Review: Storm Wood by Donna Grant

La Crimson Femme
May 18
2 min read

Wrestling with this series, the cruelty of these elven slavers is soul crushing. Not sure how many books are in this series but I am hoping that we are at the half way point so that this series can be resolved. At one point, I nearly rated this a 1 or 2 star because I did not like how Farah was treated by a human. I also did not like the insidious disregard for life by the villains in this depraved kingdom. It showcases the worst in humanoid species and leaves me feeling angry, depressed, and violent.

Farah is an undercover elf doing her best to survive the utter sewage of the corrupt slavery cities. Why? Because she must find her sister. As most of us have seen in undercover TV shows and movies, the undercover cop or asset must perform heinous acts to be "let into the circle". But what if, this is all a game and goal is to turn the undercover agent into someone just as bad as those they are trying to capture or bring to justice? How does one live with themselves? How does one justify their acts? This is what Farah needs to reconcile in the latest cruel tortures she doles out as part of her role.

The first few chapters of this book is filled with misunderstandings and righteous intents. Rohan is a human whose sister has also been stolen by the slavers. Since we know both Rohan and Farah have a common goal, this should be a journey of overcoming adversity together, no? Dear readers, this would imply the two characters talked to each other which logically they cannot because they appear to be on opposing sides. The suffering Farah experiences throughout this story would have worked for me if she ended up with her heart's desire. One can argue that her heart's desire changes over the course of their fight to retrieve their sisters. I understand this interpretation and yet, it still does not move me enough.

I did not enjoy a good 75% of this book. I have no idea why this is even including a romance aspect. I felt zero desire for Rohan and Farah to be together. In fact, I wish they could have only become friends and allies against these depraved sadistic slavers. I did not buy into Rohan's change of heart nor did I believe in their attraction. This travesty of a romance created turmoil for me. What I did like is the character development and the ending. Sadly, I anticipated the ending from the start which is one of the reasons why I think this story created a dread in the pit of my stomach. I kept waiting for the big reveal and I was not disappointed by what happened. It went pretty much the way I expected and confirmed my sorrow for the characters. This is a sad tale of betrayal, abuse, and loss of innocence. One thing that did spark my interest is One. This character becomes more and more interesting. I hope his book lives up to his hype. This dark romance is recommended to paranormal romance readers who enjoy enemies to lover themes.

* I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.