Review: Roar by Cora Carmack

Hey all, Dani here.

I am so tired, you guys. To be honest, in the past week I haven’t exactly gotten many good sleeps in, which is sucky. Add in to that the very long day we had at the hospital yesterday, and then the super tiring work day today, and I just want to sleep for a week. But I can’t do that just yet. I’m just hoping that I’ll be able to get some good sleep in over the next few days. We’ll see what happens.

Anyway, today’s review is for a book that I’ve had on my TBR since it was an ARC at BookExpo in 2017…an ARC I didn’t manage to snag a copy of, which is okay, especially since I just got around to reading it now. In some ways I’m glad I held off, because my wait for the sequel isn’t actually that long now–yay! But I read this book to complete one of the prompts for #AGameofBooksathon, and so I figured that I should review it while it is still fresh in my mind.

Let’s get started.

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.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4 stars

I really enjoyed this book, but there were a couple things that kept it from being a home run for me. It took me a while to get used to the writing style; not because it was bad or awkward or anything. It just wasn’t my favorite reading flow, but that’s okay. I got over it. The other thing was that I feel like there were a few details that seemed to be repeated, as if needing to remind the reader, or maybe it was just one of those “oops, I didn’t realize I had already added that” sort of situations. I don’t know. Maybe I’m the only one who really noticed that.

So really, those are relatively minor things.

The magic system in this book was really interesting, and I’m curious to see what will happen in the sequel. Also, I actually rather liked Roar as a character; I enjoyed that to make up for her lack of magical talent, she picked up combat skills. That is definitely showcased on the cover, with all of those blades on her back. It was pretty awesome.

All the intrigue and such that came from Aurora’s politically arranged marriage really helped to spur on the plot, and I was definitely interested in it all. Seriously, there was a lot of scheming and secrets going on with that whole situation.

And oh, the stormhunting group that Roar ends up joining…I adored all of them. I’ll just go ahead and say that I really really like ensemble cast stories. I like seeing the dynamics between the various members of a group, and seeing what all I can learn about everyone or figure out stuff as the story progresses. It’s just an element to story-telling that I really enjoy.

So yeah, I’m glad that the sequel will be out soon, because I am quite interested in what will happen next. Also, I probably should have looked up if this is a duology, trilogy, series… because I have no idea.

Where to Buy

You can pick up your own copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local independent bookstore.