The Harbinger #1

Storm and Fury by Jennifer Armentrout

Publication Date: June 11, 2019

Summary from NetGalley:

Enter a world of gargoyle protectors, rising demons and one girl with an explosive secret.

Eighteen-year-old Trinity Marrow may be going blind, but she can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. Her unique gift is part of a secret so dangerous that she’s been in hiding for years in an isolated compound fiercely guarded by Wardens—gargoyle shape-shifters who protect humankind from demons. If the demons discover the truth about Trinity, they’ll devour her, flesh and bone, to enhance their own powers.

When Wardens from another clan arrive with disturbing reports that something out there is killing both demons and Wardens, Trinity’s safe world implodes. Not the least because one of the outsiders is the most annoying and fascinating person she’s ever met. Zayne has secrets of his own that will upend her world yet again—but working together becomes imperative once demons breach the compound and Trinity’s secret comes to light. To save her family and maybe the world, she’ll have to put her trust in Zayne. But all bets are off as a supernatural war is unleashed…

ARC provided by Harlequin Teen via NetGalley for an honest review. 

Confession:

“You’re hard to talk to,” Zayne said after a moment.
Offended, I glared at him. “No, I’m not.”
“Okay, let me rephrase that. You’re argumentative.”
“No, I’m not.”
Zayne stared at me, as if me arguing with him just then was proof enough of what he claimed.
It was sort of proof of what he claimed, and that irritated me.” 

I have mixed feelings about this book.  I did not realize that it was a companion book to a previous series.  I can attest that you don’t have to have read the other books in order to understand this one, or to enjoy it for that matter.  But I might have enjoyed it more with some background to the world and characters.  

What I liked about the book:

• The concept of the gargoyles being protectors and having a human side to them.
• Trinity was a character that I liked for the most part.  She did get on my nerves sometimes though.
• Zayne was also a good character.  He was a bit of an emotional wreck, but he would own up to his issues.  He was also very sweet and kind when he wanted to be.
• The romance between Zayne and Trinity, was a bit overdone, but I liked the two of them together
• Roth, an upper level demon, who helped out our heroes.  He was amusing and often added some lightness to the dark.
• The overall plot of the story which was predictable, but still well done. 
• Although I was confused about her blindness for most of the book (it is not explained until 400ish pages in), I liked that it was there.  

What I didn’t like about the book:

• The lack of world building.  It is urban fantasy, but still I wanted more information about the gargoyles and how they came to be.  Perhaps that is explained in the first series, but it would have been nice to have a recap for those of us that haven’t read the other books.
• What Trinity is and her purpose are never really well explained.  
• The romance was a bit overdone for me, in fact it seemed at times that it was the only focus of the book and characters.  Forget all of the other stuff going on, let’s talk about how hot and gorgeous Zayne is.  
• The length.  It was way too long and slow at times.  
• The story was too predictable, I knew what the outcome was going to be with Misha from the start.  

But like I said some mixed emotions.  I keep changing my star rating on Goodreads from a 4 to a 3 and back again.  If I could do half stars I would give it 3.5 and be happy with that.  It wasn’t a bad book, but I think it could have been better with less emphasis on the romance and more on the gargoyles.  

If you love a good romance with some supernatural stuff and a lot of demon killing in the background, then I would highly recommend this book.  I will probably pick up the next book in the series, just because I am interested in finding out how it all ends.