Storm Born (Dark Swan)

I am a HUGE Richelle Mead fan! I love her YA books and happened across this little treasure at Barnes and Noble so I decided to give it a shot. I was not disappointed! What more could you ask for? The heroine is a kickass female with just the perfect amount of wit and vulnerability to make her appealing to the reader. I love Richelle's eloquent writing styling and word building. She makes you feel like you're actually in the book and experiencing everything that Eugenie is.

Dorian and Kiyo, the two main love interests, have their own set of personality traits that draw you into the book. Dorian is sexy, sultry and mysterious. There is a darkness about him that tempts even the most virtuous. Kiyo is dependable and caring, combine that with his animal magnetism and you've got the best love triangle ever. Who will win her affection? I know who my personal preference is, but I won't give any spoilers.

This book has an intriguing storyline that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I really enjoyed this book and will be reading my way through the rest of the series. I liked the main character. She had a good voice throughout. I haven't read much fantasy so I don't know how she may have changed fairy lore and made it her own thing but I liked her treatment of it I would definitely recommend this book.

There were a few problems. I basically skipped the last chapter where she goes into the underworld to save her "love". It was just a little boring and bizarre. He should have either died and that was it or just been injured but healed. I thought it was utter ridiculous how she seemed to fall in love instantly and decided to truly risked her life for a guy she really only had a one night stand with. The storyline with her true love interest is not nearly as interesting as her storyline with another make character.

I also got a little tired of constantly hearing that she was under the threat of rape. The word was used over and over. A lot of the plot was defending herself from would-be rapist. It was very repative.

Even with those two major negatives I found it a book I wanted to keep reading.

Storm Born in a nutshell is stereotypical urban fantasy. You have your super powerful, tough talking, butt kicking heroine with tons of powers and plenty of men trying to sleep with her. There are fairies that act like fairies usually do, and some bad guys with a grudge out to get our main character. If that doesn't sound familiar to you then you must be new to the genre. If you are, then you probably will enjoy this book, but since I've read so many other books with the same general outline, excuse me if I'm more than a little sick of it.

The first thing I noticed about this book that I didn't like was the main character. She has a bad attitude. She is in the presence of beings that could crush her with the blink of an eye and she is rude to them. She is prejudiced and close minded, impatient and irritable. I can't think of one redeeming quality that she possesses. To top it off everyone wants to sleep with her. Imagine that. Our heroine works for an investigative/bounty hunting/demon killing business and in the course of her work stumbles onto something that creates the plot for the book. Been there, done that. I actually might have enjoyed the book if it were more focused on her work than the one main story, but I'm sure there will be other chances for that in the future.

That would be issue number two, the plot. The shocking revelation that occurs isn't really that shocking. The jackets always love to exaggerate though. I just didn't find myself loving the plot here. I found the Otherworld creatures to be too friendly and accepting of our main character. I didn't find the love stories to be very interesting either.

Overall, the entire book was just ok. There is nothing here that hasn't been done before. None of the characters are compelling or interesting, and the plot was just barely enough to keep my interest. I enjoy characters learning new things and I found that the last 50 or so pages presented a decent series of events, but it wasn't enough to make this book anything more than decent. Unless the character gets a major attitude adjustment I don't know if the plot will be enough to keep me interested in the rest of the series.

I was a huge fan of Richelle Mead's Georgina Kincaid series and I put off reading this series because I was afraid I would be disappointed. After the Succubus series ended I finally grabbed Storm Born and started reading. I could not put this book down, I loved it and thinking I'm kinda dumb for leaving it on my to be read pile for so long. This is one is hard for me to review without giving away any spoilers, suffice it to say a lot happens in this book.

Eugenie is a shaman that banishes demon and fey back to their own realms, she gets hired to find a missing girl in the fey realm. That's when all hell breaks lose, she discovers who her biological father is and meets two very hot guys both of which are from the fey realms. She was raised and trained by her stepfather to hate and mistrust the fey so this makes for some pretty interesting conflicts, with herself and the two men in her life.

Eugenie manages to be a strong female character without being a cliche, the love triangle between Eugenie, Kiyo and Dorian is HOT, although I was cheering for Dorian the whole time. This was a great book, fast paced with great characters and I was halfway through the second book before I would even stop and take the time to write this review for it. I recommend it to any UF fans or fans of the Georgia Kincaid series.

' ' ' ' ' 5/5 Couldn't put it down!

Alright, I had a little trouble getting past the name "Eugenie." How could parents be so cruel? LOL. But besides the name, I liked the story. It's definitely more of an adult book though. YA tends to be vague about sex and this had some in depth descriptions and play by plays so just warning you now.

I guess I didn't know what to expect after having read the vampire academy books but the switch to faeries wasn't bad. Richelle's writing really lets me experience the surroundings and makes it seem more real plus there is so much going on throughout this whole book that it kept me on my toes.

So there is this prophecy that her first born child will take over the world because of who her dad is (note the name of the book) and now every single thing in the Otherworld wants to get her pregnant. Bummer. It's like there is a line of people trying to rape her. The good news is that she has some help. Her kick ass retired Shaman stepdad, a hot fox man named Kiyo, and the possibly untrustworthy faerie king named Dorian. No matter who she sleeps with, it's a good thing that she is on birth control.

Kiyo starts off as a one night stand and turns into something more but he carries a relationship damaging secret. I hate men and their secrets. Always with the secrets. Overall though, he seems to be pretty caring and charming. I don't know if I would be able to forgive his secret though especially when they totally had a conversation about honesty.

Dorian is this cocky king man who seems to be amused by everything. He is also one of many who is trying to get into Eugenie's pants but what I like about him is that he doesn't pressure her. He wants her to come of her own volition. I mean, if your going to shack up with some one, it may as well be a king right? Plus he's cute and rich and I don't know what it is about cocky guys but I love them. Reminds me of Audrey Hepburn's movie, The Roman Holiday when she says "There was a man. He was so mean to me. It was wonderful!"

Anyway, being that she also works as a shaman, getting rid of things in the mortal world that are causing mayhem, she receives a job from a guy whose sister was taken to Otherworld by another king of faeries and she has to try to get her back. Needless to say, things get complicated and I can't really say much more without revealing all the mystery in this book.

If you like this kind of book, I'd say it's worth a read. I will definitely be reading the sequel cause I need to know what happens. The end was pretty dramatic. Full on battle royale.

Eugenie's days typically consist of kicking Otherworld creature's butts, and her nights are spent quiet and very alone. So, when every otherworld creature seems to suddenly want to get her in the sack, she really isn't sure what the heck is going on. Against her best judgment, she takes a job to rescue a young girl from a vindictive Otherworld King. She stumbles across a horrifying prophecy, her first born will doom the world for humans. Suddenly, all those propositions are starting to make sense. She will have to rely on two men to help her, the fairy king, Dorian, and Kiyo, a mysterious shape-shifting Fox. She'll have to be careful because each has their own agenda that may or may not match up with her best interests.

Eugenie is a very interesting character. She is very loyal and will work herself to death protecting innocent people, yet at the same time she is very much an introvert. She keeps herself apart from the very people she is trying to protect. She just seems to have a hard time relating to other, and as the book went on the reasons for this became more apparent. I did have one issue with her, however. She is supposed to be highly trained and feared by many, yet numerous times she just went off half-cocked without a plan. Considering the fact that she had to be "saved" by others several times, it makes me wonder how she survived before. That being said, one of the biggest things I liked about Eugenie was her ability to see past the prejudices that had been ingrained into her. Of course, she does drag her feet at first, but she doesn't stay in denial for very long. I found this to be a very refreshing trait as many urban fantasy heroines can be too stuck in their own ways at times.

There is a love triangle set up in this book that was executed very well. Eugenie is such a strong person, so I'm very glad neither of the men turned her into a pile of mush. While this book is much steamier than Mead's other novels, the additional sexual aspects were very tastefully written, and help to further the story. The best part about this book was that Eugenie maintained her own throughout, never once fully caving into either of the men's demands. However, she wasn't cold towards them at all. I love a book where the heroine can have a relationship with a man that is real, but she also can and will stand on her own when necessary.

I enjoyed this book, yet I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed at Eugenie's extreme impulsiveness. I'm really hoping in the future books she will start to tone that down a little and live up more to the reputation she is supposed to have. Yes, she may be very strong, but to be a full forced threat, she also must use her head and go into things with a plan. This book definitely gave the series a nice setup, and it allows things to go many ways. I'm eager to read the next book to see which path Eugenie takes. Overall, a good read, with a few character flaws, but definitely worth checking out.

Storm Born (Dark Swan, Book 1), by Richelle Mead

Once upon a time, there was a member of the Tuatha De Danann called the Storm King. He conquered much of the Fae realm and was planning to invade (and ultimately take back) the human world. Unfortunately for him, a human shaman intervened and cursed him, transporting him to the Underworld where he couldn't affect anyone.

This is the story of that shaman's daughter and apprentice. She has taken up her father's calling, banishing fairies back to the Fae realm (and often the Underworld), and so she sadly has the free time necessary for a love-life. At least until she meets a certain man in a hotel bar....

This book is technically classified as a fantasy novel (which it is), but it also borders very closely on a romance novel, and, like most romance novels, is not really suitable for children; there are some very adult scenes!

As for the rest of the story, I'm a bit disappointed. I really looked forward to reading this book because I saw so much potential in the Vampire Academy series; I was hoping a non-YA book would fulfill some of that promise. Sadly, Ms. Mead didn't come through. There is still all kinds of potential written over every page, but instead of being a masterful piece of fiction, it is only slightly better than average.

It has certainly got some excellent characters and witty repartee (speaking of which, I would very much like to flirt with the author sometime--not with any particular end in mind, but simply because you can tell from the character interaction that the flirting itself would be quite entertaining!). The writing all flows very nicely and I rarely found myself looking at the clock to see what time it was. The problem was that she played it safe again.

She took something that's been done so many times that it becomes difficult to stand out from the crowd (and frankly, it's going to be virtually impossible to top Jim Butcher). Instead of inserting her magnificent characters in mediocre worlds that are invented by others (e.g. world mythologies), I heartily wish she would create her own; then I think she might be capable of standing alongside authoring colossi (is colossus second declension or fourth?) like Lois McMaster-Bujold, Orson S. Card, and Robert A. Heinlein.

Memorable Quote:

"What's the point of being a king, then?"

"Not sure that there is one. The food maybe."

"You make a joke out of everything."

"Life's too painful not to."

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Please learn from the mistake I made. The first three books are amazing, however, the series ends so horribly that I wish I never started. It is so, so bad that I wish I had read the other review stating this. I won't spoil it, but let's just say that I've never been so disappointed in a book that I was willing to warn people away before they suffered the same pain as I. Like the main character touted, forewarned is forearmed

This was a pretty average first book in a series. It wasn't bad and it wasn't really good, it was just...there. The world building wasn't particularly developed, which was rather disappointing. Because I found Eugenie irritating and her love triangle boring, I was hoping for an intricate world to capture my attention. No such luck.

The beginning of this book seemed to crawl by. Maybe it just felt tedious as the author set up the story and world? I don't know, all I know is that it dragged until about page 200. Once we got more page time with Dorian and got to see Eugenie work on her powers it became more interesting.

Eugenie's relationship with Kiyo baffled me. Why exactly does he mean so much to you after you've spent a few hours together? You don't know him at all, but you refuse to think anything bad about him. You can't even bring yourself to suspect someone who has good cause to see you dead, because you trust Kiyo and he seems to trust them. Seriously, sometimes I wanted Eugenie to get kidnapped just so she'd learn the same lesson most every 7 year old has. You don't trust strangers.

Dorian was the most interesting character we encountered. His attitude was rather fascinating. He was always bored and ready to play, but you could feel that there was a much different character under the surface. We got a glimpse of him during times of crisis and I'm interested in seeing more. Dorian's fascination with ropes led to some interesting scenes. I would have enjoyed Eugenie's attitude toward submission more if I thought it was less of a cop out.

Eugenie's prejudice and stubbornness got old after a while. In don't mind watching character growth, but I hate seeing people make dumb decisions (again and again) just because they're blinded by prejudice. She also had a really bad habit of admitting the likelihood of a truth to herself and then turning around 2 seconds later and denying it to anyone who tries to make her face the truth.

I liked watching Eugenie's spirits bicker back and forth. It was amusing bouncing between one wanting to be her best friend, one steeped in misery and depression, and one dreaming about slowly killing her. Her friend Tim was also a lot of fun. He seemed to take everything in stride.

***SPOILERS***

What was up with the ending? Eugenie decided to risk her own life saving Kiyo from death. While there she lets herself be used for sex. What? What was the whole point of throwing that in there? The whole interlude seemed out of place and over the top. Then to come back and dump Dorian to work it out with her precious Kiyo? Her bouncing back and forth is really irritating, especially when she has sex with both of them as she rotates turns. Sleeping with a guy a day after you slept with another guy just skeezes me out a bit.

At the end of the book Kiyo seems to be campaigning really hard for her to never develop her magic anymore. I still think there's something hinky about him. I don't think he's going to be pleased with Eugenie's determination to get her power rush in the next book.

***END SPOILERS***

I still plan on reading the next book, Thorn Queen. The second book was recommended for a pick-it-for-me challenge, so I just needed to read this one so I wouldn't be lost. Hopefully the second book smooths out the kinks and is more engaging.

First in the Dark Swan urban fantasy series surrounding Odile, the Dark Swan herself.

My Take
Sets the background for Odile/Eugenie and the prophecy that will direct the rest of her life.

I feel conflicted about Kiyo. I know he loves Eugenie and that he has previously broken things off with Maiwenn. The pregnant Maiwenn. If this were a human world, I would be appalled at Kiyo walking away from his baby and Maiwenn. But this is fae and their morals are different from humans. So taking that out of the equation, I don't understand why Eugenie has such an issue with Kiyo having had a romantic past. Eugenie whines on and on about what a "betrayal" Maiwenn's baby is to her, Eugenie. I don't understand that. The baby was before Eugenie. How is that a betrayal?

I must confess I take a perverse pleasure in watching Odile succumb to fae wiles. Dorian doesn't even let her get away with her attempts at denying responsibility for the sex she is "forced" to enjoy with him. Serves her right.

The Story
Something's up in the world of the fae. No one knew that Eugenie was also Odile. Now, every fae she crosses lately knows both her names. Then there's her meeting with Wil Delaney and his desperation over his sister's disappearance. It's all just too weird and too unsettling so Odile heads out to a bar to take her mind off it. A good place to be alone with company. Although, it does result in most unexpected company when she meets Kiyo Marquez. A gorgeous hunk of a veterinarian who takes her back to his hotel room.
Oh yeah, they have a good time. Until the Ice Elemental shows up and Kiyo reveals himself to her.

It doesn't take long before Odile decides she will take on Delaney's job despite what everyone else is telling her and isn't it just her luck that Volusian just happens to lead her right to King Dorian. Who offers to help. For a price. And it's almost successful except for that betrayal from which they escape thanks only to the fox.

Yet there is one thing that comes from this failure. Eugenie learns the truth about her past, her father. A truth that forces her to become more intimate with the fae, with King Dorian. Pushing past her own boundaries. Learning to use her magic.

The Characters
Eugenie Markham, a.k.a., Dark-Swan-Called-Odile, is a half-human, half-fae who makes her living aiding people whom the fae are bothering. She is the bogeyman of the fae. She relaxes with puzzles and her sauna. Lara is her secretary handling the phone calls and making appointments. Tim is her not-too-honest housemate who scams people by pretending to be a Native American. Roland Markham is her stepfather, a now-retired shaman who taught her everything she knows; he also killed the Storm King. Dee is her mom. Strictly human with really bitter memories of her father. A man she's never spoken about except to indoctrinate Eugenie against any and all fae.

Volusian is a damned soul, demon-like. He is bound to serve Eugenie for as long as she can control him. Should he ever escape, he has told her--and continually tells her--how he will slowly torture her to death. A ghost to whom Eugenie gave peace, Nandi owes Eugenie two more years of service. Finn offers his service to Odile simply for the fun of it.

Wil Delaney is a human client whose younger sister Jasmine was taken by the fae over a year ago. He's a real nutjob terrified of everything in life.

Kiyo Marquez is half-Japanese, half-Latino. And all kitsune. King Aeson of the Alder Land is Jasmine's kidnapper. King Dorian of the Oak Land is the fae Volusian leads her to for help; Rurik the Ice Elemental and Shaya are members of Dorian's court. Tirigan the Storm King intended to conquer both the fae and human worlds. Maiwenn, queen of the Willow Land, was very much against Storm King's plans.

The Cover
The cover is red! Odile is poised for action in a blur of fire even as her cropped sage green tank top shows off the tattoos on her biceps and rising up from behind the waistband of her faded blue jeans. A knife sheathed on one hip, a gun holstered on the other while she carries her quartz-tipped wand--looks more like a club to me!

The title is accurate enough as Odile is a daughter of the Storm King, one of two Storm Born.

Richelle Mead has a very readable style. Although her books look like lots of others in this genre, indeed they often follow similar patterns in terms of plot and action, this author's ability to write in an interesting and well-paced style marks these books above many others. This latest book, 'Storm Born', takes a break from her Succubus series and introduces us to a very different heroine - Eugenie Markham - living in a different world. Eugenie is a powerful shaman, someone who banishes the gentry (spirits, fey and otherworldy beasts) to the Underworld or the Otherworld. She's been trained by her stepfather Roland to help dispose of the odds and ends that can irritate people's lives - running shoes that are possessed, that kind of thing. However Eugenie has begun to find that things seem to be different in her world. For a start, most of the spirits and fey seem less interested in killing her and more in romancing her; secondly they all seem to know her name now; and, thirdly, the hot man she's just met is definitely something out of the ordinary.

Eugenie is discovering that there's more to her than she originally thought. Is she destined for something rather more than just exorcising spirits? With the help of her very reluctant and potentially murderous bound spirits, with her rather foxy boyfriend, with a fairy King who has an unusual taste for tying people up, can Eugenie uncover her full powers and can she understand her role in the history of war between the gentry and humans?

This book appeared to be the first in a series in that although it reached some sort of a conclusion there were many ends left open. The focus of the story wasn't just on Eugenie's powers and battling against evil spirits but was also about Eugenie learning about herself and reading other people. The book focused a great deal on the fairy King Dorian and his training of Eugenie. The author wrote well the way that everyone involved in Eugenie's life has their own reasons for doing things and that she doesn't necessarily understand all the politics of the worlds in which she is living. There are plenty of secrets, many of which Eugenie hasn't yet uncovered, and there are reasons for peoples' actions that she doesn't understand. What stood out about this book wasn't so much the plot or the characters, although they were good, it was the author's ability to write in a flowing, interesting and descriptive style. It was easy to get drawn into this story and it was never boring. I look forward to the next in the series.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

Urban Fantasy with a healthy dose of steamy stuff, topped with well developed characters including Fae, Demons and shapeshifters, peppered with lots of action in this and the Otherworld home of the Fae, kicks Richelle Mead's new Dark Swan series off to a great start.

The star of Storm Born, Eugenie Markham aka Odile the Dark Swan, is a powerful shaman-mercenary who banishes unruly spirits, demons and uncorporal Fae from our world either to the Otherworld or to the Underworld beyond death's gates. But something weird is going on, as suddenly, she's very 'popular' with the Fae who all want her to have their child and are more than willing to force the issue.

There was so much about this book that I liked. There's lots of great action as Eugenie undertakes first a rescue mission to the Otherworld to rescue a teen kidnapped by the Fae, and later as she is beset by those who would have their way with her or kill her. I also liked the transition in attitudes that Eugenie makes over the course of the book- she hates and fears non-humans until some eye opening revelations give her a new perspective and some philosophical discussions with a Fae King begin to force her to question her prejudices. And I really liked both of her sexy love interests. Both relationships were really different and had their own appeal, with Kiyo a sexy veternarian she shares a powerful animal attraction and the Fae King Dorian, who is very proficient with knots, challenges her to expand her powers and her mind. I loved both of these characters. I liked Kiyo's openness and dedication to Eugenie and Dorian was an intriguing mix of intelligence, delight and boredom. So I'll be anxiously awaiting more of Dorian, Kiyo and Eugenie when the Thorn Queen continues the series in the summer of 2009.

Dare I say, this is how Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series could have turned out if it hadn't quickly turned into faery pr0n; it has all the elements: a half-fae detective who is challenged to produce an heir to the throne in a faery kingdom, and who undergoes some magical power-ups along the way as she comes into her one, and there's some five-alarm hot love scenes. But unlike Merry Gentry's, Eugenie Markham's story flows more organically and the love scenes never overtake the rest of the narrative to the exclusion of everything else. Eugenie herself is, like all of Richelle Mead's female leads, a strong character who can hold her own in normal life and in dealing with the paranormal wierdness she's been trained to handle. But even though there is a lot she knows about her world, there is a lot she has yet to discover about it and especially about herself and her heritage. And it is that discovery which drives her towards a path she never intended to follow, but which destiny compels her to approach -- though being the square-shouldered, red-blooded woman that she is she's certainly going to do that on her own terms. There's a little more action than some of her other novels, and in that respect, it reminds me of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series, but between Eugenie's relationship with the Faery king who helps her develop her latent magical talents, and her five-alarm romance with a handsome shapeshifter, there's plenty of paranormal romance, which helps drive the story almost as much as the characters' choices and decisions. This may not be as strong a novel as Richelle Mead's other series, particularly her Georgina Kincaid novels, but it's still a fun read and hopefully the rest of the series is just as good if not more of a delight to read.

My kind of book, mystery, urban Fantasy, paranormal all rolled up into one. Eugenie Markham is a kick butt powerful shaman that takes a lot of jobs banishing sprits and fey who cross into the mortal world. One night out at a bar she meets a sexy guy Kiyo and sleeps with him. They go to his hotel and something from the otherworld wakes them up and Kiyo surprised her when he attacked the otherworld creature and then disappeared from the room.
Eugenie takes a case to go to the Otherworld and find a missing teenager who been taken there by one of the Shining Ones. She goes in her human form along with her 3 sprits, along the way, Eugenie finds out surprises of her own that are shocking to her. Her Mother and her Stepfather have been keeping deep dark secrets from her since she was a child about her past. Eugenie returns from the Otherworld without the teenager but while there, she makes friends with the Oak King Dorian and could she be falling in love with Kiyo and what is exactly is he? Now she comes face to face with a prophecy about her past, deep dark secrets, what exactly is she? This prophecy claims that Eugenie's first-born will threaten the world as Eugenie knows it. Dark powers are stirring to life within her. Eugenie goes back again to try to save the teenager Jasmine and fails again. A great read, I look forward to the book, The Thorn Queen, but I understand it won't be out until the beginning of 2009. I totally enjoyed this book. If you enjoy this type of book, indulge yourself.

This book starts out with Eugiene Markham, a moonlighting shaman who protects humans from the likes of the otherworldly creatures. She is gifted and feared amoung the otherworld, especially by the gentry, who are fairies. The gentry, who once lived in harmony with humans hundreds of years ago, now rule the otherworld. When they overstep their bounds Eugiene banishes them any way she can.

When she gets a call from a man who's little sister has been kidnapped and is being held hostage in the Otherworld, Eugiene feels she should save this poor girl. Traveling to the Otherworld is dangerous and Eugiene enlists the help of many different characters. This story twists and turns and is never dull. It's definitely a journey in which Eugiene will learn a lot about herself and about the Otherworld, discovering things she never expected and opening parts of herself she didn't even know were there.

This is definitely worth reading. It's exciting and entertaining. Richelle Mead develops the characters expertly. This is the first in the series and leaves you wondering where this series will go. She could do so much with it. I can't wait to read the next book. Just a little word of caution to parents. This is definitely not a book for young adults. The sex scenes are explicit. I was suprised when reading this book because the previous series I read by Mead only touched lightly on sex. She does a great job writing them...but once again, not for young adults.

Highly original in the heroines basis as a mercenary shaman in the human world banishing magical creatures from someones drain pipe for a living, Storm Born's Eugenie is still very similar in magical, physical, and sexual tension to Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series. If you like one, grab the other off the shelf for some good reading.

Having spent half her life killing and banishing magical creatures from fairy and the spirit world Eugenie's world changes when those same creatures discover her identity more thoroughly than she can imagine. They know her name and they know who her powerful father was. A fact even she didn't know. Now in an attempt to become the father of the next prophesied king every male creature in fairy is coming into our world to try to catch Eugenie unawares and force themselves on her. All but two that is. Kiyo the kitane, or werefox, that she meets so that a fairy queen can keep track of her, but whom she falls in love with. And Dorian, the powerful King of Oaks, who finds amusement in his love for her as he teaches her to grow her powers.

But it seems everyone has their own agendas for Eugenie and a secret enemy is also hiding behind all the obvious ones. When everything hangs in the balance how will Eugenie choose? Well, I'm definitely picking up the next in the series to find out.

First with Vampire Academy, then with Succubus Blues, and now with Storm Born, Richelle Mead has stolen my heart through her wonderful prose, lively characters, and intriguing ideas.

In some ways Storm Born reminds me of Jim Butcher's Storm Front (odd coincidence there). Eugenie Markham is a shaman-for-hire (kind of like Harry Dresden being a wizard-for-hire), taking on the odd job of banishing spirits and gentry who disturb the human realm. But aside from some similar traits between the main characters, that's where the similarities end.

Things get sticky when a human named Wil hires her to rescue his teenage sister, who was kidnapped by gentry intent on using her body. Of course, being compassionate, Eugenie takes the job even knowing that crossing into the Otherworld to complete this task makes facing death that much more real.

Unlike her previous novels, Mead isn't shy about jumping headlong into the sex scenes. But like her previous novels they are tasteful, passionate, and written without silly euphemisms. And, like her previous novels, the concept of sex plays a larger role than just pleasure. The creatures of the Otherworld, knowing Eugenie's heritage even before she does, are intent on using her to sire a powerful heir.

Storm Born is full of fun characters, intense action, and passion that sizzles in the form of a love triangle. Eugenie is in love with Kiyo, a kitsune, but also dangerously taken by Dorian, a gentry king. Normally love triangles make this reader iffy, but Mead is one of the few who does it so well. Both Dorian and Kiyo are possessive of Eugenie, but Eugenie doesn't simply capitulate to either man's wants or desires.

In fact, Eugenie herself is my favorite aspect of the story. She's strong, witty, and highly resourceful. She may not have all the answers, and at times he has to do things that mentally scar her, but damned if she'll just give in when she can find a way around a problem. At the same time she's wonderfully flawed and makes mistakes--and the people around her aren't afraid to point it out. She's so brilliantly fleshed out and realistic--even in first person, a format I tend to loathe, Mead has created a character I want to root for and see win.

And I may be one of the only ones, but the twist involving Jasmine did honestly surprise me. It's another wonderful thing about Mead's writing--there are so many layers to her story that you know will be revealed sooner or later (maybe not in this novel, but over the course of the eventual series), that in trying to keep track of them all she manages to sneak in quite a few foreshadowing hints that still end up surprising you as a reader.

In short, this is one of the best dark fantasy novels to come out this year, and to date this may just be Mead's best writing to boot. I will be eagerly anticipating the sequel, as I am wont to do with Mead's writing.

This is the first book in the Dark Swan series by Richelle Mead. There are four book in this series: Thorn Queen, Iron Crowned and Shadow Heir. It was an okay read but neither the characters nor the world really grabbed my attention much.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook quality was very good. The narrator wass pleasant to listen to and distinguished between different character voices well.

Eugenie Markham is a powerful Shaman who makes a living banishing spirits and fey. When she takes a case to recover a girl that has been stolen by the Fey she is forced to journey into the Other World. There she discovers startling things about her past and a prophecy that says that her first born will rule the Fey. Suddenly every Fey is interested in being the one to sire a child on her.

I usually love books about the Fey, I love the mythology behind it and the interesting world built around it. Unfortunately this book wasn't as much about Fey as it was about sex. Every Fey thing is trying to rape and/or have sex with Eugenie for a good portion of the book. Seriously there is a lot of sex in this book...so yeah...I guess just be aware of that.

Eugenie is a pretty one dimensional character. In the beginning she dislikes Fey and can't remember her past. We never really learn why she can't remember her past just that eventually she starts to. It would have been nice to have this better explained. The other things we learn about Eugenie are that she likes rough sex and bondage sex. Believe me the sex thing is a major part of her character.

There are two males that feature in this story. The first is Kiyo a gorgeous shapeshifter that Eugenie is very attracted to. He falls in love with Eugenie very quickly and for reasons that aren't really ever explained. The second is Dorian, a fairy king with a taste for bondage. Eugenie is willing to have sex with Dorian in exchange for favors that will help her case to rescue a human girl from Fey hands.

I didn't really like any of the characters all that much. They were just so 2D and so very driven by sex. I don't mind sex in my books, but none of these sex scenes were even all that good. The whole thing was just kind of ho-hum.

There are some positives to this book as well, the book does have some awesome action scenes. I also really enjoyed watching Eugenie learn to use her storm magic. The world is an interesting one and I wish we had got to spend more time learning about that than reading about Eugenies luke-warm sex life. I also wish we had gotten to see more different types of Fey, there are some interesting races introduced in this book...but they are talked about so briefly.

This is by far the worst of Mead's books. The book is easy to read, but the characters were hard to engage with and the story was predictable and lacked something to really drive the story forward.

Overall a very mediocre urban fantasy. I love fey urban fantasies, but can't really recommend this one. If you want to read an excellent fey urban fantasy series check out Seanan McGuire's October Daye series...it is an absolutely stunning series featuring Fey. I won't be reading any more books in this series.

I found this book hard to put down. One oft levied complaint is the sexual content, but I thought it fit the characterization pretty well and was never boring. Her magic builds rationally. The plot twists made good sense. There are plenty of action scenes, and we never get bogged down in telling form. Her writing style is mature and never throws me out of story. I have to give five thumbs up. If there are those who disagree, then there are those who don't know much about good writing, and have some particular peeve, perhaps with sexual content. This is a hot paranormal romance. If you like that sort of thing, it's top drawer. If not, why are you buying this genre? Chock full of action, mystery, paranormal and romance.

Review:
I am a huge fan of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series and set out to read all of her books. I like her Georgina Kincaid Succubus series, but I don't like it as much as Vampire Academy. So, I wasn't sure what to expect of the Dark Swan series, especially after reading the summary, which didn't exactly grab me and make me feel like I had to start reading right away.

Storm Born is told in the first person, and Eugenie is our narrator. She is a shaman and banishes spirits, fey, and Otherworld creatures who cross into the human world to do harm. This book is about faeries, but Eugenie refers to them as gentry, so it was easy for me to forget that I was actually reading a fey book. Not that I have anything against faeries---I love faerie books---but there were times I totally forgot that the Otherworld's inhabitant were faeries.

Like Vampire Academy, Storm Born is smart and sexy. It is an adult novel so there are more adult scenes, but they are not overdone like the Succubus series. Storm Born is a perfect mix of love and action. There is a sizzling love triangle, which I love, as well as hidden powers and a secret heritage which add a lot of depth to the story.

Storm Born reminded me a lot of the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison, and I mean that in a good way. I love the Rachel Morgan books! I immediately bought Thorn Queen, book two in the Dark Swan series, after finishing Storm Born. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormal stories---it was an excellent read!

Just One Gripe:
My only complaint is that there are only two books out in this series so far. I was trying to wait until more books were out before starting the series, but I just couldn't help myself.

The Best Thing About This Book:
The perfect balance between love and action.

(Source: I own a copy of this book.)
26-year-old Eugenie Markham is a shaman who makes her money by banishing disruptive fey and spirits from the human world
Something stranger than normal is going on though, and for some reason fey and spirits are addressing her by name, and propositioning her!
Why does everyone suddenly know her name? Why the sudden interest in bedding her? And what of the prophecy of the Storm King Heir?

This was a great urban fantasy story, with a kick-ass heroine, and some steamy sex scenes.

Eugenie was a pretty kick-ass female lead. She believed in what she could do, and didn't let other people's doubts cloud her ability to get things done.

I wasn't expecting the sex in this book, it's probably just because I read so many young adult books, but this was a refreshing change. The sex was hot and steamy, and I loved guy no 1 - Kiyo; the shape shifting fox!

I liked the storyline in this book, and I managed to keep up with the plotline even when there were multiple characters involved. I did guess part of the storyline involving Eugenie's heritage, but I didn't guess it all, and I liked that.

My favourite part of this book was probably the humour though. Some of the jokes that Eugenie made were really funny, I will definitely remember the one about flowers and chocolate being plant genitalia and aphrodisiacs.

This book reminded me of several other urban fantasy series, and I'd say that if you're a fan of urban fantasy, you'll probably like this.
Overall; a kick-ass heroine, a great urban fantasy storyline, and steamy sex scenes.
7.25 out of 10.

I enjoy Richelle Mead's writing--I find if humorous and entertaining. However, there was something about this novel that I just didn't enjoy as much. While the dialogue was witty and to the point, the book seemed bogged down by too much description. That usually is not a bug problem for me, and led me to wonder why I could not enjoy this book as well as I thought I could have. It finally came to me that perhaps this type of book was just not my cup of tea.

I am not usually a fan of fantasy, though I do enjoy urban fantasy, this one took place too much in the Otherworld, another dimension full of magical creatures and kingdoms. This world just happened not to captivate me too much. The main character, Eugenie, was also somewhat of a drag. She came off as rather immature for her age, and her choice in boyfriends didn't help either. I failed to warm up to Kiyo, who came off as a two-dimensional sex-on-a-stick character with little purpose but to be a link to the Otherworld and Eugenie's ravishing boyfriend. The only character I enjoyed was Dorian, who had a certain air of power and mystery behind him that the others lacked.

Overall, the plot was okay, but the characters could not save this book for me.

Eugenie deals with banishing just like any other corporate, she's got a secretary, costumer meetings and fee for her services. Most of the time she find herself banishing lesser feys who crossed earthside to bother humans, but that's about to change. Eugenie, also known as Odile the dark swan, is being hired to recover a young girl taken against her will to the otherworld and that's when everything changes. She crosses over the otherworld with her three sidekicks spirits and discover more then she wished for. I found myself dragged within the story, Eugenie is tough but also has her weaknesses, along her journey she find herself questioning what she believed her entire life.
Ms. Mead introduce us to great characters with their unique personalities, I find myself fond of Dorian, a king from the otherworld. I love my urban fantasy with some kind of love story and I wasn't disappointed. Odile who was very comfortable single ends up with two sexy men interested by her, none of them being human, which makes it hard on her principles. Anyhow she falls in love with Kiyo, a kitsune, but is also very attracted by Dorian. Mead also please us with a few hot very well-written sex scene to spice everything up.
There's great suspense until the end, I never figured out who was "the bad guy" in the story until it was right in my face.

No real plot to this book other than "I'm hot and sexy!" and graphic hot pornographic scenes.

I really enjoyed the first few pages of the book because there were the exciting beginnings of a plot, an adventure, and interesting character development. You can put the book down -- or throw it away -- after that.

However, *redeeming factor* I did just finish the book this morning and there is a fabulous five pages very near the end of this too-long sex-gasp.

Therefore I would have to say this is a very talented author if only she had given me something substantive to read in the middle between a great couple of pages in the beginning beginning and a great couple of pages at the end.

Eugenie Markham is a shaman, born with the power to draw and channel magic from the world, send her spirit to the underworld, where she takes the form of Odile, the dark swan, and even step into the Otherworld - the realm of the fey. Isolated from other people by her power and knowledge, she spends her days banishing intruding spirits and other magical creatures which trouble the human world. It's a lonely life, but she earns a living, does some good, and is more or less content.

All this changes, however, when she accepts a commission to retrieve a missing teenaged girl from the Otherworld - suddenly all manner of magical creatures seem to know her real name, and be trying to either kill her, or bed her. In addition, she meets the gorgeous and mysterious Kiyo Marquez, a vet who takes the expression animal sexual attraction to an entirely new level, while showing equal facility in combat with the fey; and makes the acquaintance of Dorian, faerie King of Oak and Autumn, who overturns all she thought she knew about the malicious nature of the fey. Now, as well as tracking down the victim, she has to navigate through an entirely new, and treacherous, magical world, while struggling with her attraction to both men, and fighting to keep alive.

Richelle Mead's new series has all the hallmarks of her concurrent Georgina Kincaid series: a kickass heroine, magical peril, ethical struggles, romantic entanglements, and a good spicing of sex. If you are enjoying the adventures of the Seattle succubus, then there's no doubt you'll also enjoy those of the Tuscon shaman, as she battles both her destiny and her heart; if you haven't met Georgina yet, but like a well-written urban fantasy, with both humour and thrills, then this is a book for you, and with the second instalment, Thorn Queen, due in only a couple of months, you won't have long to wait to find out how the story continues - something I'm certainly ready for!

I have to applaud Rachelle Mead for her unique and original writing style. Her words flow smoothly and with barely Hiccup to spare. Mead really put a great spin to her world and she owned it! She took an existing fairytale, an element that we recognize, and made it into something with superior depth.

Eugenie, though overly sexed in this book, is a true kick-ass character. I love her "I don't take crap" attitude. You can tell that Mead took the time to develop her character and truly give her a voice. I loved her strength and courage. There was also plenty of growth for Eugenie. Her development over the course of the book was realistic. She looked at her own hypocrisy and prejudice and slowly changed. Though not so much that you couldn't believe it.

The secondary characters we're equally given their own voice. I especially liked how Dorian grew on me. He's one of those characters that you're not really sure if you're going to like him but in the end you just can't help it. Kiyo, is all animal magnetism, I was drawn to him at first but towards the end I'm still not sure whose team I'm on.

Can a girl have both? I guess I'll have to wait and see and read the next book.

Quip from the book

Still enchanted by human stuff, he wanted us to take him into the city and show him entertaining things-particularly the aforementioned woman with low inhibitions.

I worked hard to keep my face as blank as a new canvas. You could have painted a picture on it.

After a few bullets and knife wounds, I obliterated him and sent hem on to the world of death. God, I swear I'm not getting paid enough for this crap, you know? Cue polite laughter.

Xoxoxoxo

It is only fair I disclose that before finishing this series I would have rated this book as a 4. However I feel readers should be warned that there is a very good chance if you read this book and continue with the series, when you get to the final book you will be so let down you will regret spending the time on the series. The fourth book is a major dissapointment; I would recommend reading reviews for Shadow Heir before deciding whether to go ahead. Having said that, I did enjoy all but the final book. It is nothing new or particularly special but an entertaining fantasy read with a strong female character. There are strong sex scenes, many people complain about that but I think that is the style of the writing in this series and don't mind it. If you don't like very graphic sex scenes maybe avoid. There are romantic elements but I would not call it a romance series.

I'm a huge fan of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series, so I had to see what her adult books were like, and she did not disappoint. Eugenie Markham is a shaman, but unlike another shaman series I've read, she knows what she is doing and has been trained at it since she was a child by her step-father. What she never bothered to do in all that time, though, was question who her real dad was or how she could do the things she did - which I found a little unrealistic.
Her latest case forces her into entering the Otherworld for a longer-than-usual stay, which results in a few discoveries about herself, as well as some rather interesting situations with the fey, or gentry. She acquires a sort-of boyfriend in Kiyo, but I prefer her with Dorian, as he challenges her defenses and can match her in strength and abilities.
The prophecy means that just about everything male in the fey world wants to jump her bones, which gets old pretty fast. Rape is a traumatic experience for anyone, but the few close calls that Mead writes with Eugenie seemed to fall short of the mark. Eugenie's fear and defeat were there, but were understated.
On the flip side, I loved how Dorian was able to teach Eugenie about her powers, as well as play a very convenient trick on her at the end - Eugenie may not have liked it, but it was certainly better than the alternative. Now on to Thorn Queen!

I liked the plot of Storm Born, but I didn't like what was driving the plot along (if that makes sense).
The main character, Eugenie, is a powerful shaman, who is able to banish spirits and the like to the Otherworld.
In trying to rescue a girl that has been abducted by the fey or gentry, she discovers something about herself, aided in the process by two love interests.
I think this is a somewhat original concept that was very appealing to me.
HOWEVER, the book was bursting at the seams with all this sexual content.
The author mentions rape, condoms, birth control, pregnancy, etc...in EVERY chapter.
I wasn't expecting this to be the dominant theme of Storm Born, and unfortunately, after reading some of the reviews about Books 2 and 3, this theme continues, and some of her foreshadowing is realized in the later installments.
Personally, this is not what I want to read about, so I will not continue with the other books in the series.

Eugenie Markham is a Tuscon native shaman who makes her money banishing unwanted ghosts and fey to the world of the dead, or at least back to the Otherworld they came from. When she's asked to meet with a man, Wil, who says his sister, Jasmine, was taken by one of the gentry (fae) she's hesitant to take the job. Not only is this not the sort of job she does, but it's darned dangerous. To rescue Jasmine she will have to cross over into Otherworld not in her own spirit form--that of the dark swan known as Odile--but as her flesh and blood self. Before heading off to save the day she has a night out and hooks up with a handsome veterinarian named Kiyo and the two are attacked by one of the gentry elementals and the fight that ensues reveals she is more than what she said she was and so is Kiyo.

Persuaded by thoughts of the teenaged Jasmine being forced to be a gentry's plaything she accepts the job and with the back-up of her spirit servants, Volusian, Nandi and Finn, she sets off to get the girl back from Aeson, the Alder King. While in Otherworld she meets Dorian, the Oak King, who she becomes friends with but when the fight with Aeson fails she has to return home. With continued attacks from gentry she eventually finds out that not only have her parents been keeping MAJOR secrets from her but that there is a gentry prophecy about the child she might one day have. No wonder every gentry around is trying to rape her or at least win her favor!

Dodging would-be rapists, learning how to control new-found powers and sorting out the possible relationships with both Kiyo and Dorian, Eugenie never has a dull moment. Neither did this book! A fan of Mead's YA series (Vampire Academy) and the urban fantasy genre in general I was thrilled to see this book hit the shelves and it wasn't at all disappointing. Filled with action, interesting characters, sexual tension and plenty of well-timed humor it had everything I look for in an urban fantasy novel.

Fans of Rachel Morgan or the Sisters of the Moon series will not want to miss this one. With the elements of magic and a heroine in the vein of Rachel and a world building filled with kitsune, fae and elementals this series looks to be a crowd pleaser. Be on the lookout for Thorn Queen, the next book in the series due out in the summer of 2009!

I won't put any spoilers in this review.

What I liked most about this book is the imagination it took in creating such fleshed out characters and worlds. Each character has a distinct personality and you can actually hear their voices as they speak and see their faces and body clearly. (Readers, you know what I mean.) This is a trick that very few authors have mastered, and Richelle has it wrapped around her little finger.

These books are also character driven as opposed to plot driven. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of action, plot, and surprises along the way, too. In fact, the action scenes are so well written that at times I forget that I'm reading a book and not watching TV.

The reason why I gave this book 4/5 stars is for one, nit-picky reason. I found a mistake in it while reading. (It was the scene with the minions back at Eugenie's house. Pay attention to their bodies.) It wasn't a very big mistake, but it was enough. This would have easily been 5/5 stars had it not been for that one, little thing.

So overall, this was a great beginning to a great series. Likeable characters, great action, and good writing. I will definitly be following this series through to the end.

This novel is on the paranormal romance side of urban fantasy. Explicit scenes, not for kids.

I really enjoyed the short story about a haunted sneaker that introduced this world, but the heroine's professional shaman act we meet in chapter one is not her real personality. My problem with Eugenie (the heroine) is she never thinks. The plot is based around her going to the Otherworld to save a girl she doesn't know or care about, who may not even have been kidnapped. This is extremely dangerous, and the person sending her there is a mentally unbalanced conspiracy nutjob. Everyone, including her better judgment, tries talking her out of it. She goes. I thought the author did a terrible job of making this believable.

One detail I disliked was Eugenie won't eat Otherworld food, and three chapters later she is guzzling elf wine without a second thought. She's impulsive and has a hard time making up her mind, and this makes her dumb while making the plot worse. Her impulse control also helps her jump into bed faster.

The quality and unflinching steamy detail of the sex scenes make the romantic parts well written and integrated. If you like paranormal romance, add a star (add another if you like bondage). While Kiyo was nice, I thought Eugenie had chemistry going on with Dorian. Anyway, romance success.

Overall a weakly plotted paranormal romance with great world-builidng and a dumb heroine. Secondary characters were strong, especially homicidal Volusian, who Eugenie doesn't think is dangerous (another reason she is dumb). Not bad, but not great either.

STORM BORN
RICHELLE MEAD
Paranormal romance

Rating: 5 Enchantments

Eugenie Markham goes by many names, Odlie, Dark Swan, and Eugenie. Each name represents a different part of her life. She is Eugenie Markham to family and friends, Odlie to customers, and Dark Swam to the Gentry. When her real name gets out among the gentry so does her true identity, which is never a good thing. But it is even worse for Eugenie because she does not even know herself who or what she is. It takes a quest into the otherworld, some unlikely allies, and an open mind to see what her destiny really is.

Kiyo is hot to trot for Miss Odlie Dark Swan. Sent to watch over her and make sure she does not fall into the prophesized destiny, he finds himself a little deeper than expected. He finds himself in love with her.

Eugenie Markham is a Shaman for hire. She does the usual stuff like banishing spirits and elements from people's possessions, sending Gentry back to the otherworld. Something is different about the things she is banishing lately, not only do they know who she really is, but they keep trying to get busy with her. When a 14 year old girl is kidnapped by the gentry and taken to the otherworld Eugenie is hired to bring her back. Along the way she meets some heroes who want more than to just help her with the mission, but one wants her heart and the other wants her womb.

STORM BORN has an advisory level of fantastic! This book was perfect. The story line was new and exciting. This was not the same old paranormal romance, it was almost borderline fantasy. I fell in love with Kiyo and wanted Eugenie to take him back throughout the whole book. That is until she got with Dorian. Now I cannot make up my mind on who I think would be a better hero. Richelle Mead has a knack for writing entertaining, comical, romantic, and exciting books. This one was no different. I rarely give out 5 Enchantment ratings but this book deserved it! I cannot wait for the second book in this series. I hope she releases it soon.

Richelle Mead is the author of the very popular Succubus series, and the Young adult Vampire Academy series. To find out more about her and her books please visit her website at [...]

Jennifer
ENCHANTING REVIEWS
September 2008

I read the Vampire Academy series and loved those books so much I immediately went to the Black Swan series. I loved these books as well, but for different reasons. The Vampire Academy series seemed more geared toward *older* teens/young adults, whereas the Black Swan series was definitely written for adults. The sexual content is very descriptive and abundant. I'm not complaining and I am certainly old enough to handle this sort of content, but should a teenager wander into these pages after reading the other series, well, it's just not teen-appropriate. That said, this book is a great sci-fi/romance/butt kickin' girl series and I would recommend it for anyone who likes that sort of thing.

This is a decent start to a series. Solid world building and interesting charcters are introduced. It is a very sexy book - shockingly sex almost. But for me, something kept it from being great. I did not connect with the heroine and I almost didn't care what happened. I enjoyed her interactions with Kiyo and Dorian and then her interactions with her imprisoned spirits, those were the highlights for me. I listened to the audio and the narration is decent.

I may just be all Meaded out as I just finished the Georgina Kincaid and Vampire Academy series. I do like how she pushes boundaries with her female characters. Mead's adult female characters are not chaste and have no regrets about that. This Mead theme is definitely refreshing in the urban fantasy/paranormal genre. I likely will read #2 eventually.

Eugenie Markham aka the Dark Swan Odile is a powerful shaman trained to kill and / or banish the Fey that make their way into the human world to cause trouble.

Trained by her shaman foster father Eugenie is a little bit mercenary and a little bit freaked out when her prey start knowing her real name and start trying to get in her pants.

Eugenie takes a job to try and rescue a teenage girl that was kidnapped and taken into Fairy. A trip to visit King Dorian reveals some of the answers as well as a battle plan to get the girl back. Eugenie finds that she is the subject of a prophecy that says her first born will rule and change the world (which explains the fey trying to get into her pants..). Eugenie also finds out that she is half-fey herself, daughter to the tyrannical Storm King that nearly took over all of Fairy several years ago.

With the help of Dorian and a half-kitsune named Kiyo, Eugenie tries to save the girl while trying to ignore (and failing) both men's romantic attempts.

Eugenie is a very kick-butt character and basically knows what she wants most of the time. Most of her mistakes stem from either not thinking things through all the way or going off half-cocked on incomplete information. All the same she is a witty and amusing character that seems to be falling deeper under the spell of her own power as the book progresses. I look forward to seeing what happens in the next book (Thorn Queen, I think).

It all started off great -- strong female character with funny quirks, then a lot of mistery as to who the traitor is, but then the reader comes to find that the men just aren't all that appealing. Kiyo has way too much luggage. Great sex and some chemistry for around a month just doesn't seem like a strong enough foundation to keep Eugenie sticking around when he has a knocked up ex who he's constantly in contact with. Seeing as she couldn't tell she was pregnant until someone told her, it seems she isn't even that far along, so one thing would pop up in any woman's head when she found this out: I'm a rebound girl. Sorry, but this just doesn't work for me. Dorian seems too snakish to have the appeal he has. Deceit and trickery are the foundation of this relationship. Top it all off with a mountain of responsibility thrown at this girl (also gained by deceit), a psychotic baby sister who will be the new target of rapists everywhere, and the idea that conception could eventually lead to world war 3, and you've got a real bummer of an ending. It's really just sad and depressing on so many levels. I was really disappointed at the direction this book turned to.

Storm Born by Richelle Mead
4 ½ stars

This is a fantastic Urban Fantasy read! Eugenie is a shaman who specializes in exterminating paranormal occurrences. In this book she is called upon to find a girl and must cross into the dangerous Fairy realm. This is not her usual type of job and she is tested severely and discovers the identity of her father. During this time she attracts Dorian the fairy king and Kiyo a shape-shifter. This book is a fast read that never lets up. If I could just stress one thing about this book. It is that I really enjoyed the heroine. She is gutsy and not too cynical. In many of the Urban Fantasies the heroine is extremely dark and there isn't enough vulnerability/humanity for me to actually like the character. This is NOT the case with Eugenie. This book is a hidden treasure for those who love paranormal romances. If you love novels by Jim Butcher, Laurell Hamilton, Jeaniene Frost, Karen Chance and Lilith Saintcrow- check this book out you WILL NOT be disappointed.

Reviewed by Steph at Bookaholics Romance Book Club

Her stepfather trained shaman Eugenie "Odile" Markham in how to send back creatures who cross over from the Otherworld. Eugenie is excellent at her vocation, but now has a much more complex issue confronting her after she exorcised the lost soul from the sole of the sneaker. Wil Delaney asks Odile to rescue his sister Jasmine, who he says fairies abducted her; taking the girl back to their realm, which Odile knows is Otherworld. Although her beloved stepfather warned her never to cross over, Eugenie knows she must try to rescue the child.

When she crosses over Eugenie finds herself the target of almost every male in Otherworld for they know she is the Dark Swan; the focus of a key prophesy involving a child she will birth. She also meets her biological father the Storm King who will sell her to the highest bidder while two men, Kiyo the spirit fox and King Dorian offer to help her retrieve the female and take her back to the mortal side; however Eugenie trusts no one but herself on this side.

The tale begins as an amusing urban fantasy, but once Eugenie leaves behind the world of "Nike" to cross over it turns into a humorous investigative "quest" fantasy. The story line is fast-paced from the opening sneaker ploy and filled with non-stop action and characters who bring Otherworld to life. However, though the plot is obviously the introduction to the Black Swan saga, the sarcastic self deprecating heroine who is the focus of every Y chromosome bearer makes STORM BORN a fine fun fantasy.

Harriet Klausner

This book started off slow but was an entertaining read. The characters were fun and exciting. The main character is a strong female who is foolish and often makes decisions based on her emotions. There are two dominate male characters who are enticing but it's unknown what there true motive is. The book overall was a fun read.

Eugenie Markham aka the Dark Swan Odile is a powerful shaman trained to kill and / or banish the Fey that make their way into the human world to cause trouble.

Trained by her shaman foster father Eugenie is a little bit mercenary and a little bit freaked out when her prey start knowing her real name and start trying to get in her pants.

Eugenie takes a job to try and rescue a teenage girl that was kidnapped and taken into Fairy. A trip to visit King Dorian reveals some of the answers as well as a battle plan to get the girl back. Eugenie finds that she is the subject of a prophecy that says her first born will rule and change the world (which explains the fey trying to get into her pants..). Eugenie also finds out that she is half-fey herself, daughter to the tyrannical Storm King that nearly took over all of Fairy several years ago.

With the help of Dorian and a half-kitsune named Kiyo, Eugenie tries to save the girl while trying to ignore (and failing) both men's romantic attempts.

Eugenie is a very kick-butt character and basically knows what she wants most of the time. Most of her mistakes stem from either not thinking things through all the way or going off half-cocked on incomplete information. All the same she is a witty and amusing character that seems to be falling deeper under the spell of her own power as the book progresses. I look forward to seeing what happens in the next book (Thorn Queen, I think).

It all started off great -- strong female character with funny quirks, then a lot of mistery as to who the traitor is, but then the reader comes to find that the men just aren't all that appealing. Kiyo has way too much luggage. Great sex and some chemistry for around a month just doesn't seem like a strong enough foundation to keep Eugenie sticking around when he has a knocked up ex who he's constantly in contact with. Seeing as she couldn't tell she was pregnant until someone told her, it seems she isn't even that far along, so one thing would pop up in any woman's head when she found this out: I'm a rebound girl. Sorry, but this just doesn't work for me. Dorian seems too snakish to have the appeal he has. Deceit and trickery are the foundation of this relationship. Top it all off with a mountain of responsibility thrown at this girl (also gained by deceit), a psychotic baby sister who will be the new target of rapists everywhere, and the idea that conception could eventually lead to world war 3, and you've got a real bummer of an ending. It's really just sad and depressing on so many levels. I was really disappointed at the direction this book turned to.

Storm Born by Richelle Mead
4 ½ stars

This is a fantastic Urban Fantasy read! Eugenie is a shaman who specializes in exterminating paranormal occurrences. In this book she is called upon to find a girl and must cross into the dangerous Fairy realm. This is not her usual type of job and she is tested severely and discovers the identity of her father. During this time she attracts Dorian the fairy king and Kiyo a shape-shifter. This book is a fast read that never lets up. If I could just stress one thing about this book. It is that I really enjoyed the heroine. She is gutsy and not too cynical. In many of the Urban Fantasies the heroine is extremely dark and there isn't enough vulnerability/humanity for me to actually like the character. This is NOT the case with Eugenie. This book is a hidden treasure for those who love paranormal romances. If you love novels by Jim Butcher, Laurell Hamilton, Jeaniene Frost, Karen Chance and Lilith Saintcrow- check this book out you WILL NOT be disappointed.

Reviewed by Steph at Bookaholics Romance Book Club

Her stepfather trained shaman Eugenie "Odile" Markham in how to send back creatures who cross over from the Otherworld. Eugenie is excellent at her vocation, but now has a much more complex issue confronting her after she exorcised the lost soul from the sole of the sneaker. Wil Delaney asks Odile to rescue his sister Jasmine, who he says fairies abducted her; taking the girl back to their realm, which Odile knows is Otherworld. Although her beloved stepfather warned her never to cross over, Eugenie knows she must try to rescue the child.

When she crosses over Eugenie finds herself the target of almost every male in Otherworld for they know she is the Dark Swan; the focus of a key prophesy involving a child she will birth. She also meets her biological father the Storm King who will sell her to the highest bidder while two men, Kiyo the spirit fox and King Dorian offer to help her retrieve the female and take her back to the mortal side; however Eugenie trusts no one but herself on this side.

The tale begins as an amusing urban fantasy, but once Eugenie leaves behind the world of "Nike" to cross over it turns into a humorous investigative "quest" fantasy. The story line is fast-paced from the opening sneaker ploy and filled with non-stop action and characters who bring Otherworld to life. However, though the plot is obviously the introduction to the Black Swan saga, the sarcastic self deprecating heroine who is the focus of every Y chromosome bearer makes STORM BORN a fine fun fantasy.

Harriet Klausner

This book started off slow but was an entertaining read. The characters were fun and exciting. The main character is a strong female who is foolish and often makes decisions based on her emotions. There are two dominate male characters who are enticing but it's unknown what there true motive is. The book overall was a fun read.

This is a good start to an interesting series. There is humor, action, romance, mystery. Don't expect anything Native American even though she is called a shaman. The "real world" is Tucson, AZ and that's as close as you get. Except for Eugenie's roommate who is a fake Indian and kind of comic relief. Her mythology is mixed with Japanese, Greek and European folklore. Yes, it is predominantly a romance with 2 non-human romantic interests, though I thought the plot moved along as it needed to given that this is a "set the stage" kind of book. As for the romance there is more tension than sex but I felt like the sex scenes flowed from the action (and I usually find sex scenes to be contrived, clinical and too long). I would, however, prefer more action from the plot instead of the bedroom. I will be looking for the next installment.

OK, Let's be honest, what we have here is another Anita Blake clone. Eugenie is young, beautiful and full of power that has yet to completely manifest. She is terribly predudiced against the "monsters" but as the story progresses, she finds out that she is one of them. This book is about her journey to acceptance. Sound familiar? Dorian makes a great Jean Claude and Kiyo (Lord help him) is Richard. We can only hope that Eugenie doesn't aquire a clone of Anita's entire harem. Please Ms Mead, just keep it to the two guys!

But I really have nothing against books that are clones, as long as they are well done. I must admit that I almost put this book down after the first few chapters because I didn't really like Eugenie. The author was unable to convince me that Eugenie had a good reason for her blind prejudice. It just made her look stupid. To continue my comparison I think Ms Hamilton did a much better job with Anita's prejudice in "Guilty Pleasures". Fortunately, Eugenie's attitude changes very quickly and I'm really glad I finished the book. In fact, my first thought after I finished was wondering when the next book in the series is coming out. I really like Ms Mead's style of writing and I personally love the fact that this book incorporates elements of both urban fantasy and paranormal romance.

Although "Storm Born" is not great (like I felt "Guilty Pleasures" was),it is still very good and enjoyable. I look forward to the next book in the series.

This was the first Mead book that I've read, and I only read it because I'd gotten the second one free on Kindle and I have to start from the beginning of the series. Am I glad I did! This was a super urban fantasy novel, better than most I've read recently. Eugenie is a great heroine, funny as well as practical and down to earth. Went straight from the first book to the second - they really should have been combined. The second was even better than the first. Loved Kiyo and Dorian, and at the end of this book could not decide which one I thought she should end up with. I'll wait to see.

Renee S. N.Y.C.

I loved Mead's Vampire Academy series, liked Succubus books as well; naturally I expected to enjoy Storm Born too. Unfortunately, I was wrong. In fact, I couldn't believe how bad it was. Did Richelle actually write this?

First of all, the plot itself was very weak. There was no point to the story, no climax, just a few things happening with no purpose. Events seemed to have been made up just to fill in the space between the sex scenes. Characters were un-relatable, unlikable, acted irrationally. I finished the book not caring about anybody. Mythology which is central to any fantasy book was uninspired and boring.

This is truly the weakest of Mead's books. If I were her, I wouldn't bother to continue this series and instead concentrated on her better ones. There is absolutely no way I will be reading "Thorn Queen."

P.S. One star for the fact that I finished it, second - because I love Richelle's other works.

For me it wasn't great, but wasn't bad. Writing was good, world build was good. It was fun at times. I just didn't enjoy the plot line very much. Girl banishes otherworldly beings, and is chased by every male to have a male child that fulfills a prophecy. Also there's a girl she is trying to go save from the otherworld. It was just okay.

I love all of Richelle Mead's book. She is such a great author and her books are always the best. Dark Swan series is a really wonderful series to read. Yes, it does contain a lot of sex sense in them and you should be at least 18 to read this series. But even with all the sex sense, this book kicks in with a lot of action. How Eugenie Markham is a shaman and she needs to fit for what she believes in and also herself. I really enjoyed this series and cant wait for the 3rd book to come out! I hope everyone can give this book a try. hehe =3

I love Richelle Mead. Her Vampire Academy series is perfect. Her writing style flows so well and is eminently readable.I ran out and bought this book the minute I saw it on the shelf.My expectations were very high.

That said, I did not really like this book. Odile starts out strong. There were twists that I did not expect (Jasmine). The world building is unique.

IMHO the two heroes left me cold. Kiyo is too perfect. Dorian is more interesting with shades of gray. She has dominatrix sex with one, and is submissive during sex with the other. I prefer sexual tension over graphic details (as in Vampire Academy).

However now that I have read it, I will continue on with the series, but I am really counting the days till Shadow Kiss comes out.

Richelle Mead is a quirky writer...in a good way. Her ideas mix the ordinary and extraordinary in unexpected ways. I'm an older guy who ordinarily wouldn't read this stuff, but I got the kindle edition and I find myself fascinated and highly entertained...and on occasion titillated. Fun stuff that I highly recommend to anyone who likes R rated urban fantasy.

When this book came out I actually didn't even go buy it until it was on the shelf for 3 weeks. I didn't think I would like it because although I love the VA and Succubus series,I knew this book was nothing like either one. I am so glad I took the chance to read it. To the people that are complaining it's not like VA or Succubus; it's not supposed to be just like the other two series b/c it's a completely different story!!!!! I am soooo glad I decided to pick this book up! I will definitely keep reading!

I have never read some many books with such a wide variety of what the books r about themselves, this book is about a ruthless shaman, vampire diaries well is about vampires, and her other series is about a sccubuss. I have yet to read the last one but I have read the first too and I cant stop reading her stuff. She is one of the best authors out there!! I cant wait to read more of her books this summer. I recommend her books to anyone with a imagination with alot of color!!

I loved this book & read it in one night. It had everything: just enough magic action, passion, emotion, humor... I liked the heroine's character: not too tough, too funny or overdone. I really liked the story between the two worlds & the characters in them. And yes, Kiyo & Dorian are both hot in their own rights, opposite ends of the male spectrum. Can't wait for the sequel.. I have a feeling I'll be re-reading this in the meantime.

If you only read one of Richelle Mead's series' of books, this one should be it. The characters in the Eugenie series are vibrant, engaging, and memorable. When I finally read the last book in the series, I was actually really sad because I knew I would greatly miss new adventures with the characters. The only thing that I didn't like about the series was that it ended and I wanted a follow up series! If you like reading fantasy novels and can relate to feeling like you're not sure where you belong, you will relate to Eugenie's story.

I think this book could have been amazing-- instead it was just ok. The story is interesting-- Eugenie isn't my favorite magic wielding heroine. I thought the plot could have been more robust. That said the twist... Well it surprised me.

I devoured it in one sitting! I have to say though that I really enjoy anything written by Richelle Mead. My only disappointment is that I don't have a few of this series to read back to back and I have to wait until the end of July for Thron Queen to come out. Great story line and terrific writing. I definitely recommend this book and anything Richelle writes (Vampire Academy and Succubus Series). Go get them!

Oh my gosh...Is Richelle Mead even capable of writing a bad book? Its seems that she's not, once again she's created a tale so fun you never want to stop reading. I've already started a new book, since finishing this one; yet my mind keeps traveling back to the awesome story she created in Storm Born. The characters are beyond intriguing, the story beyond addictive, and now I'm beyond impatient waiting for everything she has yet to release. READ THIS BOOK!!!

I don't know what made me buy this book. Although I like fantasy type books, this is not my usual kind of fantasy book to read. However, I started reading one morning and couldn't put it down. I was almost done with it by the time I fell asleep that night and I finished it the next morning. I had to force myself to do other mundane things the next day before beginning the second book in the series and so far, it has picked up and taken off running just as the first book did. So here's a warning: Don't pick up the book unless you've cleared a good part of the day for reading. It will snatch you up and take you away!

I bought this book for my kindle because it was bundled and a good price. I didn't have any expectations - but was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it (all 3 books in series)- can't wait for the next book!

Oh wow. Oh wow. This book was absolutely awesome. I picked it up yeaterday morning and now I am done, about to start its sequel, Thorn Queen.
I *loved* Eugenie. She was an awesome character. She had great habilities but also several flaws. I also loved Dorian and Kiyo. The secondary characters were fun.
The plot would not let down under the very end (the conflicts! the angst! the twists!) and the sex scenes were damned sexy.
I am off to read the next installment!

I have to agree with Patricia Briggs' cover quote: "Storm Born is my kind of book -- great characters, dark worlds, and just the right touch of humor. A great read." Richelle really does create characters that you swear could walk off the page. Eugenie Markham is a standout butt kicker -but better drawn than all the dime a dozen female demon killers out there these days.
While it fits what everyone is calling urban fantasy - I found this book to be much more than that catagory conjures up for me. Dark Fantasy, Romance and Mystery to name a few. This is a very well constructed story - complexities and surprises abound.
I actually passed this book up twice before I decided that I would pick it up. I read it in two days. I would have missed out on one heck of a story.

Once in a while you will come across a book that will leave you wanting more once you're done reading them. Storm Born is that kind of book to me. It has everything; a little bit of drama, action, suspense, comedy, fantasy, magic, romance. What else would you ask for?? And the best part of all, the characters are well written especially the Oak King, Dorian. The chemistry between Eugenie and Dorian is explosive!!! The dialogues between them is super hot. And the plot moves at a pretty nice pace, never too slow or too fast to reach the end. Kiyo is a pretty interesting character too, but Im not really a fan of his. Quite annoying. The author did create some lovable supporting characters. I highly recommend this book to all, regardless if you're a fan of the paranormal genre or not because as I've mentioned before, it has all the ingredients to feed not only paranormal lovers but the others too. There's a little something for everyone. This book is a keeper.

One of the best urban fantasy books i've read so far. For once, the heroine isn't whiny and immature; (overly impulsive, yes, but not whiny) here we have a strong female character that brings to mind the protagonists of Tamora Pierce's books. Add that to two decidedly attractive love interests and a whole heaping of magic and mystery that both intrigues you and keeps you guessing, you've got a book you won't want to put down. More suitable for mature readers, due to sexual content.

You know how you stay up all night because you think you're about to read a great book, but when you get to the end it's so disappointing that you will never read another in that series? This is that book. The herione is dumb. Proof of that - She MUST NOT have a baby, but has sex with two different guys and one without a condom. She is wishy washy, her emotions are lusting after one guy, then in a split second, lusting after another. She makes stupid decisions and then goes back to the original guy after having sex with another one, who obviously didn't perform up to expectations. AND WHAT IS WITH THE CRAZY MAGIC?? All of a sudden the heroine has every power possible.....it makes it UNBELIEVABLE. She can do all this stuff, is a powerful demon killer and yet can't decide who she wants to sleep with, who her friends are and the story is really quite painful to read. Her sister that pops up is like a story killer, or plot device in the plain view of everyone. I found myself skipping pages and pages of dribble to get to the meat of the story and found the meat lacking. I will not buy the rest of the series.

I just picked up this book and "Thorn Queen" on an impulse the other day. Blazed through both of them in 2 days! I was really surprised by how I couldn't put them down, to the point of missing some sleep time.
Following Eugenie's progression through her emotional and physical challenges was gripping and I found myself empathizing with her. A great read that is totally worth buying. I can't wait for more!

I'm so happy I got this book and read it before the Thorn queen which I got for free from the store. It was highly entertianing the plot is great and it totally drew me in from the very beginning of the book. Highly recommended.

It was okay... I finished it at least, it took me forever, but I got there eventually. I started reading this book because I had read Vampire Academy and LOVED it. But this... was no where near as good. I was expecting something amazing but it really fell short. I wasn't a huge fan of the plot, or the characters. There was nothing really that grabbed me and pulled me in. I'll stick with Vampire Academy I think.

I'd take the easy way out and say that Storm Born is Zen Moses meets the Chronicles of Narnia, but I won't for three reasons. First, the whole "x meets y" thing has become clichéd. Second, some of you are probably unfortunate enough not to know about Zen Moses. Third, it wouldn't be nice to steal the heroine's own reference to the Chronicles of Narnia.

Eugenie Markham, Odile, the Dark Swan. With so many identities, you'd think the protagonist of Richelle Mead's latest novel was confused enough, but things only get worse as she finds family members, dead and alive, that she never knew she had, learns her true identity and, maybe, her destiny.

Odile is a shaman. Not a peyote smoking (well, maybe once or twice) buckskin clad Native, but a real warrior with the power to bind and banish spirits and other denizens of the Otherworld including the gentry, the shining ones, fairies. And she's damn good at it, with a lot of fairy blood on her hands. She's a magical gun for hire, defending this world against invaders from elsewhere...for a price. "Have athame, will travel."

Things get dicy when the djinn possessing a running shoe knows her real name and others follow. Then, her latest gig, rescuing the 15-year old sister of a conspiracy theory blogger who's been kidnapped by a fairy king leads her to the answer of just how they know her real identity. It also leads her to a new question: "Does she know who she really is?"

Eugenie is a real hero, defending this world against the denizens of the Otherworld, but no stranger to spilling blood. In the course of the story she confronts her prejudice against the gentry, her aversion to fairy magic, even her attitude towards two men. Her attitudes evolve and she gains power. She sacrifices greatly for love and honor. The Dark Swan becomes a bit darker in the process.

This book is an engaging read with interesting takes on the fey, the afterlife and magic. There are amusing characters as well as serious ones, but overall the tone is more serious than Mead's Georgina Kincaid series. There may be a moral sentiment or two tucked in there, too, but it doesn't suffer for action. It's a real page turner you won't want to put down.

I have read Vampire Academy from Richelle Mead. This book was different, and I liked it. It had everything from action, sex, otherworldly things. Love it. I really enjoyed reading this book. I am looking forward to the 2nd book.

This is the first book by Rochelle Mead I've read, if this is an indication of her writing then she's earned a fan.
A fun read that doesn't get caught up with itself, it's entertaining and fun occasionally sexy but not graphic while still being for adults.

I'm a big fan of the "urban fantasy" genre, and this book has a lot going for it in that respect - interesting characters, a good "world building" scenario, some humor and some attitude. But the big problem for me is that the book is mostly about the lead character's sex life and romances, and the other plots take a complete backseat to that.

Kindle review - the book is well-formatted, no issues with pagination, hyphenation or typos at all.

Good Read very enjoyable. I also liked how her novels are all separate the story lines and don't bleed into one another as with some authors working on more than one series at a time....can't wait to read the next one :)

This book took some time to get into for me, but once I did I could't put it down. I like Eugenie because she is not one of those "heroines" who are always in trouble, then looking for someone to come and rescue her. She has a dangerous job. But she knows when to say when. Eventually she will have to pick a side though. She just needs to decide which one.

Great read if you like faires and the sidhe and shapshifting. Will definitely continue with this series........

This book had me captivated from the first page. Richelle takes you to a whole new world, it really shows what an imagination she has. There was a lot going on but in a good way, not confusing at all. There is hot lovin', action and the characters are the best. I love Richelle because she puts such wonderful humor in her books. I am really looking forward to more in this series.

1 out of 5 stars. From what I saw after I tried to read this book is a lot of people had bad reviews about the series too ... maybe not this book in particular but definitely a few books down the line. I liked the book up until the halfway point and then the plot went a way I just didn't like and I got bored with it. *shakes head* Too bad. Basically I never finished the book ... I just couldn't force my way to do so.

Reviewed by: From Me to You ... Book Reviews
(read more of this review and get teaser on my blog)

Having read--and liked--everything else Mead has written, I find this one to be shockingly bad. I'm only up to page fifty, but it feels like I've lost the will to read on. I started it two weeks ago, and I'm by no means a slow reader. I just keep telling myself to keep going with this one, but accidentally reading whole other books.

The leading character is personality-less. She could DIE and I wouldn't know the difference (which is saying something, as this is a first person narration). Not to mention her fantasy world is not well established.

Even if you like everything else Richelle Mead has written, it does NOT mean you will like this.

I think I'm going to try and get through the last 314-ish pages.

Update: I finished this book. It was terrible all the way through. I won't be reading on in the series.