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A review by archaeomancer
Storm & Shield by J.D. Evans
Did not finish book. Stopped at 76%.
Dnf for now, but I just could not get over several key aspects of this one. I *adored* the first book and was super excited for the rest of the series. I was a bit hesitant because massive size difference between male and female main characters is NOT my jam at ALL, I like normal sized people, or heaven forbid maybe a woman who is tall and muscular herself. But this one promised to be more action oriented, which is usually my thing!
In the end I MUCH preferred the political push and pull and the downrigh incredible world building of the first book! And the *yearning* was so good, a fire that slowly ramped up. This book is basically insta love, and a level of neediness from the man and a literally overwhelming desire to protect the main woman, to the point where he is mad even THINKING that she may choose freedom over him. Which sits very poorly with me, that a woman had to choose between her family, her (let's be honest) fairly basic attraction to man she barely knows, and her freedom.
That's another thing, the Sultana in this book, the main character of the first one, seems to throw her character out the window for this one and attempts to make a woman from a foreign country, that SHE herself herself helped create civil war in, and who her lover trusts, either join her magic circle or leave forever. Her reasoning also feels flimsy, like why didn't her own lover have the same ultimatum?
I also just don't understand massive body size difference appeal especially for sex. The two don't fit well together and have to Rearrange in odd ways. And their love is very new and physical, which is fine, but the level of attachment the man gets, to the point of being upset with possibly being left behind when his lover is forced into a corner, or even at the thought of her being hurt despite her prowess in fighting, was just too much. There was no yearning, very little world building, miscommunication, and deus ex machina personal revelations that just felt forced.
In the end I MUCH preferred the political push and pull and the downrigh incredible world building of the first book! And the *yearning* was so good, a fire that slowly ramped up. This book is basically insta love, and a level of neediness from the man and a literally overwhelming desire to protect the main woman, to the point where he is mad even THINKING that she may choose freedom over him. Which sits very poorly with me, that a woman had to choose between her family, her (let's be honest) fairly basic attraction to man she barely knows, and her freedom.
That's another thing, the Sultana in this book, the main character of the first one, seems to throw her character out the window for this one and attempts to make a woman from a foreign country, that SHE herself herself helped create civil war in, and who her lover trusts, either join her magic circle or leave forever. Her reasoning also feels flimsy, like why didn't her own lover have the same ultimatum?
I also just don't understand massive body size difference appeal especially for sex. The two don't fit well together and have to Rearrange in odd ways. And their love is very new and physical, which is fine, but the level of attachment the man gets, to the point of being upset with possibly being left behind when his lover is forced into a corner, or even at the thought of her being hurt despite her prowess in fighting, was just too much. There was no yearning, very little world building, miscommunication, and deus ex machina personal revelations that just felt forced.