Book Review: Roar by Cora Carmack

Author: Cora Carmack

Series: Yes - Book #1 in the Stormheart series.

Cover: Ehhh... Not my cup of tea. I do enjoy the title of the book and the reason behind that title!

Rating: 4/5 This book could have been a 5/5 for me if it weren't for the romance. Other than that, I absolutely adored the world of the Stormheart series. It is something different that I haven't read before in other books!

Review: As usual, the second half of my review will be full of spoilers. So, if you want to read this book later, skip the second half. If you want to read the spoilers, go for it. I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't a book where "EVERYTHING WAS AMAZING AHHHHHH", but more of "well that was a pleasant read." It is one of those books where ten years from now you ask me what I remember about the book and I can tell you the general plot but nothing specific. 

In this book, you get to discover the story through the point of views from MULTIPLE characters. It was confusing at first because the writing is in third person, but through the eyes of a character. Sometimes, you get multiple POVs in one chapter or the POV switches between two characters. I guess it was confusing to me because I'm just not used to reading so many changes at once. Other than that, the writing is understandable, and I even laughed a lot throughout the book due to the jokes.

The world of this book is one of my favorites. So, in the world of Roar storms are the ultimate enemy. These storms have hearts called stormhearts (creative, I know lol). Stormlings are people that are born with the ability to defeat these storms and take their hearts. The strongest Stormlings are kings and queens of their respective location. Other Stormlings are conscripted into the military. Basically, you want to have these powers and collect the hearts. The more hearts you have, the stronger you are. 

Now, the characters in this book are AMAZING. The dynamic between certain characters made me laugh out loud at times. The main character, Aurora, is a bad-ass. She can kill you with her looks and her knives. She is also very intelligent, probably the smartest character in the book. The minor characters aren't deep, but they're generic and straight to the point. I enjoyed the simplicity of the characters. This book wasn't a type of book that made me WANT to be invested in each character, but rather enjoy them. 

Now, there are some mehhhhhhhh things about this book. Honestly the romance between the MC and love interest could use some work. It felt so much like an instalove for me, so I couldn't enjoy it as much. Carmack could have deleted all the romance in this book and it still would have WORKED. The romance just felt so sudden and shallow. They honestly fell for each other for their looks more than anything else considering how fast the timeline of this book is.

Overall, would I recommend this book? Heck yes. Go read it! Don't expect it to be the best book you've read this year, but more of "oh that was an enjoyable read." If you're 100% disgusted by instalove, maybe stay away from this book. If you're into magic of the elements and romance, this is a enjoyable book for you! Remember, "Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master."

!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beyond this point is the land of spoilers. I'm serious. Turn back now or you may regret it.

So, what happened with Nova? Like she had such an open-ended ending. Is she still in that jail cell? She's one of my favorite characters but like nothing happened with her. I mean, I guess Carmack is hyping her up until she becomes a fiery inferno, but I still wanted SOME sort of ending for her. 

I might be the minority here, but I don't like Locke that much lol... He's strong and handsome, but dear lord is he controlling. He literally saw how pretty Aurora is and suddenly decided he must protect her at all cost. He also treats her like a little kid. Like dude, chill... You've known her for maybe three hours. I also felt the romance between him and Rora was so forced. 

Man, I GET IT CHARACTERS, Aurora is pretty, smart, and has every guy falling at her feet. Aurora is almost the stereotypical YA girl. Only difference is that she knows how to throw a couple of knives. I did enjoy her choosing the name Roar. I thought that was insanely cute and fitting for introduction of the title. Overall, I don't hate Aurora. She grows on me towards the end.

So Carmack if by some miracle you're reading this review, I DEMAND MORE CASSIUS in book #2. Like this dude is dark, handsome, and cunning. I want to see more of how his brain works. Like what would he even do if he takes over Pavan? I can also see him having a good side as well. Like please, AuroraxCassius. Just put the two in a room and let them duke it out with storms or romance. :) :) :) 

My FAVORITE thing about this book is the storm crew. Bait is hilarious. I love Jinx. Ransom is Ransom. Duke is like an old wizard. Sly is....eh... she is jealous of Roar and jealousy is very unattractive. I know that in the book it is never stated that she likes Locke, but it definitely felt like it. And you guys already know my feelings toward Locke xD...

So, yeah! I can't wait to read book #2. I hope we get a bit more in depth of Cassius and Nova. I also want to see how much Aurora can do now. She sort of went from 0 to 100 towards the end of the book. Like she can move storms like a piece of cake. No training needed. Kinda over powered don't you think?

Favorite Line:

A soul is a curious thing. It is all the forms of one's self-what one was, what one is, and what one could be. And the trajectory of both life and death are ruled by the self each of us cling to the most.

- personal journal of spirit witch Avira Croixell 

Top 3 Favorite Characters 

Bait - He is the funniest person in this book HANDS-DOWN. Dude is a prankster that lives life free and on the edge. He needs more screen time. 

Nova - One of the best traits for characters is loyalty. Whether the loyalty is towards a good or bad character is debatable, but loyalty is great. Nova is someone that needs more screen time too!!!!!

Cassius - I enjoyed the "bad" guy in this book. He is extremely powerful and to be fair, he doesn't seem like a "bad" guy to me. He just seems like he just wants to survive. Again, more screen time! 

Well that is all everyone! I am TIRED. I've been busy busy busy all week and I planned to finish this book in under a week, but that didn't happen. My library hold for this book ends tomorrow lol. *Prays to the literature gods for more reading time in the future.* If you've read Roar, let me know your thoughts of the book in the comments below!