Storm's Heart (Elder Races, #2)Storm’s Heart by Thea Harrison

My rating:

4.5 flames

In Dragon Bound we saw Dragos kill Urien, the Dark Fae king. But as we all know, he murdered the royal family so he could sit on that throne. Tricks (who is really the princess of the Dark Fae) ran to the Wyr for protection, and Tricks became like family to them. during her almost 200 years with the Wyr, she often sees Tiago, whose Wyr form is that of the Thunderbird. What I like is that even though they’ve known each other and even interacted together before, neither really had much interest in the other until one day (back in Dragon Bound) Tricks tells him off. Apparently that sparked a bit of interest and from that moment on, each is on the others’ mind.

So, when Tricks leaves for the Dark Fae headquarters, in Chicago, she goes in alone, without Wyr protection, for political reasons-she can’t show with Wyr as it could upset the balance of power in the Dark Fae demesne. Unfortunately her cousin tries to kill her. When Tiago is sent to track her, he doesn’t want to admit, it’s kind of personal.

When Tiago finds her, she is completely drunk off bubble gum flavored vodka (that is so Tricks). And he is furious. But his goal is to get her back to New York. The last thing Niniane wants is to have it look like she ran back to the Wyr with her tail between her legs. So, while Tiago showers, she bolts. Of course he finds her, he’s a warlord after all

One thing I really liked, is the difference between Dragos and Tiago. In paranormal romances, it’s all too easy to use the same alpha male with a new name, slightly different story. This is definitely not the case here. Dragos was bored. You know, with that ennui that strikes the oldest of the immortals. Tiago loves life-he loves the hunt, he loves fighting. He gets restless if in his human skin for too long, but he isn’t affected with that boredom that Dragos had. Maybe that’s why he’s so surprised with his interest in Niniane?

What I liked about the court politics was that they were subtle. Niniane is a very reluctant heir. Watching her not only grow into her role as Queen, but as a political force with whom one does not f*ck, was a great part of the plot. A fake company set up in Dragos’ name, and a murder attempt by the Wyr really makes it look as if the Wyr are trying to keep Niniane from taking the throne, but we all know that would never happen. The trip to the Fae land Adriyel was fairly uneventful, at first…

I’ll stop myself there before I spoil anything, but watching Tricks learn to become the Queen was great. Tricks kind of cries a lot, which would normally bother me, but with what’s going on, it’s actually really in her character. Seeing her deal with her memories of the night her family was slaughtered, watching her grow into this new, stronger woman, and watching Tiago try to figure her out makes for a fantastic read.

Anyone who loved the first book will love this one. Anyone who hasn’t read the first book, will love this one. How can you not? We enter the story with Tricks, reluctant queen-to-be, and we leave the story with Niniane, the Dark Fae Queen.

View all my reviews
**ARC courtesy of Berkley Sensation