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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Book Sparks and Roaring Brook Press for the free book and to Macmillan Audio and LibroFM for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.
This is the first in a brand new YA series, and it's spellbinding. Look how gorgeous the sprayed edges and end papers are. And they don't hold a candle to the story. I read the whole thing in a day because I could not put it down.
Blaze was born to an illustrious house of fire. And her twin could immediately wield fire as expected. But Blae is a storm weaver, and her birth heralded a tremendous storm that killed many. I found this an absolutely gripping narrative from the moment we learn of Blaze's birth. It's a whole new way of looking at an underdog.
As young adults Blaze and her twin Flint face new trials. So much happens, and there are so may surprises. But throughout, I always found it easy to follow and enjoy, keeping track of the characters and the magical world without problem. There's conflict, suspense, mystery, questions of good and evil, and a great balance between the plot for this book and a broader narrative for a trilogy. I can't wait for the next book.
Isis Hainsworth was an amazing narrator with excellent volume control, voices, and different intonations. She gave an absolutely spectacular performance.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️: 4.25/5
🌶️: 🚪
Format: 📱 arc
This was SO COOL. Hunger Games meets A Fate Forged in Fire, this book features a land of elemental magic where four heirs for each elemental court compete for their crowns, ultimately leading to a core court of one Etheri per element plus the Emperor. Heir of Storms did a fantastic job of marrying emotional depth of character in Blaze with political intrigue in a scheming court, and the result is a unique world that had me wanting to read more.
What I loved about the characters was that when you got to know one of them, you got to go deep. And unlike other "outcast" heroes, Blaze had solid people by her side, showing that no one is truly alone.
There were also twists! While I was able to read the foreshadowing for some of them, others took me by surprise, which is always a positive thing. Looking back, I could see where they came from, but in the moment, I truly felt like I was reeling. I liked that Murray gave me a mix so there were times when I felt I had a strong grip on what was happening (or going to happen), but that confidence faltered quickly when another twist would take me.
Overall, I was gripped until the end, and while the ending felt a little bit rushed, it does make me want to hold on for the next in the series so I can continue to follow Blaze (AND FOX, HELLO!).
This was SO COOL. Hunger Games meets A Fate Forged in Fire, this book features a land of elemental magic where four heirs for each elemental court compete for their crowns, ultimately leading to a core court of one Etheri per element plus the Emperor. Heir of Storms did a fantastic job of marrying emotional depth of character in Blaze with political intrigue in a scheming court, and the result is a unique world that had me wanting to read more.
What I loved about the characters was that when you got to know one of them, you got to go deep. And unlike other "outcast" heroes, Blaze had solid people by her side, showing that no one is truly alone.
There were also twists! While I was able to read the foreshadowing for some of them, others took me by surprise, which is always a positive thing. Looking back, I could see where they came from, but in the moment, I truly felt like I was reeling. I liked that Murray gave me a mix so there were times when I felt I had a strong grip on what was happening (or going to happen), but that confidence faltered quickly when another twist would take me.
Overall, I was gripped until the end, and while the ending felt a little bit rushed, it does make me want to hold on for the next in the series so I can continue to follow Blaze (AND FOX, HELLO!).
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There was a lot of potential here but it was such a let down!
The characters fell flat, the ‘bad guys’ remained forgotten for half of it, the ‘trials’ were uninteresting and breezed through far too quickly. Not to mention this main characters lacked chemistry, the romance was confusing and nonexistent at best, and had the most annoying and stupid main characters I’ve had the (dis)pleasure of being in the mind of.
The characters fell flat, the ‘bad guys’ remained forgotten for half of it, the ‘trials’ were uninteresting and breezed through far too quickly. Not to mention this main characters lacked chemistry, the romance was confusing and nonexistent at best, and had the most annoying and stupid main characters I’ve had the (dis)pleasure of being in the mind of.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
4.25/5 stars
This book surprised me as I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would, and I think that's due to its cheer worthy heroine and a fascinating imagined world.
At its basic level, it's a story about gaining self-confidence when you feel that you've let everyone down and become a shell of what you should be. While Blaze is not sure that she wants to be the powerful Rain Singer she became at birth, she also feels that she might be missing some essential pieces of herself by not being able to maximize her gift to its fullest. She's a clever and courageous young woman who's just trying to figure it all out.
The love triangle is well done and even though it's basically resolved in this first book, we're left with mostly positive feelings toward both men (well...mostly positive). I liked both of them for different reasons and felt that they truly cared for Blaze as a person. While one was not quite what we thought he was, he's human and did not end up as an evil villain as some members of triangles often do.
As the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, I'm looking forward to the next adventure in the trilogy.
Well done.
My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group / Roaring Brook Press for providing the free early arc of Heir of Storms for review. The opinions are strictly my own.
This book surprised me as I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would, and I think that's due to its cheer worthy heroine and a fascinating imagined world.
At its basic level, it's a story about gaining self-confidence when you feel that you've let everyone down and become a shell of what you should be. While Blaze is not sure that she wants to be the powerful Rain Singer she became at birth, she also feels that she might be missing some essential pieces of herself by not being able to maximize her gift to its fullest. She's a clever and courageous young woman who's just trying to figure it all out.
The love triangle is well done and even though it's basically resolved in this first book, we're left with mostly positive feelings toward both men (well...mostly positive). I liked both of them for different reasons and felt that they truly cared for Blaze as a person. While one was not quite what we thought he was, he's human and did not end up as an evil villain as some members of triangles often do.
As the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, I'm looking forward to the next adventure in the trilogy.
Well done.
My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group / Roaring Brook Press for providing the free early arc of Heir of Storms for review. The opinions are strictly my own.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There are a few things you can always cheer me up with. And books about people wielding water powers is one of them. When I discovered this book I had to pre-order a copy and when I stumbled upon it on Netgalley I had to request a digital copy. I was very happy when Penguin granted me one!
From the very start of this book I was sucked into it. The writing style was perfect! Not too flowery, not too simple and just flowing nicely. The chapters were relatively short, which helped to just squeeze in one more chapter. On top of that, the heroine of this story is amazing. She's easy to relate to, easy to cheer for, easy to care about and easy to root for. Her life was far from easy and I just wanted her to get the world.
Although the book is marked as a romantasy, I think the book in the end focuses more on the fantasy part of the story than on the romance. The romance is there and it's exciting and there are a few very nice twists throughout the book, it's just not the main focus of both the book and the heroine. Even the trials are not the main focus. The main focus is learning, growing, mastering your powers and becoming the person you can be.
And watching our heroine grow during the story is amazing. Especially because the author did an amazing job using the character growth for world building and having the growth happen gradually and naturally. It takes time. It takes failure. It takes heartbreak. But she gets there! And the more she learns, and the more we learn, the more interesting the story gets. The finale already makes me long for the next book in the series!
From the very start of this book I was sucked into it. The writing style was perfect! Not too flowery, not too simple and just flowing nicely. The chapters were relatively short, which helped to just squeeze in one more chapter. On top of that, the heroine of this story is amazing. She's easy to relate to, easy to cheer for, easy to care about and easy to root for. Her life was far from easy and I just wanted her to get the world.
Although the book is marked as a romantasy, I think the book in the end focuses more on the fantasy part of the story than on the romance. The romance is there and it's exciting and there are a few very nice twists throughout the book, it's just not the main focus of both the book and the heroine. Even the trials are not the main focus. The main focus is learning, growing, mastering your powers and becoming the person you can be.
And watching our heroine grow during the story is amazing. Especially because the author did an amazing job using the character growth for world building and having the growth happen gradually and naturally. It takes time. It takes failure. It takes heartbreak. But she gets there! And the more she learns, and the more we learn, the more interesting the story gets. The finale already makes me long for the next book in the series!
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No