Title: Storm and Fury
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published: June 2019
Publisher: Harlequin Australia
Readership: Young Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★.5
I received a copy of Storm and Fury from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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…
Jennifer L. Armentrout is an author who I’ve always heard people talk about but have yet to read… until Storm and Fury, and can I just say that I’ll be starting on her back catalogue any day now. Storm and Fury is a young adult urban-fantasy spin-off from one of her earlier trilogies, but you do not need to have read that to read this book. (As I said, this is my first venture into Armentrout’s work, so I stand by this.)
Trinnity Marrow is about to turn eighteen but has lived most of her life within the walls of a compound guarded by Gargoyle-shapeshifters, known as wardens. Despite steadily loosing her eyesight, Trinnity can see and community with ghosts and spirits, along with a few other secret abilities that are revealed throughout the story, and she’s no damsel in distress. She wants to be out in the world and wants to be part of the fight against demons, but the Wardens are determined to keep her safe, until she meets Zayne, a Warden from a separate clan. They begin what’s initially an antagonistic relationship that becomes something more when they’re forced to work together to foil a demon plot that threatens the stability of the world.
As I’ve gotten older and read more books across genres, it’s become easier to pick out the types of books that I know I’m going to automatically enjoy. Urban fantasy (and of it) is usually a pretty safe bet and Storm and Fury hit a lot of the right notes for me. A little over 500 pages long, I thought it would take me longer to read, but if I’d been able to sit down and marathon the book in one sitting, I can guarantee I would have done it (as it was I managed it in three sittings over the course of a day). Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down.
Trinnity is a smart, sassy young adult who knows she’s been protected and rails against it, even as she begins to understand the reasoning behind it. She’s eager to get out and do her bit, whilst also recognising that there’s a reason the Wardens are trying to keep her out of it. Despite losing her eyesight, she never lets anyone pity her or stop her from doing exactly what she wants to do – she knows her capabilities and limits and pushes them as far as she can without being altogether too reckless. (Most of the time.) She’s a young woman eager to experience the world and life and when she finally has an opportunity to do that, she begins to understand the implications of her life (and what she is) in the greater scheme and that was kind of cool.
Zayne was an interesting hero, even if he started out pretty stereotypically – he’s aloof and a smart-ass but he’s intrigued by the mystery that is Trinnity and eventually begins to thaw. (Now that I know that it’s a spin-off series of Zayne’s trilogy I can understand a lot of the motivations behind the character and am even more interested in reading his original story.) I loved how both Zayne and Trinnity eventually get to the point where they speak truthfully to one another – and yes, it takes them a while and a lot of miscommunication, but they get there and that’s the most important thing.
Speaking of communication – when Trinnity finally reveals to Zayne that she’s losing her eyesight (and it takes nearly the whole book, because she’s used to compensating and taking care of herself) his reaction is just as awesome as her don’t-need-no-pity attitude – it’s just part of who the character is and I loved that no bigger deal was made of it.
There was fun, snarky banter, fantastic tension, awesome action sequences and a whole lot of angels, demons and gargoyles and frankly, I couldn’t ask for me. This is definitely a series I’ll be continuing.
Noveltea Corner 