Author: Tracy Banghart
Page count: ebook, 230 pages
Publishing date: December 2014
Publisher: Alloy Entertainment
My rating: 3.5/5 stars!
Blurb:
In the action-packed sequel to Rebel Wing, Aris battles for life and love . . . and not everyone will survive.
Aris Haan gave up everything to join the Atalantan Military: her family, her boyfriend, even her identity. In the end, though, it didn’t matter that she was a war hero. When the all-male Military discovered that she was actually a woman, she was sent home and erased from history.
Now she has a chance to go back to the battlefield—as herself. But as hard as it was to be a soldier in disguise, it’s even more difficult now. The men in her unit undermine her at every turn. The Safaran army has spies everywhere, perhaps even on Aris’s stationpoint. And she’s falling for her mysterious superior officer, Milek. But their relationship is forbidden, just stolen moments between training sessions and missions. There’s no room for love in war.
Then Aris discovers that Safara’s leaders have set their sights on her, Atalanta’s hero. And she must find them before they find her . . .
Because I've been neglecting to write my book reviews lately (mostly due to the holiday season), I'm now ready to get back into the groove. I've got several upcoming book reviews to do, so stay tuned! The first review I wanted to do after the holiday season is Storm Fall because I was accepted to review this book via Netgalley and owe them a review on A Bookish Nerd. So, here it is, you guys.
I will admit that I did enjoy the sequel to Rebel Wing, but I didn't nearly love it as much as I loved the first one for various reasons. While reading it, I felt like some things were just so different from the first book; most of the qualities that I loved and adored in Rebel Wing. This disappoints me greatly because I really loved the first book and was truly convinced that this series would be the next bestseller. And while I do think that it is still deserving of popularity, I will admit that I think the second book digressed from the first.
My main problem with this book was the Aris/Milek romance. While I absolutely loved their relationship in Rebel Wing, I didn't care too much for it in Storm Fall. It seemed rushed and unplanned. And I know that things are never set in stone when it comes to romance, but the ending chapter about where their future was going to go seemed a little strained and just too fast. It didn't make me swoon. It didn't even make me smile. I wanted to roll my eyes, in fact. Even despite the "future" that could possibly happen, I still could have enjoyed their romance if not for the fact that their relationship progressed even more quickly throughout the story. And then the ending just seemed like a cherry on the top of a "crap-tastic" cake.
Now, with romance on my mind, I MUST talk about Dysis. Okay, if you've read the first book, you know that Dysis is in love with a certain somebody. Things don't go exactly as planned if you've read the first book, obviously, and things aren't any better for Dysis and her love interest in Storm Fall. But there is hope for her and someone else. I won't give any names because of spoilers for readers who haven't read the first or second book, but let's just say that I ship them. There isn't anything big that happens between them- more like the hinting at what's to come. I really hope that they'll get together. I like Dysis with him more than the other guy. I feel like they have more of a chemistry together.
As I'm writing this, I'm referring to other people's reviews for this title on Goodreads. And I will admit that I agree with quite a bit of them when it comes to this book being more about the war and less about Aris as a person. In this title, you will see more of the fighting and casualties that come with war. While Rebel Wing is more of a personal struggle inside Aris with a little bit of war on the side, it's completely reversed in the sequel. And I think I liked it. I enjoyed Aris's struggle in the first book, but I think showing the reader more about the war that she's sacrificing everything for is also a good idea. As the reader, we need to know why Aris is serving her country. We need to know what this war is costing others. This book really showed that, and I'm pleased in the aspect.
If you're more interested in a swoon-worthy romance packed with steamy make-out sessions and professions of undying love, this book is not for you. While this book does have romance, it's not the single sole reason for this plot. The war is. I honestly think that just the romance could not make this series what it is.
As for the actual characters, I didn't really have any complaints or compliments. I enjoyed Aris the same as I did in the first book: in other words, I loved her! She's just as strong as she was before, and I really admire her for her strength and the sheer will that she possesses. She's a great main character for this series. I also enjoyed Dysis a lot as well. She's strong in ways that others is not. She's got a rough edge to her. She can tear you apart in a minute. Yet, at the same time, she can be very thoughtful and caring. Milek was still awesome like he was in the first book. The only drastic change I saw in any of the characters was Calix. While I didn't necessarily like him in the first book, he has definitely changed my mind now. He acted like such a jerk in the first book, but he's become so much more understanding and caring. He understands that change can be a good thing, and he's not nearly as narrow-minded as he once was. I really think I'm going to like him in the third book.
And yes, I'll be reading the third book. I didn't hate this book AT ALL. Some things annoyed me, yes, but I overall enjoyed it. I'm interested to see what's going to happen next in this series. I'm not sure if this is a trilogy or what, but if it is, I'm excited to see how Banghart is going to tie everything in together for the final book.
Overall thoughts?
This was good. Not great, but an interesting read. The romance between Aris and Milek needs to slow down A LOT... I mean, A LOT. But other than that and a few boring chapters, this was good. I enjoyed seeing more of what the war is like for both countries in this book. It was really interesting, and I'm glad to see more of the action that came with it. I recommend this book to people who enjoy war with some romance and books with multiple POVs (because this series has a lot of character switching).
Until next time,
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