Book Review: Storm & Shield

My rating: 5 stormy stars!
for a remarkable sequel.

In harmony and opposition
Blank is forged to blade
Struggle the impression
Within which we are made
Hammer on anvil
Steel into fire
Conflict which does not kill
Shapes soul into spire.
  - Poem of the Wheel 2nd


J.D. Evans raised the bar very high with her debut Reign & Ruin and I admit I was wondering if this second in series will be up to the same mark. Well, it is. But in a different way.

It is by far less complex in intrigue and setting than it's predecessor and yet, a lot more action-packed, fast paced and just as compelling. Because of the feeling!
At core, Storm & Shield is a love story. A wild, passionate and impossible love story in between two mages in opposition. Earth and sky, steady and mutable. One immovable as stone, the other fast as the wind.
She was wild storms and fast lightning. He was steady earth and slow change.
But balance, sometimes, is chaos.

image from: https://twitter.com/jdevansbooks

Aysel is spy, driven out of her home by a tyrant ruler. An air mage with a well-kept secret. Back in Sarkum, she and her brother had been the right and left hand of Makram, while their father had one of the most influential seats in the council. Now, after reaching Tamar, they are nothing but refugees, mistrusted and resented for both their origin and power. Or so it may seem.

Aysel had fled Sarkum with her family to escape the clutches of Makram's brother, who was ruthlessly killing all of Makram's supporters. But even after reaching Tamar, Aysel knows they are still not safe. Assassins lurk in the shadows and she must deal with them before they get to reach her parents or her brother. Because that had been Aysel's role for as long as she could remember. She was their invisible protector as well as the prince's trusted spy.

image from: https://twitter.com/jdevansbooks

Protecting her family and doing her duty to her prince proves to be a challenge on a completely different level in Tamar. Here Makram is still seen as an outsider, despite his place at the Sultana's side and Aysel is not only hampered by her refugee status, but also by the fact that she is a woman, doing a man's job. The stakes are also higher and Aysel is in danger of failing without help.
The problem is however that, the only man who can help her is the only one she cannot ask.

Bashir Ayan - Commander of the Sultana's guard. He’s sworn his loyalty to the Sultana since she lifted him out of the gutter that made him. Steady and solid, just like the earth he commands. Always good and respectful, Bashir is the one who always stands for everyone who needs it. Strong as an ox and as sweet as it gets. Bashir is every woman's dream come true!! Even Aysel's.

The problem is however, that they serve two different masters and their orders seem to set them at odds. Aysel's arrival makes Bashir question himself and his orders, and his mistakes threaten the life of the ruler he swore to serve.

image from: https://twitter.com/jdevansbooks

And this is how their story begins. With a cat and mouse chase through the streets of Tamar, on a hunt for both assassins and information alike.

In Bashir's eyes, Aysel is a criminal and a spy.
She moved with the grace of a dancer and arrogant surety of a cat. It was... disturbingly pleasant to observe. She was a puzzle and Bashir hated puzzles. And... it was not normal to want to kiss a woman he also wanted to strangle.

Aysel on the other hand considered it not fair how maddeningly attractive the man was. Never mind how she cared about him, the dumb ox, or how she craved more glimpses of his sweetness, had started to want them for her own. Wheel damn her, she'd let herself get attached to him, to the way it felt to be around him. She knew better.

She was wild storms and fast lightning. He was steady earth and slow change. And this here is their love story. One that will make you sigh and tear up, smile and laugh out loud and at the same time, keep you at the edge of your seat biting your nails till the very end.

Written in the same old-style lyrical and flawless prose as its predecessor, Storm & Shield compensates for the lesser complexity of setting and court intrigue with a whirlwind of complex feelings. What it lacks on the one side, it makes up on the other, something I find exceptionally fitting, since none of the spokes of the Wheel are alike. While book one was a precarious dance of balance on the edge of ruin, fitting for a death mage and Charah of the Sixth's House: this sequel is a bundle of chaos and a storm of emotion, the perfect representation for a little stormy Air Charah of the First House.
And I loved every single second of it!

I thought the love story between the Sultana and Makram was one of the best I've ever read. The passion and the love!! The stolen moments and forbidden touches that show so much of feeling!!! Those were downright exceptional. And I was convinced it couldn't get better than that.
As it turns out, it did! Because this love story is perhaps even better.

I said it in my first review and will say it again here. This author has a talent in making you feel as well as see the tale unfold! And this series has just jumped into my top ten all time favorites.

Fascinating magic, wonderfully written fully fleshed characters, including supporting ones, a lot of fast paced action and a love to set your heart on fire! This book has it all.
And watch out for Bashir ladies! He's going to wreck your heart!!

'Any woman who sees you and doesn't want to climb you like a tree is a damned liar.' That's what Aysel tells him and I wholeheartedly agree! :D

I read this book on KU but will buy the paperback too as soon as it will be available because it already has a special place reserved on my shelf of favorites.

If you love romantic fantasy, YOU HAVE GOT TO READ THIS SERIES! It is downright brilliant.



Check out this book and more of J.D. Evans over at www.jdevansbooks.com