Audio Book Review: Riot of Storm and Smoke

Riot of Storm and Smoke

By:  Jennifer Ellision

Publish Date:  August 18, 2015, Audiobook February 9, 2016

Format:  Audiobook - 9 hrs 8 mins
Narrated By:  Grace Glass

Genre:  YA Fantasy

Series:  2nd in Threats of Sky and Sea series; 1st Book ~ Threats of Sky and Sea

Impression:  Accepting yourself or not can affect you in many ways.

Synopsis:
War draws closer, like a tide to the shore.

Bree and her friends have escaped the clutches of the Egrian King, but their troubles are far from over. Still reeling from the secrets that drew new breath when her father took his last, Bree sets off for the safety of Nereidium-- the kingdom she's just learned is hers.

But with the King's ire at its peak and war a certainty, Nereidium is no longer safe. As Prince Caden rallies the Egrian people against his tyrant father, Bree, Princess Aleta, and Tregle race to the Nereid shore to warn them of the incoming danger—and to put the Nereid Princess on the throne.

The only trouble there: Bree can’t bring herself to reveal that the Princess is her.

It’s not a dilemma she can waste time pondering. With a new weapon in his arsenal, the King's strikes are sure to be bolder than ever before. And Bree may not be ready to wear a crown… but she won't let her kingdom down without a fight.

First Sentence:
We leave the body in the tunnel, and I try not to imagine my father lying there, alone and rotting away.

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Audible


My Thoughts and Summary:
*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com, at my request.

Bree and her friends have escaped the terrible Egrian King, but at what cost? Bree, Tregle, and Aleta find allies in the secret society of the underground that help them escape the city. But along the way they come across new struggles and battles, some of which are mental along with the physical of traveling. Bree needs to accept who she is, but it's hard with the ghosts haunting her every step and missing her Da. Caden faces his father and learns that being his son isn't going to help this time. The battle is on to get to Nereidium and raise an army to stop the Egrian King from using his weapon of unyielding fire against all to get what he wants.

This is my first listen with Grace Glass. I was worried for a moment with the reading of the title. It felt slow and drawn out with pauses between the words and like she was trying to enunciate clearly for the listener. Once we get into the story she slips into different tones and feel for the characters as they speak. There are moments I felt she was trying hard for clear speaking and enunciating the words crisp which slowed the momentum slightly. But as a whole, I enjoyed Grace's impressions of the characters and emotions as they spoke.

We start exactly where the first book stopped. They are leaving the secret tunnels of the castle. Bree is bombarded with emotions at this moment. Her father has been killed, she killed an enemy that was trying to kill her, and she's feeling conflicting feelings for Caden. Now she has to flee the castle and figure out what to do with the knowledge she learned that will affect her and Aleta. Bree struggles with what she's done and what was done to Da. All of this affects Bree in more than a sadness, and she struggle with that on her own too. Bree needs to accept who she is, and not worry about others. This book is her struggles in doing just that.

Bree is full of worries and she needs someone to talk things out with, but there is no one. She compares herself to the regal air of Aleta, and doubts she'll ever have that way about herself. That she will have to keep her secret, if it's even true. Bree does make poor choices in this story. I know she's young and innocent to the way of things, but I had to roll my eyes a time or two. However, the bad decisions bring her learn new things.  But did she learn from what she did wrong? I don't know.

This book has alternating POV's between Bree and Caden. This gives us the view of what is happening with the King that's maddeningly obsessed with taking Nereidium and Bree along with Aleta and Tregle trying to get away. We also get short sections at the end of each chapter that are sections from a journal or letters sent while the civil war starts.

There are people who die. I was worried about those who do the killing, at such a young age. At first I didn't think the actions affected them, but then we see the struggles they have with the ghosts they face after the actions settle in. I'm glad they struggled with these actions, it makes them feel as they have a heart and conscience.

In the beginning, I found Bree's sections a bit slow as we wait for her to leave the city. We learn of a few new pieces, like the Underground. But Caden's sections, that feel shorter, are more enticing as he's in trouble with his father, the king.

We end on a good yet suspenseful note. I am curious as to what comes next. Will Bree, Caden, Aleta, and Tregle along with their new friends get the help they need? Will they fight the Egrian King? Where will everyone fall in the way of stations? I am curious to see this through to the end.



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