris rushed into a physical/romantic relationship with someone else. & some of the relationship dynamics—the question of whether what Darya & Amris are doing from a physical standpoint is crossing a line since Gerant is still part of their lives—unsettled me.
So in the end, it seems that I warmed to the fantasy aspect of this novel; the romance, not so much.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.