Storm's Clouds by J.W. Golan
Storm’s Clouds: Stormfall Chronicles #2 by J.W. Golan
I read the first book in this series, Storm’s Herald and was pleasantly surprised by how much was packed into this fantasy world J.W. Golan created. There’s magic, different species of fantastical creatures and of course an evil trying to destroy the safety the fae hold so dear.
With the first book, I was disappointed with the lack of focus on one of the main characters, Baxter. I was excited to see his character grow even more in this second installment and that we were able to see so much more of his strength and personality. I also liked that we saw more of other secondary characters we met in the first book since it added more layers to this story.
There was also a lot more action in this second book which gave a better understanding of the world and the settings were better fleshed out. This all added to the overarching story and made me enjoy it more than the first book.
There were still a couple things I think could have been improved with this book and the series overall. Once again, Lynette has magic classes that are glossed over and we must assume she is getting better by one quick statement. I think the fact there are multiple comments about Lynette and Baxter accepting their new world and leaving the other behind them would be more believable if we saw them actually doing things in this new world. Instead, there isn’t much of their new skills nor opinions until about halfway into the book. Instead, the first half of the book we were introduced to many many tertiary characters that disappeared after their introduction.
I also had a very difficult time determining the timeline in this book. The plot progressed with certain characters point of views but then 20 pages later I realized one character was still a good week behind the others. At times it was a bit more obvious but since the POVs switched so many times the majority of the time I couldn’t figure out where we were.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed it more than the first book and can see not only the characters have grown but Golan’s storytelling as well. The action and new dilemmas plaguing these characters definitely make me intrigued enough to read the next in the series. Plus, I never can leave myself with a cliffhanger.
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: For the first time in centuries, a dragon has been reported on the edge of the Feyfell. Homes, cities, and forests are all threatened with fiery destruction. Desperate to know the truth behind the reports, and unable to discretely dispatch his own fae soldiers to investigate, King Elyan tasks Lynette, Baxter and Eirlon with tracking down the whereabouts and intentions of the fiery beast.
The threats facing the Fae Kingdom, however, are multiplying. A traitor has set his sights on King Elyan, while the Arche-Fae Council continues to treat the Princess Elise as an outsider – an adopted daughter rather than a noblefae by birth. Hostile armies are gathering on the kingdom’s northern frontier, while the mage-turned-swordsman Garth must balance between rescuing a boy on a quest and averting a larger war.