Storm and Fury - Review

Storm and Fury (The Harbinger, # 1)

By: Jennifer L Armentrout

Publication: June 11th 2019 by Inkyard Press

384 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Source:

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Goodreads description--From the #1 New York Times, USA TODAY and internationally bestselling author of the fantastical Dark Elements and the Lux series comes a new novel set in a world of gargoyle protectors, rising demons and one girl with an explosive secret.

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…

I've got to be honest guys, I almost DNF'd this one way early on. I'm so beyond certain things (political statements mostly) being included in books I'm trying to read for pleasure. But I pressed on and I'm glad that I did for the overall story's sake. It was close though. Really close.

Speaking of story, Jennifer L Armentrout isn't quite an auto-read author for me. I've read several of her books over the years and have enjoyed most of them. Yet a few have had some pretty big issues for me. While I won't say that Storm and Fury is perfect, her writing was really quite good in my opinion. I never had all of the pieces figured out. I wanted to keep reading to the point of being annoyed if I had to do real life things. I was rooting for the romance yet she put me off just enough to keep me salivating for more yet not without hope or to the point of frustration. And I was frankly disappointed that more books haven't been released (this one wasn't even officially released at the time of reading and writing this review) so that I could binge them. I need more immediately. At the very least, someone needs to get a listing for book 2 out on Goodreads so that I can start stalking it properly.

Trinity has a lot going on. She's living in a Warden compound, but she's not a Warden. She's not human either. (I was slightly annoyed with how long it took to reveal what Trinity is and I was a little disappointed by the time I got there because I'd already figured it out.) She doesn't quite belong. Her mother was killed a year ago, and her father is involved in a way yet not present. She has friends but she can't help but wonder if they would be her friends under any other circumstances. Her biggest issue is that she doesn't feel wanted. People could care less if she were there and some even hate that she is there. She has to train twice as hard as anyone else because she doesn't know when she'll be called to fight even though she's mostly protected and because, as the description states, she's going blind. So yeah...lots going on here. She's also impulsive and selfish. But those traits are somehow endearing on her.

Oh I want to discuss the side characters: Misha, Jada, Layla, Roth, and especially Zayne, but much of that feels like it ventures into spoiler territory. I will say there was one scene in particular between Zayne and Trinity that was so reminiscent of my high school days. Whew! So thankful those days are behind me.

A couple of pop culture references were included that I could have done without. I like these only in a specific way--hints and not spelled out in a way that will date the book. Just a small annoyance. Another small annoyance was toward the end. There was a continuity issue that is a bit spoiler-ish. Highlight if you want to read it. When Trinity and Roth go visit Faye she tells them that she agreed to provide the senator with the spell to control/influence humans on a larger scale because he promised them a Nephilim. He said he would have the Nephilim because he already had her Protector. This is backward in timing because he didn't have Misha in his custody when he made the agreement with Faye's coven. One could argue that he was claiming to have Misha's cooperation even if he didn't have him physically captured at that time, but Misha later tells Trinity the plan had been to capture them both at the same time.

Favorite quote:

-"I'm guessing the sky is full of stars?" "It is, but the only ones that matter are the ones you see."

Jennifer L Armentrout's personal experience with the same eye disease that Trinity has makes the story even deeper and meaningful. I know there are many others who appreciate stories including visual impairment, especially if it's similar to their own experiences, doubly so when Trinity is still totally awesome.

Storm and Fury wasn't perfect for me, but it came really close. I almost DNF'd it due to some political statements, but I'm glad I kept reading. Trinity is a character I won't soon forget, and I look forward to reading more about her--and Zayne... Can't forget him. I'm interested to see how things play out and whether this will end up being an epic series or not. Storm and Fury gets 4 Stars. Have you read Storm and Fury? What did you think? Let me know!