Storm's Heart....Humpday Hello!

Greetings and salutations Humpty humpers - raise your hand (or glass) if you too are so flippin thankful to be on the downhill slope of this week! Love fall folliage, love the weather...not the obstacle course of dead possum, deer, etc on the drive into work each day or returning to the home front sitch every evening! (We have hit the end of the first quarter of school - all school projects are due which has come as a total shock to both my kids so we've had late nights which means less reading....grrrrrrr!)

Anyhoodle, we had an amazing book club meeting this Sunday with not one but two new members! Big ole shout out to Christy and Steph who are awesome gals with most excellent taste in books, wine and friends - who could ask for more? Our monthly read was Thea Harrison's Dragon Bound which we have given you a taste of the past couple days....it was excellent! Some of us loved it so much we had to hurry off and get the next couple books in the series because we wanted more, more, more dragons! It was an extreme challenge this week for me, trying to decide between eye candy that supported our Breast Cancer Awareness month cause and a little something that cried out dragon-y goodness....you decide, enjoy a delish visual donut!!!!

Storm's Heart, Thea Harrison, Berkeley Publishing Group, August 2011

He’s a wyr warrior, a god of storms. She’s the heir to the Dark Fae throne. But desire will bring both to their knees in this all-new Novel of the Elder Races.

During the rule of her murderous Dark Fae uncle, Thistle “Tricks” Periwinkle found sanctuary among the wyr in New York. Her ethereal beauty and sparkling personality won the hearts of the public, but after her uncle’s death, there are those who don’t want to see her ascend to the throne…

Able to wield thunder and lightning, wyr sentinel Tiago Black Eagle has ruled the skies for centuries. His massive build and thunderous power make him one of the wyr’s best weapons. And he’s sent to protect Tricks when she’s almost assassinated in Chicago.

Soon, both Tiago and Tricks will fall prey to the stormy hunger that engulfs them—a passion that will shake the very foundation of all the worlds…

Having completely blown through Dragon Bound, I was totally psyched to see more of Thea Harrison's wacky paranormal world. Balancing just the right elements of urban fantasy with paranormal romance, Harrison has created yet another gem of a story in her followup Elder Races novel, Storm's Heart. Another fast paced, quick fire witty read, Storm's Heart unfolds the many mysteries of Tricks, aka Niniane, heir to the Dark Fae throne and the Thunderbird who grows obsessed with her safety and her love.

One of the best parts of finding a new series is getting wrapped up in the characters of the new world. Fortunately for this series, the world building was minimal, stated both matter of fact and evolving subtlety so the reader didn't have to struggle to recall all the peculiarities that often detract from new UF or PR series. The secondary characters make the story in many places for me - delivering humor and respite from the tensions that exist between the central characters. The sexual chemistry between Niniane and Tiago was truly like a massive storm - big and bold and charged with sexy electricity and roaring thunder! The mystery elements of the book, trying to uncover the traitor who wants to keep the spunky fairie off the throne kept the storyline more in pace with an urban fantasy type tale.

My biggest beef with the story seemed to lie in the overall lack of acceptance of Niniane's and Tiago's relationship with their friends. In Book One, no one challenged or doubted Pia and Dragos. In fact, they alone seem to be the only ones who accept this odd pairing. Questions raised about the Sentinel's losing strength in numbers or offspring resulting from their odd interspecies mating are never really addressed and that left this reader feeling like perhaps, down the road, there might be answers. The romantic optimist in me hopes that writers will reward readers who continue to follow their series by dropping pearls of post HEA news in later novels....stay tuned dear readers for more (it works every time!) The best part lies in the fact that there are more secondary characters introduced in each book so, just when you think you know the next pairing, you get surprised with Harrison's twists and turns. Gotta love it!

I give Storm's Heart at big ole five chocolate dipped strawberries and beg your leave will I head to bed to read book three in the series, Serpent's Kiss! Ciao!!!