Storm Born – Richelle Mead

This is a review I wrote for another blog:

Eugenie Markham is a shaman for hire in Tuscon, Arizona. She’s called upon to exorcise the occasional shoe or drain pipe. At least, that used to be the main tasks in her job description. When word of her true name gets leaked in Otherworld, however, Eugenie finds herself in the middle of something much bigger: a prophecy that says her firstborn son will destroy the human world. Suddenly every lord and underling in Otherworld is getting in line – or pushing to the front with brute force – and Eugenie finds herself wishing for the old days.

Love triangles. I’m sick of them. Especially since I usually end up rooting for the wrong gu– er, creature. Despite the love triangle in Storm Born, I have to admit that I enjoyed this first entry in the Dark Swan series by Richelle Mead.

Eugenie is smart and strong and maintains enough cynicism to be relateable without going too far over the just-plain-stubborn line. The love triangle forms between a shifter, Kiyo, and a fairy king, Dorian; and, just in case you were wondering, I’m rooting for Dorian but with my track record I’m not holding out any hope. Both “men” have plenty of secrets, but each offers Eugenie something she needs to ensure her survival, and, okay, the triangle is enough of a hook to make reading the next installment a necessity.

Otherworld is a fascinating landscape and it’s populated by equally intriguing characters. If anything, it’s Otherworld that sets this apart from comparable offerings in the urban fantasy genre, and I hope in the next book Mead explores it even more. So, to sum up: A very promising start.

_________________________________________________

I’ve not read anything else by Mead, which, actually, isn’t entirely true now that I think about it; I began the first book in her YA series, but had to bring it back to the library before getting very far due to other holds on it. But I’ve definitely not read her Georgina Kincaid books and so I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Storm Born. As I mentioned above, my favorite thing about the book was probably the world building in Otherworld; it has so much potential. I could have done without the love triangle – it seems like everyone is plugging one in these days – but even so it hooked me. And if I’m being honest I don’t enjoy them just ’cause I always do manage to lock onto the one that gets pushed aside in the end; the happy ending isn’t so happy for me at that point. In any event, I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.