Siren's Song (Storm Siren #3)
   by: Mary Weber

Publication Date: Mar. 1, 2016
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: 384 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars

Nym and Draewulf prepare to face off in a battle destined to destroy more lives than it saves.

With the loss of Tulla still fresh in mind, Rasha’s fate unknown, and Lord Myles taken over by the dark ability, Nym and the few Bron soldiers rush to warn Cashlin’s queen. Only to discover it may already be too late for the monarch and her eerie kingdom. As the Luminescents are sifting through Nym’s past memories and the queen is reading into her future, Nym is given a choice of how to defeat Draewulf, but the cost may be more than she can bear. And even then there are no guarantees.

With that reality burrowing into her bones—along with the guilt of the lives she will sacrifice—Nym returns to her homeland of Faelen to raise an army of peasants through promises of freedom. But when the few friends she has left, along with the world and citizens she loves, are staring down the face of a monster and his undead army, will Nym summon every element her blood is capable of controlling . . . or surrender to a different strength—one of sacrifice?

Because in the end, death may be more merciful for them all.

 

 

I am always a nervous wreck going in to the final book of a fantasy series. There are so many what ifs and the not knowing the final outcome is absolute torture! After the bomb that got dropped on us at the end of Siren's Fury, I was more than ready to dive back in to this series and see how that new development would factor in the grand scheme of things. With all that being said, I am really pleased with how Weber concluded her series. It had everything I could want in a conclusion: action, adventure, romance, conflict, and resolution.

 

There isn't much I can say except Nym continues to be a badass. I really love her character and seeing her become a champion for her people was absolutely awe-inspiring. She has been brutally beaten down by her past, but she no longer lets that define her. She is an Elemental who will stand alongside her people and fight until there's no fight left in her.

 

There are so many relationships that I just adored in this book. I love Nym's friendship with Rasha and I missed seeing these two together. Kel is another character I loved too. He has a youthful crush on Nym and it's adorable to see the 7 year old so protective of her. He doesn't like being told to wait in the wings, as he wants to fight and do his part too. Lord Myles is such a complicated character. I loathed him in previous books, but I found myself sympathizing with him here, as it's evident his past has been riddled with pain. I definitely love where Weber went with his character, as well as the relationship she developed between him and another! There is another relationship I'm purposefully leaving out, as if anyone has only read the first book, I do not want them to be spoiled. But I swooned so hard over it, even when I was feeling the characters' frustrations and fears over what being together could mean.

 

I did expect to see more of Draewulf in this one though. He is such a huge presence in this series, so I was kind of surprised that he wasn't so central here. We have the big showdown at the end, but it did feel a bit anticlimactic. Do not fear my friends- Weber still manages to evoke ALL THE FEELS and I was left clutching my Kindle in part anticipation, part fear of what was to come next. I really think it goes to show you that this is Nym's story and the focus is on her and her light- not Draewulf and his evil.

 

I have really enjoyed this series and I am sad to see it end. I am definitely looking forward to reading more by Weber in the future!

 

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.

 

 

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?

 

 

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!)