A fair warning: I've put this review together from notes I wrote while reading the book at about 2am in the morning. I am sorry if I become incoherent at times, or if I say stupid shit, or if I can't back up my points. That'll teach me to write when I'm obviously delirious with tiredness. Anyway, onto this shamble of a review (or maybe it's not a total shamble, who knows).
Storm Born was ultimately just a fun, easy, quick read for me. More so just a bit of fun, than me being totally invested in the book and dying to buy the next in the series. I initially was going to, but now I doubt I will, because I just don't want to, and was let down by the book.
I feel like the story line is a bit jumbled and haphazard. The way I was thrown into this world made me momentarily dazed and confused (insert Doctor Who reference here). It definitely felt as if there was a lot missing from this book, like it was thrown together without concern for making things flow nice a smoothly - or, more accurately, like this was more of a sequel to a book than the first in a series. To some people, this isn't a big deal, and a lot of readers might not notice this, but it was the first thing I noticed (other than the disturbing amount of sex/sexual tension) while reading Storm Born. No one likes disjointed and messy transitions, Richelle Mead!
Another issue with timing and flow of the book was the Storm King's daughter storyline. I don't want to give much away, so this bit might sound a little confusing. Basically, our protagonist finds out she's the daughter of a fearsome king who was slain by her stepdad after her mum was raped and forced to bare said king's child. You following? Good. This child turns out to be Eugenie, our protagonist, and she's therefore heir to the thrown back in fairy land (well, technically the otherworld, but I've dubbed it fairy land). Anyway, the way this storyline was written was just so poor, I can't put it more plainly than that. For timing purposes, I guess Eugenie was suddenly thrown into it all in the first book to create more opportunities for the following books, but it's too much for one book. It definitely needed to be spread out over two books, to maybe give some build up, instead of having all this information thrust upon a reader who doesn't really care. Who needs to read the rest of the series if you can guess (quite accurately) what will happen?
Despite the storyline being annoying and disappointing, there's nothing else that really stands out as bad. I didn't find Eugenie too frustrating as a protagonist, which is very rare for me, and I liked the character development and personal journey she seemed to take throughout the book. Supporting characters were well written, too, although I feel like they were quite predictable. However, I think I'm absolutely done with Richelle Mead's books. I have concluded, after reading most of her books, that I am definitely not a fan. She's just not that great. I'm really sorry if you love her, but her writing style and characters sure as hell aren't for me (excluding Succubus Blues, of course, because that series was fucking brilliant).
In my notes I wrote "thoroughly enjoying. Prob get next book. Really cool!" While I did thoroughly enjoy the book overall, it's definitely not for me. It's still a fun read, and the series has a solid fan base which shows that while it's not for some, Storm Born is definitely for others. If I could describe the book in one sentence, it would be this quote, "Score one for bondage fetishes."
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