Book Review: Siren’s Fury (Storm Siren #2) by Mary Weber

Media Type: Ebook
Title: Siren’s Fury
Series: Storm Siren #2
Author: Mary Weber
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pages: Hardcover; 368
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Source: Publisher
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Content Screening: Nothing of note.

HDB Rating: 3 Keys to My Heart

Recommended to: Readers who enjoyed the first book in the series and are looking for a follow up.

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“I thrust my hand toward the sky as my voice begs the Elemental inside me to waken and rise. But it’s no use. The curse I’ve spent my entire life abhorring—the thing I trained so hard to control—no longer exists.”

Nym risked her life to save Faelen, her homeland, from a losing war, only to discover that the shapeshifter Draewulf has stolen everything she holds dear. But when the repulsive monster robs Nym of her storm-summoning abilities as well, the beautiful Elemental realizes her war is only just beginning.

Now powerless to control the elements that once emboldened her, Nym stows away on an airship traveling to the metallic kingdom of Bron. She must stop Draewulf. But the horrors he’s brought to life and the secrets of Bron are more than Nym bargained for. Then the disturbing Lord Myles tempts her with new powers that could destroy the monster, and Nym must decide whether she can compromise in the name of good even if it costs her very soul.

As she navigates the stark industrial cityscape of Bron, Nym is faced with an impossible choice: change the future with one slice of a blade . . . or sacrifice the entire kingdom for the one thing her heart just can’t let go.

So, this book was a bit of a quandary. If you’ll recall from my review of the first book in this series, I loved the supporting characters but wasn’t a huge fan of Nym’s unwillingness to fight. I also desperately wished for more world-building and less romance. Picking up Siren’s Fury, I mouthed a silent wish that those things would be altered and started reading. Bright side, they were! Down side, not quite the way I’d hoped.

Let’s start with the positive points. First off, I was finally given a Nym who had some fire! Granted, it took a decent portion of the story for her to get to that point, but I cheered her on as she finally made actual decisions instead of waffling back and forth. I liked her character much more this time around and, although I missed some of the characters from the first book, it made this read much quicker and more enjoyable. Oh sure, Nym’s decisions weren’t always fabulous. Still, I was happy to see a girl who was willing to fight back. There still wasn’t quite the amount of world-building I was hoping for, but Bron did come sharper into focus. This time around I finally felt like I was more firmly settled into the story. While Nym, Rasha and Lord Myles were hatching their schemes, I was right on board.

Sadly, the two things I asked for were there in place of the two things I loved the first time. As I mentioned, my favorite characters weren’t in this particular book. I missed Colin’s humor, and his ability to break up the monotony. Also Nym spends a lot of time in her head, trying to make heads or tails of the things she has facing her. That meant that all the new characters, including Rasha, didn’t get much face time. They felt a little flat. As for the romance? Well, it was definitely much less of an issue in this story. Except, the emotional ties were still very much there. Nym made a lot of bad decisions because of her inability to separate emotion from action.

So, once again, I have to give this book three stars. I definitely enjoyed it much more than the first, and I’m glad to see that Nym is developing as a character! Alas, I don’t think I’ll be following her to the final book in this trilogy. It’s not a bad series, by any means. It’s more that I’m looking for something to blow me away.