Storm and Fury by Jennifer L Armentrout Book Review
Updated: Jan 18
Storm and Fury
by Jennifer L Armentrout
Published by Inkyard Press
Book 1 in The Harbinger series
Eighteen-year-old Trinity Marrow may be going blind, but she can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. Her unique gift is part of a secret so dangerous that she’s been in hiding for years in an isolated compound fiercely guarded by Wardens—gargoyle shape-shifters who protect humankind from demons. If the demons discover the truth about Trinity, they’ll devour her, flesh and bone, to enhance their own powers.
When Wardens from another clan arrive with disturbing reports that something out there is killing both demons and Wardens, Trinity’s safe world implodes. Not the least because one of the outsiders is the most annoying and fascinating person she’s ever met. Zayne has secrets of his own that will upend her world yet again—but working together becomes imperative once demons breach the compound and Trinity’s secret comes to light. To save her family and maybe the world, she’ll have to put her trust in Zayne. But all bets are off as a supernatural war is unleashed…
RATED: 14+ CATEGORY: MOOD:
Foul language #YoungAdult Exciting
Steamy moments #Supernatural Emotional
Violence #Romance
Storm and Fury by Jennifer L Armentrout is the first book in the Harbinger series, and is a spin-off of The Dark Elements series ... which I didn't know when I bought Storm and Fury. GAH! Starting Dark Elements today, but not reading it didn't hinder this story in the least. Storm and Fury is centered around Trinity, an eighteen year old girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders, hiding out in a community of her adopted family, Wardens, who happen to be Gargoyles. When her secret is found out, and someone she loves is in danger, nothing will stop her from saving him; not her failing eyesight, or her limited experience in the world. She teams up with Zayne, a warden that she has felt pulled to from the moment she saw him to help her navigate the world beyond the walls of her community.
This is a hard book to review and not try to give anything away. So it's going to be short. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book. I am obsessed with the LUX/Origin series, which is why I was drawn to Jennifer : Armentrout's other books. Gargoyles. I have never red anything with gargoyles in it. Never thought I would. I am so happy I got past that though, and gave this book a chance. I loved it. I finished all 512 pages in 12 hours loved it.
Awesome and unique story-line....Check.
Kick ass female protagonist...........Check.
Hot, pain in the ass love interest...Check.
Steamy and emotional scenes........Check.
It. Is. Awesome. It's clear Jennifer Armentrout has a gift for writing great chemistry between characters. Not just romantic pairs (although she does write epic dialogues between love interests.) No, she has a way of writing very distinct, defined chemistry between friends, family, and enemies. She is also great at featuring unstoppable, bad ass females. Case in point, Trinity. She lives with so many unknowns in her life, and yeah, she hates it sometimes. She also does what she needs to do. Zayne is all kinda of sweet and funny. A part of me is unhappy I started with this book, and not the Dark Elements series, because it's going to be hard reading him being interested in Layne. Roth is a fun read though in this book, so I think I can expect some laughs when I do read the series. NOT reading the Dark Elements series though, really puts you in Trinity's shoes, which I appreciated.
Storm and Fury was a fantastic read. The only fault I could find with it, was that I predicted who Trin's showdown at the end of the book would be with ... but everything else was a surprise ... especially the bond between Zayne and Trinity being explained (I was suspecting another reason for it), and what Trinity did to ultimately save Zayne. It ended perfectly, with just enough questions and loose ends to lead into the next book. Click below to pick up a copy today. If you like young adult, the supernatural genre, and romance, you will love this book
Where to Buy
Paperback (amazon)
Paperback (Chapters/Indigo)
Trinity: "Oh God, you have a tail. You all have tails. I'm going to vomit."
Misha: "Can you hold off on that?"
Trinity: "Not promises."
I leaped to the side and spun to shove the dagger into the chest of another Raver. A hot spray of gunky demon blood splattered my chest.
Trinity: "Oh, man, now I'm going to have to shower."
Misha: "God, you're whiny."
Zayne: "I didn't grab you."
Trinity: "You were right behind me. Can you let me go?"
Zayne: "I don't know. Are you going to try to hot me again? Kick me?"
Trinity: "Not if you don't try to grab me again."
Zayne: "I'm willing to wager that there isn't one thing ordinary about you."
Zayne: "Now, was that so hard to admit?"
Trinity: "Yes. It hurt me. Deep inside. I may never recover."
Zayne: "You're ... frustrating."
Trinity: "Well, you're judgmental. Guess which is worse?"
Zayne: "What's your name?"
Trinity: "Seriously?"
Zayne: "What is your name?"
Trinity: "It's Mindya Business."
Zayne: "That's exceedingly ... lame."
I snorted
Trinity: "I thought it was pretty clever."
Zayne: "We obviously have two very different ideas of what makes something clever. You do realize I'm going to find out sooner or later?"
Trinity: "Well, I guess you're just going to have to wait for later. Peace out."
I flipped him the middle finger, sure he could see it with his Warden eyes, and then I spun around, prepared to flounce from his sight -
Misha: "Trinity Lynn Marrow! I swear to Jesus, girl, when I get my hands on you..."
Drawing up short, I closed my eyes.
Zayne: "I'll admit I didn't expect to find out that soon."
Trinity: "I don't know you. But I don't like you."
Zayne: "That's not very nice."
Zayne: "You guys really aren't friendly here, are you?"
Trinity: "Like I said, we don't get a lot of visitors."
Zayne: "I can tell."
Trinity: "I'm going to take the high road and ignore that."
Zayne: "But going low sounds a lot more fun."
I stared at him
Trinity: "You're dead. You don't need a bathroom."
Peanut met my stare
Peanut: "You don't know me. You don't know my life, my wants or needs."
Trinity: "Oh my God, Peanut. Seriously."
Trinity: "Please tell me you were not peeping on him."
Peanut: "It was an accident! I was going into my room -"
Trinity: "It's not your room."
Peanut: "And he was coming out of the shower, in just a towel, and I was shocked. Shocked, I tell you. So he started getting dressed, and I was like hold me closer, tiny dancer, this is not the America I was promised, but it is the afterlife I'm here for."
Trinity: "I don't even know where to start with that."
Misha: "Did I just walk through that ghost?"
Trinity: "Yeeaah..."
Piecing back together behind Misha, Peanut crossed his arms.
Peanut: "How rude!"
Misha shuddered.
Misha: "That is so freaky and makes me so uncomfortable."
Peanut: "How do you think I feel? You were literally inside my body. Inside every part pf me. Every. Part."
I wrinkled my nose
Misha: "What is he saying?"
Trinity: "You do not want to know. He's here because he's m ad that our visitors are taking over 'his' bedrooms, and I tried to explain to him that since he's dead he doesn't need a bedroom, but he's not getting it."
Peanut: "You dismiss my feelings. I'm going to go see if Zayne is getting undressed again. Tootles!"
My mouth dropped open
Misha: "Is her still in here?"
Trinity: "No. He's currently being a pervert."
His nose wrinkled
Misha: "You're right, I really don't want to know."
Trinity: "How much trouble am I in?"
Thierry: "How much do you think you're in?"
Lifting my hands, I spaced them about a foot apart
Trinity: "That much?"
Thierry: "Not quite sure what that represents, but last night I briefly considered locking your doors and windows."
Trinity: "I'm a special snowflake, unique and beautiful."
He snorted
Misha: "You're something."
Trinity: "Tell her she looks pretty today and actually listen to her when she talks."
Misha: "Shut up."
Trinity: "And don't stare at her -"
Misha: "I know how to act around a girl."
Trinity: "Do you?"
He looked like he was a second from throttling me, so I laughed.
I narrowed my eyes
Trinity: "You could've said hi instead of watching me in silence."
Zayne: "Well, the last time I tried to alert you to my presence, you tried to kill me."
My brows lifted
Trinity: "I did not try to kill you."
Zayne: "Not how it felt from my perspective."
Trinity: "Then your perspective leans toward the over-dramatic."
Zayne: "You're going to apologize?"
Trinity: "Now I feel like I shouldn't, because you're irritating me again."
Zayne: "Have you heard about the raids on other communities?"
Trinity: "Yes, but Thierry doesn't know I've heard that."
Zayne: "Snooping behind curtains again?"
Trinity: "More like standing outside closed doors."
Zayne: "You do that a lot?"
Trinity: "Enough to know better."
Zayne: "Have you seen a demon?"
Trinity: "Yes. Have you?"
Zayne laughed then, and it was a real one. Deep. Throaty. Sexy as holy Hell.
Zayne: "You're kind of a smart ass."
Trinity: "Guilty as charged."
Trinity: "If you saw me on the streets, you wouldn't look twice in my direction."
Zayne: "That's not true. I always look twice or maybe even three times at a pretty girl."
Trinity: "Your curiosity is going to lead to one epic letdown."
Zayne: "Why do you think that?"
Trinity: "Because I'm not very interesting."
Zayne: "That is probably the least correct thing I've heard all day."
Clay: "Are you going to kick me out a window again?"
Jada: "What?"
Trinity: "No. I'm going to kick you into the fire put if you don't back up."
Clay: "Yeah. I'd like to see you try."
Trinity: "Really? Because I'm happy to oblige."
Zayne: "I wouldn't hurt you."
Warmth crept into my cheeks
Trinity: "No, you wouldn't, because I wouldn't let you."
That half grin appeared, but it didn't reach his gaze
Zayne: "I wouldn't think you would."
Trinity: "Are you ... flirting with me?"
He bit down on his lower lip, dragging his teeth over the fleshy pink skin as he eyed me through thick lashes.
Zayne: "I'd never think of doing such a thing."
I had no idea if he was being honest or not. Wardens didn't flirt with anyone other than other Wardens. Well, with the exception of Clay, but look how that had turned out.
But what if he was flirting with me? What if he found me ... attractive? Yearning blossomed inside me. Like a flower seeking sun and water, it spread its roots deep. What if he wanted to kiss me?
Whoa.
I needed to slow my roll. I was seriously getting carried away. My cheeks heated as I focused on the statues.
Zayne: "What are you thinking about?"
My eyes widened as my gaze shot back to his. There was no way he knew what my t thoughts were. If he did, I would legit wither away and die right here.
That grin of his grew
Zayne: "Your face is as red as a ripe tomato right now."
And I could feel it growing redder by the second
Zayne: "I imagine whatever is going through your head is something I'd thoroughly enjoy hearing about."
The flutter in my chest took flight.
Trinity: "I'm not thinking about anything."
Zayne: "Uh-huh."
Trinity: "I'm sorry."
Thierry: "What did I tell you before?"
Trinity: "I don't know. You've told me a lot."
Thierry's chuckle was hoarse.
Thierry: "I'll ask you again later, the time you apologize for what you cannot help."
Zayne: "So you'd prefer me to have left you there?"
Trinity: "It beats you bitching about me bleeding on you."
Zayne: "You're so ... annoying."
I glared back at him.
Trinity: "I hope I stained your clothes."
His lips twitched as the cool eyes warmed
Zayne: "Confident that's been accomplished."
Trinity: "Perfect."
I opened my eyes, because if he was going to disrobe, I was going to be just like Peanut. No shame. If I died from blood loss, at least I'd die getting to look at whatever was underneath that shirt.
I was a horrible person.
Trinity: "You seem like someone who likes needles."
Zayne: "Because I'm a pain in the ass?"
My laugh ended in a sharp gasp as the needle stung my arm
Trinity: "You said it, not me."
Zayne: "You want to hear something strange?"
I swallowed as I felt the warmth flood my chest.
Trinity: "Sure."
Zayne leaned in, and when he spoke, his voice was low
Zayne: "I feel like ... like we've met before. I felt that way the first t ime we spoke, but we haven't. I would've remembered."
My heart rate sluggishly picked up, because I ... I'd felt that same way, too.
Trinity: "Same. That's weird, isn't it?"
Trinity: "It is."
Gasping, I shrank back into bed away from Peanut
Trinity: "Oh my God, don't ever do that again."
Peanut: "Do what?"
Trinity: "That! Hover over me while I sleep."
Peanut: "I do it all the time."
My eyes widened.
Trinity: "What?"
Peanut: "Sorry. Forget I said that."
Zayne: "You know, you're the first person outside of those who were there that I've talked to about my father."
A winsome smile appeared as he shook his head
Zayne: "Surprises me."
Trinity: "Why? I'm easy to talk to."
He smirked
Zayne: "Seriously?"
Trinity: "Seriously. It's another one of my attributes."
Zayne: "I'll have to remember that."
Zayne: "I'm starting to feel a little violated over here."
Trinity: "Huh? What?"
Fresh from a shower, his wet hair was slicked back from his face.
Zayne: "You're staring at me."
Warmth flared even hotter in my cheeks. I was just as bad as Peanut.
Trinity: "No, I'm not."
Zayne: "You're staring at me like you've never seen a guy before."
Trinity: "I am not! And I've seen guys - lots of them."
One eyebrow rose perfectly.
Zayne: "So you see a lot of naked guys?"
Trinity: "No, that's not what I meant."
Zayne: "That's what you implied."
Trinity: "By the way, there's a ghost sitting on your dresser."
I smiled evilly when I saw the blood drain from his face.
Trinity: "His name is Peanut, and he's taken quite a liking to you. Have fun with that!"
Trinity: "Speed and intelligence will always prevail over strength and weight. Shouldn't you know that?"
His jaw hardened as he glared down at me
Zayne: "I have a feeling you just insulted my intelligence."
Trinity: "Never."
Zayne: "You really think you can take me?"
Trinity: "I don't think anything. I know."
Trinity: "Are you sure you've had years of training?"
Several strands of hair had fallen free, brushing h is cheeks as he faced me
Zayne: "Are you sure you've just had a few training sessions?"
Trinity: "Guess what?"
I darted under his swing and hit t he floor, planting my palms on the mat as I kicked out, taking his legs out from underneath him.
Trinity: "I lied."
Zayne: "I can see that."
Trinity: "Admit it. I'm better than you."
Expelling harshly, he jumped onto t he balls of his feet.
Zayne: "I'm not admitting that yet, princess."
Trinity: "Princess? I'm not a princess."
Zayne: "You're something."
He smirked, and then flew into a butterfly kick I almost didn't see in time.
I met him with a wild laugh. Blow after blow, we went after each other. In the beginning, when I first went at him, he was holding back, but with each punch and kick I got through his defenses, he stopped messing around.
Zayne blocked a series of kicks and jabs that would have knocked a human on their ass. He kept up with the moves easily.
Zayne: "Come on, Trinity, can you do better than this? I'm getting bored."
The way his mouth curled my name sent a shiver down my spine and a flush to my skin. I hated it.
Sneering, I spun on my heel and turned into a roundhouse kick that knocked both of his stupid legs out from underneath him. He went down hard onto his back, grunting. Panting, I stalked over to where he prone.
Trinity: "You bored now, douche nozzle?"
Zayne: "Speech and intelligence will get you far. But speed, intelligence and strength always wins in the end."
Trinity: "I hate both of you."
Misha: "We're not the one running around randomly kissing guys."
Trinity: "I'm not, either!"
Jada: "Look, this is not the same thing as with Clay. She didn't kick Zayne through a window afterward."
I opened my mouth, then snapped it shut.
Trinity: "Well, I kind of kicked him several times before the kiss."
Misha's brows lifted
Misha: "Why are you so violent?"
I raised my hands, then dropped them
Trinity: "I need serious help."
Misha nodded somberly.
Misha: "I know what you want. You want to be wanted, and there's nothing wrong with that, Trin. Not at all."
Zayne: "I cannot fathom why anyone would disappear on you."
Zayne: "It's a beautiful night. Clear skies and all the stars."
Trinity: "It is."
Zayne: "And you ... you look like a goddess, Trinity. Beautiful."
Trinity: "About yesterday. I'm ... I'm sorry for the way I behaved."
Zayne: "Which part of your behavior re you apologizing for?
Trinity: "Well, there are probably multiple aspects of my behavior yesterday that I could apologize for."
Zayne: "Like goading me into fighting you?"
Pressing my lips together, I nodded.
Trinity: "Yes, that, but -"
Zayne: "Or suggesting that I wasn't trained well enough?"
Trinity: "I don't think I suggested that."
Zayne: "Oh, I think you did."
Trinity: "Okay, so maybe I did, but I was apologizing for -"
Zayne: "Calling me a douche nozzle?"
I had called him that
Zayne: "Or are you apologizing for lying about having minimal training?"
I started to frown
Zayne: "Oh, wait. Are you apologizing for refusing t o admit defeat when I won?"
Trinity: "Are you done yet?"
Zayne: "I don't know. Have I forgotten anything?"
Trinity: "Yes. The one thing I was actually going to apologize for."
Zayne: "Which was?"
Trinity: "For kissing you."
Zayne: "That's the one thing you don't need to apologize for."
Zayne: "It happened."