Review: Blood Storm by Rhiannon Hart

Title: Blood Storm (Lharmell, #2)
Author: Rhiannon Hart
Pages: 364
Publisher: Random House Australia
Release Date: August 1, 2012

The rain wanted to be ocean; the ice in the mountain caps wanted freedom. I never knew that water held such longing. The clouds above my head rumbled like a growling wolf, impatient to release their burden. I held the rain there a moment longer. I turned to Renata, heard her gasp and knew my eyes glowed blue.

I spoke a single word. 'Rain.'

In the Second Book of Lharmell, Zeraphina and Rodden must travel across the sea to find the elusive ingredients that will help them to win the coming battle against the Lharmellin – but shadows from Rodden’s dark past may come back to haunt him. And while she learns to harness her new abilities, Zeraphina still fights the hunger that makes her crave the north – not to mention avoiding her mother, who wants to see her wayward daughter married to a prince at all costs.

My Thoughts: Wow, I almost don't even know what to say. I'm just really impressed and shocked right now. I loved the first novel in the series Blood Song, but man... Blood Storm definitely topped it! Everything I hoped to find in this sequel was there and a whole lot more. It was all freaking awesome, and much praise to the author for writing such a fantastic and mesmerizing read!

Blood Storm begins five months where Blood Song left off. Zeraphina and Rodden are still bickering companions, and Rodden is as mysterious as ever. But they continue to look out for one another. After everything they went through, I thought their relationship would have evolved into something slightly more romantic by now. However, that wasn't the case at all. Zeraphina obviously has feelings for Rodden. She won't tell him, though, especially since he acts more distance towards her for reasons not even she can figure out. It may have been frustrating for her, but as a reader, I didn't find it frustrating in the least. I loved that there were plenty of interactions and development between them. What I realized is that they didn't need to be in a romantic relationship for us readers to know that they both had strong feelings for each other and that they would do anything to protect the other. It really made the wait for even just a hint of romance much more rewarding and satisfying.

When I finished Blood Song, one of the things I wanted to know more about was Rodden's past. All the answers about him I was looking for were eventually revealed in this book. But what got to me was how truly heartbreaking his past was. He suffers from tons of guilt and regret. And it explained why he kept secrets and why he tried to stay emotionally distant from Zeraphina. He's an amazing person with so much depth to him, and I just wanted to comfort him right along with Zeraphina. Not only was Rodden's past dark, but the entire novel felt a whole lot darker than Blood Song. Zeraphina and Rodden went through many terrifying ordeals in this novel. It wasn't an easy journey, and they had to work hard to survive and keep each other safe. Zeraphina proved yet again how strong and determined she is. She's an awesome heroine that I admire. I really just adored both these characters; they no doubt make a perfect team.

I'm already counting down the days till the final book Blood Queen. Blood Storm was completely captivating and addicting, and definitely one of my favorite books and sequels this year. It had everything I loved about Blood Song and other aspects that made me love it even more. It was darker, filled with nonstop action and adventure, and had a believable and gradually developing romance. And unlike Blood Song's ending, this ending pretty much killed me! It was a huge cliffhanger! I have no idea how what happened is going to be fixed, but it makes me desperately want the next book right NOW. Seriously, a wonderful series that I can't recommend enough.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars