Review: Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout (The Harbinger #1)

Storm and Fury (The Harbinger #1)
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published: June 11, 2019 (Inkyard Press)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Review Source: Copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed by: Amy

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

Note: While this review will be spoiler free, it may reference events from its spinoff series Dark Elements, if you haven’t yet started check out VBC’s review of White Hot Kiss.

For years Trinity has been told she was special, that when the time comes—at her father’s call—she will be a savior. It’s because of this that she’s sequestered away on the Warden (think gargoyles) compound learning how to fight, but never being allowed to leave in case the demons learn of her existence.

When Trinity was younger this wasn’t such a big deal, but now as an adult at eighteen, she’s starting to feel the walls closing in around her. When visiting Wardens from another clan arrive to discuss the heightened demonic activity, Trinity cannot help but be drawn to one of their warriors, Zayne—despite the fact that they push each other’s buttons in not the best kind of way.

When the compound is attacked, it sets off a series of events that force Zayne and Trinity to work together as they discover what new evil has awakened.

Storm and Fury is a spinoff from Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Dark Elements series. In certain parts—particularly when confronting the elephant in the room surrounding Zayne and Layla (yes, fans, she and Roth are both heavily featured)—you can feel the weight of the previous series and the things that happened therein. I haven’t read the Dark Elements series and I kept myself from going back and reading any of the synopses or reviews and just let the new story flow to see if it would be a problem being a new reader. The verdict: The story stands really well on its own. Jennifer L. Armentrout does a great job of recapping yet also understanding that this book will be an introduction for a lot of people.

The story takes its time to develop. Readers are kind of dragged along for quite a bit with the “teasing” of what Trinity is and, honestly, none of the twists are difficult to figure out or too much of a surprise when they’re finally revealed. I felt like this first book is more of a building book. Getting into place everything to deal with the real conflict, which is this unnamed and unseen new evil. In that regard the book hits its mark perfectly as I’m left eagerly anticipating what’s to come.

One of the highlights for me was Trinity. I understood her need for some semblance of freedom and self-determination. While she could at times be reckless and run into situations without thinking, I never felt like it came from a place of selfishness or uncaring. I absolutely loved that, besides being a character gifted with strength and powers, Jennifer L. Armentrout also shows Trinity’s humanity in the fact that she suffers from a degenerative eye disease—slowly losing her vision over time until she may become blind or very close to it. Besides balancing out the dual sides of her character, I just simply liked that Trinity doesn’t let something like that define her, despite the fact that some would see it as a major weakness.

The romantic aspect, while not breaking any new ground, was fun and I liked the back-and-forth between Zayne and Trinity along with how she seemed to constantly challenge his preconceived notions about her character.

Overall, Storm and Fury is an enjoyable read that perfectly sets up what’s to come next.

Sexual content: Kissing, references to sex, scenes of sensuality.