Before the Storm (The Windwalker #1)
Halle Rhoads has a terrifying gift–she can kill with the fury of the storm.
She should have known that kind of power wouldn’t go unnoticed. Thrust into a world full of dark magic with a handsome stranger who claims he can teach her, she struggles to master her abilities and stumbles onto a dangerous truth. She’s a windwalker, the chosen vessel of the ancient dragons who once ruled the world. Many will stop at nothing to possess the power in her blood, should they discover her secret. With necromancers hunting her and Halle’s closest allies guarding secrets, mastering her magic becomes a matter of necessity.
But accepting her destiny is altogether different. For doing so means she must sacrifice everything.
~ Goodreads
| B&N Fluttering Thoughts:
Worldbuilding: The Windwalker series promises a lot of awesome paranormal elements – magic, awesome magic factions (complete with their own kind of fortresses of magic galore), necromancers, the works!! I loved the magic elements and all the fab I’m sure there’s still to come.
Characters: Halle was a blast. I loved her snarky, smarta$$ attitude and how loyal she was to those she loved (her sister, her mom, Kale). Considering she came from a troubled past (to say the least), she was a total survivor and, I thought, she had that street-smart kind of presence of mind in all kinds of situations (without laying it on too thick, if you know what I mean – she’s not the instant-issue-solver, I mean).
The romance tangent was really awesome, I mean of course Kale is awesomesauce & kickass, yummy and strong and alpha-like, and did I mention yummy? Yeah. I loved the two of them together, how they brought out the best (and the worst, I think) in each other. Awesome chemistry, hot one on one.
Favorite Character: Tufty, for obvious, duckling sidekick reasons xD
Plot: I loved how alert the rhythm of action was, without getting too insane but certainly giving me a rush. I’m a bit broken-hearted about the end since this is part of a series, it has that “To Be Continued…” kind of ending, if you know what I mean.
Writing: First person narrative, Halle’s POV, past tense narrative.
Curb Appeal: Nice cover, hooking blurb, awesome author name – potential impulsive buy material for sure.
All in all, this was a fabulous start to a cool new New Adult Urban Fantasy with strong Paranormal Romance elements, and I’m so, so looking forward to reading more of The Windwalker!
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oh that’s nice! It’s the first time I hear about the book but it sounds really good! The world building sounds so perfect, I love the mix of all the elements. And well if the pace of the story is good, it’s always a plus! Thanks for the review, it was interesting to discover the book.
Melliane recently posted…Angel Kin by Tricia Skinner
I loved the worldbuilding, and I’m looking forward to what might come next in the series, because there’s plenty more awesome to come from hints on this book alone 😀 I’m a total geek for diverse fantasy/paranormal elements, hehe.
I love a book with a lot of action that flows well. Thanks for the review.
Jennifer Bielman recently posted…Release Day Review: The Treatment by Suzanne Young (Blog Tour & Giveaway)
Definitely a good flow, yep 🙂
Wow! This sounds fantabulous! 🙂 I love the sound of the characters and that is so important to me in a UF… as is the worldbuilding. Sounds like both really rock in this book. Thanks for the rec!
Melissa (Books and Things) recently posted…Talk Dirty to Me (Plum Orchard #1) by Dakota Cassidy
Definitely with you on that, characters + worldbuilding = win 😀
Halle sounds like my kind of character for sure! I don’t recall hearing of this book before, but I’m definitely interested now.
Christy recently posted…Talk Dirty to Me by Dakota Cassidy
I’m going to follow the series for sure, loved it! 🙂
I’m always on the look-out for a new UF series, and this one sounds pretty interesting. I’m curious though . . . Have you read Stormwalker by Allyson James? I really liked the concept of that book, but found the execution to be lacking. This book sounds similar in premise, but maybe somebody got it right this time? *crosses fingers*
Jessica @ Rabid Reads recently posted…Review: Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning
Didn’t read Stormwalker, and from you review of it I’m thinking I’m not likely to try it out anytime soon either :)) I mean, it might be a fun read, but it doesn’t call to me, so to speak. With this one, it did help that I’d read something written by the author before, and I knew I liked her writing (even if that was PNR and this UF with romantic elements).
I had a blast reading this one, it might be a bad comparison since the worldbuilding is totally, totally different and there’s an entirely other UF theme going on, but if we’re talking similarity in tone & some elements I really did enjoy, I’d put this one somewhat close to the Abby Sinclair series by Allison Pang, kind of. I mean, good worldbuilding, likeable, authentic-like MC (imo), fun dialogue, lovely sidekick (though not a panty-sniffer magic pony, Tufty is really fun without the anthropomorphic thing going on ie talking, lol), totally interesting love interest, looots of potential for future wordbuilding explorations in the series.
In terms of similar worldbuilding, I can’t say I’ve come across this mix before, these fantasy/paranormal elements, so I can’t really think of a good example on that 🙁
Oo I so missed that this was a NA the other day. It does sound good. I’ve got her adult series on my tbr pile. Have been meaning to get to it for ages!
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