Showing posts with label cora carmack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cora carmack. Show all posts

20 Sept 2021

Audio #Review: RAGE by Cora Carmack

20 September 0 Comments

RAGE

Author: Cora Carmack
Series: Stormheart #2
Source: Downloaded from Audible Plus
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: August 27, 2019
Overall Rating:
Diversity Rating:

Summary:
Princess or adventurer.

Duty or freedom.

Her Kingdom or the Stormhunter she loves.

If Aurora knows anything, it's that choices have consequences. To set things right, she joins a growing revolution on the streets of Pavan.

In disguise as the rebel Roar, she puts her knowledge of the palace to use to aid the rebellion. But the Rage season is at its peak and not a day passes without the skies raining down destruction. Yet these storms are different—they churn with darkness, and attack with a will that’s desperate and violent.

This feels like more than rage.

It feels like war.
Purchase:
Amazon | Chapters | TBD
See my review of ROAR, the first book in this series!

Okay, so when is book three coming out?? There are so many unanswered questions that I have now and I just really want to know what happens next! I really liked that this one continued right where we left off with ROAR and then only expanded the universe, the magic, and the character development throughout the course of the novel.

I really like Aurora as a character and am glad that she got to learn more about herself and her counterpart but I still have SO many questions about how she plans to reign, her magic, and the way that she is interacting with everyone. It seems like she is really split between being the person she always was and the person she was meant to be - and I think a lot of people have that issue, especially as they start to grow up.

I am meh on the romances in this series and am really here for Aurora and Jinx and Novia (sorry if I spelled those wrong - audio!) just living their best lives being witches, honestly. I think there are much more cool and interesting dynamics between the friendships in this story than in the relationships.

I love love love the worldbuilding though. If nothing else, Aurora learning how to use her magic and "meeting up" with the Stormlord to learn more about how to take in souls and storms was literally the best part of this. I am so intrigued to learn more about Stormlings, Tempests, and the old ways of magic that seem to be in Aurora's blood. I am so intrigued to figure out who the Stormlord is too! I have some running theories and want to hear yours if you've read this one!

TLDR: I NEED the next book in this series. I must know what happens next and what the conclusion to this story is. I'm so invested and SO sad that I chose to read this before the third book had a release date. But like, honestly, read this. It's a great twist on the typical princess turned rebel story.

Have you read this book? Are you going to pick up this or the sequel?

13 Sept 2021

Audio #Review: ROAR by Cora Carmack

13 September 0 Comments

ROAR

Author: Cora Carmack
Series: Stormheart #1
Source: Downloaded from Audible Plus
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: February 4, 2017
Overall Rating:
Diversity Rating:

Summary:
In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.

Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.

To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.

Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage.

She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough.

Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.
Purchase:
Amazon | Chapters | TBD
I bought this book upon release in 2017 and then it collected dust on my Kobo shelf. In fact, I forgot I had even purchased it, but I got this through Audible Plus - Audible's new "download these for free" option. This and the sequel were "included" with my membership so I thought I would give it a go.

And I am so glad I did. The worldbuilding was amazing. I loved learning about how the magic worked, how the hunters went searching for storms, and everything about the way that all the magic worked together. I thought it was so well done, given to us at a good pace, and then expanded upon in a way that made sense to us as a reader while moving the plot along as well. That craft of world building is something that not a lot of people can accomplish, let alone do it well.

And I did like the characters as characters. I liked going between the different perspectives to see what was happening within each of the storylines, but I would have liked this to be a 5 person audiobook rather than just one. It made it difficult to always know whose perspective we were in because only one person was speaking.

I thought Aurora (Roar, Roara) was a really interesting main character and I do wish we spent more time in her perspective (it was probably about 60-75%). She is a princess who has to find her own way in the world because she's so afraid of being left behind or used in a way that she doesn't want. I wouldn't say she is naive, but she is sheltered and seeing her grow throughout the novel to be more of her own person was really great.

I do wish we had seen more of the storm hunters crew both before they left and during the hunts. We only really saw one "fight" with the storm and I would have liked more of that. That would have pushed this to be even more than what it was. But learning about witches, the old gods, and the way that everyone worked together to be able to tackle the storms was really interesting.

I hated all the romantic options and thought there was a lot of problematic aspects of the romance that was provided. There are a lot of reviews out there that go into detail about it but it is definitely toxic - a lot of non-consensual kissing, touching, etc. And both men see Aurora as something to be captured and/or conquered. But truthfully, the romance actually didn't feel like a big part to me. Maybe that's the pro of the audio format or maybe I was just too excited about the worldbuilding.

TLDR: I am glad I already have access to the next book but I do wish that the third one was already published (or at least had a release date). I got about 60% of the way through and tried to order book #3 but can't find it available. That's how I feel about this one.

Have you read this book? Are you going to pick up this or the sequel?