Reviews: Storm Siren and Siren's Fury by Mary Weber
Storm Siren (Storm Siren #1)
by: Mary Weber
Publication Date: Aug. 19, 2014
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Fantasy
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: Borrowed from Library
Page Count: 320 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars
“I raise my chin as the buyers stare. Yes. Look. You don’t want me. Because, eventually, accidentally, I will destroy you.”
In a world at war, a slave girl’s lethal curse could become one kingdom’s weapon of salvation. If the curse—and the girl—can be controlled.
As a slave in the war-weary kingdom of Faelen, seventeen-year-old Nym isn’t merely devoid of rights, her Elemental kind are only born male and always killed at birth — meaning, she shouldn’t even exist.
Standing on the auction block beneath smoke-drenched mountains, Nym faces her fifteenth sell. But when her hood is removed and her storm-summoning killing curse revealed, Nym is snatched up by a court advisor and given a choice: be trained as the weapon Faelen needs to win the war, or be killed.
Choosing the former, Nym is unleashed into a world of politics, bizarre parties, and rumors of an evil more sinister than she’s being prepared to fight . . . not to mention the handsome trainer whose dark secrets lie behind a mysterious ability to calm every lightning strike she summons.
But what if she doesn’t want to be the weapon they’ve all been waiting for?
Set in a beautifully eclectic world of suspicion, super abilities, and monsters, Storm Siren is a story of power. And whoever controls that power will win.
In a world at war, a slave girl’s lethal curse could become one kingdom’s weapon of salvation. If the curse—and the girl—can be controlled.
As a slave in the war-weary kingdom of Faelen, seventeen-year-old Nym isn’t merely devoid of rights, her Elemental kind are only born male and always killed at birth — meaning, she shouldn’t even exist.
Standing on the auction block beneath smoke-drenched mountains, Nym faces her fifteenth sell. But when her hood is removed and her storm-summoning killing curse revealed, Nym is snatched up by a court advisor and given a choice: be trained as the weapon Faelen needs to win the war, or be killed.
Choosing the former, Nym is unleashed into a world of politics, bizarre parties, and rumors of an evil more sinister than she’s being prepared to fight . . . not to mention the handsome trainer whose dark secrets lie behind a mysterious ability to calm every lightning strike she summons.
But what if she doesn’t want to be the weapon they’ve all been waiting for?
Set in a beautifully eclectic world of suspicion, super abilities, and monsters, Storm Siren is a story of power. And whoever controls that power will win.
I had quite the experience reading this book. Somehow (don't ask me how because who knows) I managed to miss a few chapters and I was getting toward the end thinking, "wow, there are so many plot holes in this one." And then I started thinking, "I'm getting to the end and I haven't seen any kissing. And when I looked previously, I SAW KISSING." So. I was a bit of a mess reading this one. What you need to know is that I really liked it. Minus me having to go back and read the chapters I missed. I thought it was a great beginning to a new fantasy series.
I really liked Nym. She has been enslaved for so long and my heart hurt for her. She has dangerous powers she can't control and has harmed people because of them. She has been purchased once again by a woman named Adora, who plans to train her and use her as a weapon. The kingdom of Faelen is at war with Brom and things are not looking very good for them. Nym isn't too keen on being used as a weapon, but it's either that or be sold off once more.
An elusive man named Eogan is in charge of her training and I fell for him hook, line, and sinker. He pushes Nym, which doesn't thrill her but he does so because he believes in her. He is pretty stoic, but we do catches glimpses of vulnerability with his character that leads me to believe there's more to him than we know. I also enjoyed Colin's character, another fellow Elemental type who is training with Eogan and Nym as well. He definitely provides us some comedic relief amidst such an action packed story.
I felt this book moved along at quite a good pace and I was desperate to know how things would play out. Would Nym learn to control her powers and become the weapon Adora desperately wants? There are a lot of surprising twists towards the end of this one that left me agog. And that cliffhanger? Thank goodness I had the second book ready to go!
Siren's Fury (Storm Siren #2)by: Mary Weber
Publication Date: June 2, 2015
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Fantasy
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: e-ARC received via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 352 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 3.5/5 stars
"I thrust my hand toward the sky as my voice begs the Elemental inside me to waken and rise. But it's no use. The curse I've spent my entire life abhorring—the thing I trained so hard to control—no longer exists."
Nym has saved Faelen only to discover that Draewulf stole everything she valued. Now he’s destroyed her Elemental storm-summoning ability as well.
When Nym sneaks off with a host of delegates to Bron, Lord Myles offers her the chance for a new kind of power and the whispered hope that it may do more than simply defeat the monster she loathes. But the secrets the Bron people have kept concealed, along with the horrors Draewulf has developed, may require more than simply harnessing a darker ability.
They may require who she is.
Set against the stark metallic backdrop of the Bron kingdom, Nym is faced with the chance to change the future.
Or was that Draewulf’s plan for her all along?
Nym has saved Faelen only to discover that Draewulf stole everything she valued. Now he’s destroyed her Elemental storm-summoning ability as well.
When Nym sneaks off with a host of delegates to Bron, Lord Myles offers her the chance for a new kind of power and the whispered hope that it may do more than simply defeat the monster she loathes. But the secrets the Bron people have kept concealed, along with the horrors Draewulf has developed, may require more than simply harnessing a darker ability.
They may require who she is.
Set against the stark metallic backdrop of the Bron kingdom, Nym is faced with the chance to change the future.
Or was that Draewulf’s plan for her all along?
I have to admit, I went into Siren's Fury with some trepidation. After the gut-wrenching cliffhanger from the first book, I didn't know how I would find the strength to survive this one! Thankfully, I was so immersed in this world and its characters, so it motivated me to push forward and see how things would all play out. I have to be very careful here to avoid spoilers, but I must say, I am SO glad I had this second book on hand after reading the first. It definitely helped my impending hysteria.
While I didn't quite enjoy this book as much as the first, I do feel the events that transpired were critical to pushing the story into its final stages. And what an explosive ending it was! I did feel this book was much more political in nature and I think that was part of my problem. There is a lot of planning going on and not as much action as the first book and having JUST read the first one and powering through it and learning about Nym, her abilities, Eogan, and their developing relationship, it was hard to change to a slower paced book.
I also felt myself a bit confused about some of the lengths Nym goes to, to stop Draewulf. I didn't really understand this darker magic she took on and what it was designed to do. I had a vague idea, but I just didn't feel 100% on board with it.
I did really like Nym's friendship with Rasha and was surprised by her alliance with Lord Myles. I was incredibly wary of him, because I just couldn't believe his endgame was anything less than selfish. Draewulf absolutely repulsed me and I couldn't believe what he did to Nym in the beginning of the book! I am so ready for her to take him down!
I liked the direction Weber took Nym's character. She has a lot of decisions to make in this book and she is pulled in so many different directions because of them. She wants to follow her heart and save that which has been lost, but she also knows she must do what is right for the greater good. I liked seeing those moral decisions come into play because I feel they really enhanced her as a character.
I am SO ready for Book Three! I can't wait to see what will happen next, especially with the revelation at the end! (Thankfully, we don't have another killer cliffhanger!)
6 comments
I'm glad you enjoyed these books for the most part, Jess. You know how much I love this one. Mary's writing and Nym's character growth were the highlight for me. I desperately need book 3 as well. I was glad that this one didn't have that evil cliffhanger that book 1 had. I would have been "mad" at Mary for that!!
ReplyDeleteThat's really weird that you missed some chapters in book 1 though! That would frustrate me.
Great reviews, Jess!
I don't even know how I missed them. I guess it's possible that while I was reading the night before, I was so tired that I bookmarked the wrong page? IDEK. LOL. I was sitting there with my best friend going, 'I missed like 4 chapters! No wonder I was confused!' I did like Nym alot though!
DeleteI am glad to see that you enjoyed these. It seems more common than not that I like first in a YA series more than the second, and the reverse seems true more often than not in an adult series. I am not entirely sure why that is. In any case, these both sound promising. I think I have the first one on my TBR, but I will have to look to be sure. Thanks for your reviews.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about that until you mentioned it, but I agree! YA seems to have a few series that suffer from middle book syndrome, where I don't feel that as much with adult. I really enjoyed the first one and the second wasn't bad, but I just felt it was a bit slower paced sadly.
DeleteSince The Masked Truth didn't go so well, I'm really happy that you ended up liking this series more haha. I'm really wanting Mary to give us a novella for Rasha! I think she's a really interesting character, and it seems she might have a thing for the prince/king?? (If I remember correctly.)
ReplyDeleteLovely review, lady!
I am looking forward to this one! It is good to know that I should have book two handy. I hate big cliff hangers. I hope I do not get confused in the second book, that is something that bugs me when I read. Great reviews!
ReplyDeleteAshley @ The Quiet Concert
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