Stormcaster (Shattered Realms)

*Spoilers**sigh* where do I even begin..? The Seven Realms Series is, by far, one of my all time favorites, so naturally I was super stoked/had high hopes for a sequel! More Han and Raisa? Yes please! Except for that doesn’t happen because Han dies at the beginning of the first book! And not even a Han worthy death but rather a means to an end, allowing room for new characters! Major blow. But I pressed on, secretly hoping that he wasn’t REALLY dead. The second book was an improvement although there are SOO many points of views and side plots that I had a hard time remembering who was who and how they knew each other. Especially when so many go by different names. Which also, unfortunately, allows for little care investment into said characters, but all in all was an enjoyable read and I really loved reading about Lyss and Hal.Then came this book. 😑 Not only did the characters and points of view change for the umpteenth time, but the first half of the book was the backstory of two boys discovering their homosexual feelings towards one another. And I’m sorry, I don’t want to read about how their boy parts tingle when they kiss! Not only is it gross to me but it’s completely unrelatable and therefore boring!! Oh and did I mention it’s a back story to side characters?? 🙄🙄🙄 I get SOO tired of authors trying to cater to the extremely small LBGT community! Also, It seemed completely forced as the second book lead you to believe that Destin and Lila were hinting towards a thing! I found myself skipping nearly all of the first half of this book and the second wasn’t much better. It was a means to wrap up loose ends in the southern kingdoms and make way for Hal to be king and therefore able to marry Lyss.I would’ve rated this book one star but decided to give it two solely on the fact that Han made an appearance. Even if it was from beyond the grave in Aediion.I doubt I’ll be reading the final book, Deathcaster, as there was hint of Raisa thinking about remarrying. And with Raisa no longer Queen and captain Byrne no longer her blood bond, I’m too afraid CWC will completely destroy my love for the Seven Realms by them ending up together. All in all, I’m stashing this series on my made-me-wish-for-amnesia shelf.

When I first read Flamecaster I told myself be careful what you wish for.This is a series set 25 years after The Seven Realms series, which is one of my all time favorite YA fantasy series. Because that is the case the character shift to Han and Raisa’s children being the main characters meant that they are not safe and some of the characters I love from the first series are going to die and that was also why thirty pages into Flamecaster I was in tears sobbing and didn’t think I’d continue the book. Stormcaster made me glad I continued because after I wiped away all my tears I had a theory, a dream, a hope for my beloved character who was gone and I was right and it made everything so much better for me.Stormcaster is much like Flamecaster and Shadowcaster in that we spend the first 30% of the book with a new character getting their backstory and bringing us up to present time. Evan was the envoy that came to Ardenscourt for Jenna in Flamecaster. His origin story was so interesting that I didn’t care that it took us a third of the book to get back to where we left off at the end of Shadowcaster. Evan and Destin’s history was fleshed out and I will say that it was different than I expected but wonderful.***You are in deep water, Pirate, and you’ve forgotten how to swim. Do not fall for this dangerous, moody, mercurial boy. It will lead to heartbreak or worse.***We have a few different story lines happening; Adrian is with Lila headed back to his homeland and to see his mother *insert tears here*. Alyssa is captured with Breon and headed to wherever the Empress lives, Hal is on his way to his father to try to gather an army to look for Alyssa and Destin is in Ardenscourt hoping to stop a civil war and then Lila is actually in all of the places because that girl is badass and totally gets around and Jenna with Cas, well they are having their own adventure.The thing I love about this world is that the women in it are so strong. It is one of the few stories I’ve read that has a Queendom instead of a kingdom. The head of the Army is a woman, one of the top spies is a girl and another girl is a tamer of dragons and has hatched a dangerous plan of her own. Never is it said that the girls should be bundled up stowed away safely knitting. They are all out there making differences and being strong in so many ways.This book is where I think a lot of the story is getting traction. There are some bigger movements on what the Magemarked are and why the Empress is after them. I especially enjoyed learning more about the bloodsworn and trying ot develop a theory about what those crazy blood drinking priests might be. Adrian’s reunion with his mother opens back up the political intrigues that lead to Han’s assassination and the attempt on Alyssa. I loved getting page time with Raisa. I’ve missed her so much since she is not the star of the series. But again she is the wonderful character I loved so much in the Seven Realms series.*** “You smell of the road— sweat and horses and leather, meadowsweet and pine.” She put up a hand when he tried to apologize. “No. I like it. My father was a clan trader, and he always came home smelling like faraway places. It reminds me of something your father said once.” She closed her eyes, remembering. “He said, ‘I want to breathe you in for the rest of my life.’”***It is fantastic to be back in this world and while you might have shied away from it if you read the Seven Realms series I think fans will be especially excited about a few of the developments in this series in regards to characters from the original series.Warning – This contains a developing relationship between a same sex couple. While there is no sex there is a kiss. I don’t say this to discourage anyone from reading it but as a parent I liked knowing those things going in so I could answer questions my kids might have had. I hope this doesn’t dissuade anyone from reading.Audio Note: As always this is well performed and the narration of the all the characters is done well.

Another tween book pushing a homosexual agenda. How does a person go about finding out if a novel is inappropriate? There needs go be warnings regarding content in novels like there are ratings for TV and movies. It makes no sense...

I love Chima's books. However, I feel like she's really pushing the gay angle, rather than it being a natural part of plot of character. It feels oversold and a little forced; it really distracted from the plot, for me, and read more like a gay romance novel than her usual books (fantasy and adventure with some romance mixed in).

I have enjoyed this story line and the previous seven realms series but this homosexual relationship between two characters is just disgusting. I will not finish this book/series nor will I recommend it.

This was definitely better then Shadowcaster for me. Not that Shadowcaster was bad it was just missing elements that I love about CWC's books. I kind of love how each of these books takes us into the lives of characters before the start of Flamecaster and kind of directs us on how they got from point A to point B. In this we followed Evan who is an orphan who was raised by Pirates until he finds out that he is so much more then that. I will leave it at that since this is the third book in the Shattered Realms series. CWC writes so fluidly from page to page. She finds ways to make all the characters come together through magnificent storytelling. The one thing that makes this series stand out for me is that it is more political action then anything. And because CWC writes so effortlessly the plot never drags on. I don't know how this is all going to wrap up in just one more book but I am excited to see what is in store for the finale! Too bad I have to wait a year!

The book was bought as brand new and came in immaculate condition. Whilst enjoying the story, read through to page 472 only to find that pages 473 & 474 were missing. There is no sign of tampering or torn edges, so my conclusion is that the pages were missed out when the book was put together. If necessary I will return the book for your examination. Please advise what will need to be done.Thank you. Alan Jones.

Excellent lead up to the final book, I’m waiting for it to be released!

I love this book

Eu não me aguento com essa autora! É o sétimo livro que eu leio dela e todos foram excelentes até agora! Ela só melhora! Como isso é possível? E como vou aguentar ficar longe dessa série depois do próximo e último livro?Cinda Williams Chima acabou de me provar que é possível escrever um livro de transição no meio de uma série sem que ele seja repetitivo ou maçante em qualquer parte. Está claro que este terceiro livro serve de ponte para o último, mas, além de ser uma ponte super necessária, ele é ótimo! Em nenhum momento, eu consegui me desligar da história! E agora só estou ainda mais louca pelo quarto!Esse foi o terceiro livro começando com uma história mais antiga de personagens que não tiveram tanto destaque nos outros, até chegar no ponto atual da série. Dessa vez, sobre o Evan e o Destin, e tenho que admitir que eu super precisava disso. Já não tinha nada contra o Evan desde o primeiro livro, mas precisei mesmo desse para me apegar ao Destin. E agora é um dos meus maiores ships!Senti mais falta da Lyss e da Jenna aqui, mas elas ainda apareceram. Aliás, todos apareceram. E eu amo tanto todos, de um jeito que só a Cinda conseguiria fazer mesmo, porque são muitos personagens e todos diferentes! E eu não só consigo diferenciar cada um, como não conseguiria viver sem nenhum.O que me dá muito medo para o último livro. A autora já me deu um susto enorme nesse aqui, é bom que ela não traga mais tragédia para cima de mim, hein? Vou começar a ler agora mesmo! E super recomendo que você vá atrás dos livros da série anterior, para poder logo ler essa também!

I had a lot of problems with this book and truth is, I almost gave up on the series.I started reading The Seven Realm series last year and they were one of my favorite YA fantasy series. I cared for most of the characters and the story had so many good moments, I was just in love with it, you see? So, I was expecting certain things from The Shattered Realms series too. The first two books were good, I mean, they weren’t my favorite, but they were entertaining enough and the set up for the third one had me expecting answers and more action scenes.Unfortunately, with this third book, I had a terrible experience. First half of the book was OK, a rough 4/5 for me. We get to meet Destin and Evan’s past and it was fairly entertaining. The fantasy elements were there and they’re presumably a queer couple (which I’m always grateful for), but the fact is that this book felt like it was all over the place.We have a huge amount of POVs that just read the same. Most of the time I was like who are you? I don’t remember you because their personalities just seemed the same to me. I even had to look up to CWC’s website to know who was who because I was totally lost.Also, I don’t mind reading about politics in fantasy worlds (I mean, I read A song of Ice and Fire and it’s all politics), but the way the author put it in this book was just boring. The war makes no sense and after +20 years one would expect that things have changed a little. On top of that, the “villain” is just a pirate girl that doesn’t have the personality to be a counterpart of anybody.If I’m being honest, most of this book could have been edited away and it would have not changed the result. I cannot believe this was written by the same author whose storytelling I came to love. I will finish the series, though, because I have to know how things end, but I’m disappointed. This third book was just a waste of time and it kind of make me feel like The Shattered Realms series should have not existed at all.