My dear bookish friends,
It’s time for another blogtour review, and this time we have a fantasy debut by Valerie Storm! If you like shapeshifters, demons, witches and magic, as well as powerful, emotional stories all wrapped up in one then you should keep on reading!
As always, a huge thank you to TheWriteReads and the author for the ebook and my spot on this tour (none of which influenced my rating or review in any way).
About the Book
A bolt of lightning. And a dream of vengeance.
For wolf-demon Kari, these define her every waking moment. Her parents are dead, slaughtered by human hands, forcing their only daughter to masquerade among their killers to save her own skin. Now she dwells among them, hiding her lightning-based abilities and plotting a terrible revenge, believing her schemes are all she’s good for now. But when she discovers unexpected solace among a group of humans who look past her monstrous nature, Kari finds herself questioning everything. Her mission. Her dreams. Even the hatred festering in her heart.
Is it possible for a creature like Kari to find happiness in a world that despises her?
My Review
Birth of the Storm is a powerful character-centric fantasy centering around Kari, a young girl with some extraordinary, but very dangerous powers. Its well-written and fairly fast-paced, and it’s clear the author put great effort into getting us into Kari’s head early on. Sometimes I had the feeling that there are almost too many inner thoughts actually. But I can see why they are there, as the opening chapters really set about showing you what a tough and resilient person Kari is as she is hit by misfortune after misfortune.
After her parents are killed Kari is forced to keep her powers hidden and live amongst humans. She is constantly afraid of letting anybody get too close and possibly learn her secret. Without a doubt the author’s greatest strength is in her characterisations. She builds Kari wonderfully, but even secondary characters like Vivianne and Kiki are well done and feel like their own people, something that is very important to me in my reads. The best most adventurous story couldn’t keep me interested for long if I wasn’t invested in the characters, and the author did a really great job with them here. I also really liked that there was a good focus on the characters’ thoughts and emotions, and the book wasn’t too descriptive.
I felt that even though the book is action-driven and fast-paced, the first half is a bit slower and the action then really takes off in the second half. If you stick with it to this point then you surely will not regret it!
This is a powerful story that highlights loss, inner strength and determination, and a great debut! I can’t wait to see what else the author will come up with! If you are a fan of powerful, emotional fantasy stories with shapeshifters, demons and magic, then you should really give this book a try.
4 stars from me for this powerful debut!
Thank you all so much for reading, and do let me know if you will pick up Birth of the Storm!
xoxo
