Princess or adventurer.
Duty or freedom.
Her Kingdom or the Stormhunter she loves.
If Aurora knows anything, it's that choices have consequences. To set things right, she joins a growing revolution on the streets of Pavan.
In disguise as the rebel Roar, she puts her knowledge of the palace to use to aid the rebellion. But the Rage season is at its peak and not a day passes without the skies raining down destruction. Yet these storms are different—they churn with darkness, and attack with a will that’s desperate and violent.
This feels like more than rage.
It feels like war.
I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.
Cora Carmack returns to the Stormheart series with Rage, which picks up pretty much where we left things in Roar, though it’s been awhile, so I can’t say how precise it is, but it’s plenty soon enough! I was incredibly thrilled when I finally snagged an early copy of this one as I read the first book as an ARC such a long time ago, the wait for monstrous for this one and I have to say that Cora writes amazing fantasy!
Aurora is ready to return home, not so much because she longs to be home, but because she knows it’s time to take back her kingdom from the Lockes who have made themselves a little too comfortable in her absence. She needs to rescue her mother and best friend who are being kept in the castle by nefarious means, but in order to do all this she will have to finally confess to Kiran and her new friends, just who she really is.
I had forgotten that Aurora’s new friends didn’t know who she really was just yet. I remember it was a secret for the length of the first book, but couldn’t recall if she had revealed her identity in those last few moments, well she didn’t and we all know what happens when major secrets like that are kept for too long. It’s one of the most difficult things Aurora has had to do, since she and Kiran have grown closer. You can pretty much guess how this will play out and Cora doesn’t disappoint!
This book was pretty much packed with action and building action too of course. The grand finale (I’m guessing this is a trilogy, I can’t recall what Cora has said and Goodreads provides no answers as of now) is sure to be one of epic proportions and a battle to end all battles. The Stormlord, the one who is gunning for the Locke family, is still at large and still making his way towards the Lockes.
There was what I believe is a new point of view in this book that takes place in the past. I don’t recall seeing this before in the first book, but memory issues and an added length of time will do that to you. I was fairly certain I knew who this mystery voice was, though it’s never confirmed 100%, I think it’s a pretty safe bet to say I’m right! Though I won’t say why I’m right! Lol.
The pacing to this one was spot on! I never felt like there was a dull moment. If there wasn’t immediate action or swooniness on the page, there was buildup happening. Buildup to possible action, swooniness, and the like. As I said, I felt like there was never a dull moment to this one and I was always longing to be reading when I was stuck doing something else.
The relationship factor was another delight. Though Aurora and Kiran have their problems, there’s plenty of swooniness happening in the in-between moments. Add in the fact that we get multiple points of view in this story, including Aurora, Kiran, and their friends, you get a clear picture of where both Aurora and Kiran are coming from in their fight of sorts.
The ending was far more surprising than I anticipated! I wasn’t quite sure how I thought Cora would end things, would there be a killer cliffhanger? Would there be peace for the moment? What torment would be inflicted upon us readers again?! I’m happy to say that the cliffhanger is more like its predecessor, in that we have a momentary pause in the action. Is it the best place to end things for a year? Well, you know me, I’d say no, but in a sense it is. There’s just the agonizing “not knowing” we have going on for certain characters, but we do get a pretty whopper of a surprise at the end too! So it’s an ending that is part good and evil you could say! Lol.
Rage was definitely a book worth waiting for! If you were a fan of Roar, I’d highly recommend picking this one up! It continues Aurora’s story in the best possible of ways and I enjoyed every minute of it! Not only that, I am more than eager to see how things will be wrapped up in the final ending!
Overall Rating 5/5 stars
Rage releases August 27, 2019
Oh yay! I've been hesitant to start this series, but the good reviews for book two make me much more eager to give it a chance. I'm glad to hear the pacing was good!
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