Ｔｉｔｌｅ： Storm and Fury
Ａｕｔｈｏｒ： Jennifer L. Armentrout
Ｓｅｒｉｅｓ： Book 1
Ｒａｔｉｎｇ： ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
＊Ｎｏｔｅ：I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Meet Trinity Marrow, a girl with an explosive secret whose hiding place has just been discovered…
Eighteen-year-old Trinity Marrow may be going blind, but she can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. Her gift is the reason she's been in hiding for years in a compound guarded by Wardens—shape-shifters who protect humankind from demons. If the demons discover the truth about Trinity, they'll devour her to enhance their powers.
When Wardens from another clan arrive with reports that something is killing both demons and Wardens, Trinity's 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—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 trust Zayne. But all bets are off as a supernatural war is unleashed…
"I'll find you. Wherever you go, I will find you."
I figured I'd try out another Jennifer L. Armentrout series while I wait in agony for the next book in her Origin series (no really, it's killing me). I have to say that even though I had fun with this one it really didn't do much for me plot-wise. It's still a series I'm interested in continuing but it wasn't the best start to the series.
First, I have to say that it's ironic that both series I've read from this author thus far are spin-offs set in the same world as a previous series. That said, in case you're like me and had no idea, this series is a spin-off of her Dark Elements series. I don't believe you need to read the other series to start this one, but I'm definitely going to make a mental note to go back to it at some point.
With that out of the way, let's take a look at the main character of Storm and Fury. I loved Trinity's friendship with Misha, but I hated how she made his job harder and took advantage of their friendship. Trinity was loyal but she was also impulsive, reckless, and stubborn. She constantly put herself in bad situations or bent rules and then Misha was reprimanded for it. She only thought about the consequences to him afterward which wasn't good enough. She meant well, but she also tried too hard to prove herself or not appear weak which added a bit of tension to their relationship.
I was glad when Zayne entered the picture because he called Trinity out on her impulsivity. Zayne was (for the most part) the voice of reason we needed to balance Trinity out. Not to say that Zayne didn't have his own issues to work through. I thought it was a little immature of Zayne to completely ignore the drama with Layla. Honestly, the whole issue was dragged out longer than necessary just to create tension between Zayne and Trinity.
It wasn't so much that the angle was included in the story that bothered me. I think a love triangle element can be fun if done right. I just didn't like that the driving force was created by avoidance. Zayne avoided talking to, being around, and working with Layla when it would've been more fun/tense to have more moments with the three of them together (there were some, but not a lot). I just think there was a great opportunity for well-written tension that was passed over. The avoidance made the story feel slow and Zayne look passive.
On the other hand, the romance between Zayne and Trinity was done much better. There was tension and attraction between them that was addressed in a handful of scenes. This is what I wanted to see more of in the love triangle. Zayne and Trinity talked about it. They flirted. They went from hot to cold. Trinity second-guessed herself. The romance felt dynamic and alive. It was one of the things that kept me pushing forward with this book.
And while I may have enjoyed the worldbuilding overall, the plot was a different story. I loved the whole idea of wardens, angels, and demons. I love anything with supernatural beings/races. However, I have to say that I don't think the first-person POV worked that well here.
Trinity had a huge secret she was keeping (something we were reminded of often). At some point, it got annoying to be told over and over that she was hiding something. And once the secret was revealed it seemed like everyone was being told about it. I think it would've been more exciting to tell the story from a third-person POV or even dual POVs so that Trinity's reveal would've been more exciting. We didn't really get many hints or chances to figure it out. We were just told the secret which felt a bit anticlimactic. It would've been exciting for her secret to be discovered while in the city or by Zayne.
Now... here's the thing. I was having fun with the story, but when I finished I thought "That's it?". It felt like we uncovered so little about the overall plot and not a whole lot happened. There were a few "action" scenes and Trinity tagged along to talk to a few people but... it felt like 80% of this story was just drama. Not even romance. Just drama. Mostly Zayne avoiding Layla, or Zayne and Trinity dancing around each other. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Was the plot interesting? Sort of. I just wanted it to move forward more and I think the first-person POV really limited what could've been an intense, dynamic story.
The ending is really where everything exploded. We learned the most about the antagonist here and the twist was a shocker, but I wish it hadn't been the only real exciting point in the story.
While this was a slow start to the series I think there was enough good material here to hook me and get me to push on. I'm hoping things really start moving in the next book and I can't wait to see how the romance evolves in Rage and Ruin.
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