Thursday, June 15, 2017

Review: Roar by Cora Carmack (Stormheart, #1)



Here's a little bit about Roar
Add on [goodreads]
Book 1 in the Stormheart series


New York Times bestselling author Cora Carmack's young adult debut: Roar.

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.


Read from: June 5 to June 10, 2017
Read on: eARC


Review:



I devoured Cora Carmack’s new YA book. I thought it was quite original and you get sucked right in from the beginning. I was used to reading her contemporary book and I wasn’t sure whether or not I was going to enjoy this book as much as I did with her other books, but I don’t even know why I worried, because Cora can write just about anything.

She brings you into this world where most people seem to believe that this world is separated by people with magic and those who don't have it. As the heir of Pavan, it comes to her to protect the Kingdom, but she doesn’t have the magic to do so. When an arranged marriage by her mother is about to bound Rora to a man she can’t seem to trust, she finds elsewhere a way to keep her from marrying the Stormling Prince.

Upon her meeting with Locke, a storm hunter, everything she believed she knew was shattered and she had to realize that a lot of this world is yet unknown to her or was. Realizing that she could find a way to access the magic she seems to be denied embarks her into a journey along with Locke and the rest of the hunters under a false identity, Roar. What starts as a simple purpose for Rora turns into more as she discovers more about herself.

Rora’s character is smart and brave. Upon learning that she didn’t have the magic inside of her to repel the storms, she buried herself in books to learn as much as she could from them, from the world, etc. She learned to fight so she would never be helpless. She is can be weak and strong at the same time and I think that we can all relate to her at some point as she is on the road to discover her limits and try to reach beyond them.

Romance you ask? Well... Rora and Locke argue a lot during the book (okay the whole book), but there is something that always pull them together. They complement each other perfectly even if they don’t always see eye to eye.

All the characters bring as new dimension to the story and I enjoyed them all, from the good to the evil ones; not one seemed to be out of place. I really hope the next book will explore more in depth some of these characters.

Even if the book centers on Rora, a lot more is going on and you will stay hooked until the end. The book leaves us hanging with a need to get our hands on the next book. I’m willing to bribe her with anything to get my hands on the second book, just saying ;)

I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

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