Taken by Storm by Elle Middaugh – A Book Review

Posted February 24, 2020 by Booksandblurbs in Fantasy, PNR, Reverse Harem, Reviews / 0 Comments

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Taken by Storm

(Storms of Blackwood – Book 1)

by Elle Middaugh
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Fast Burn, Fantasy/Paranormal RH
Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

Down & Dirty

A touch rushed, yet still interesting. Hot new world with new rules – Free on Kindle Unlimited.

What is it about?

(Blurb from GoodReads)

Alexis Ravenel: Peasant. Princess. Pawn.

As a peasant, I was forced to work the jewel mines in order to survive. My life was hard, but my worries were few: affording food to eat, and keeping my pet sloth out of harm’s way. But when a chance encounter with a stranger concludes with me obtaining the power of the gods, suddenly my whole world changes.

When the Storm King finds out—and trust me, he always finds out—he plans to make me a princess by marrying me off to one of his four sons. Which doesn’t really seem like too bad of a thing…at first. After all, the Storm Princes are sexy as sin, rich, confident, and built like the very gods themselves.

But nothing is as simple as it seems, and the luxurious life of the Blackwood royals is nothing but a nightmare I cannot wake up from… and neither can the princes. They grew up knowing and resenting this fact, but I had to find out the hard way…

In the Kingdom of Blackwood, we are all just pawns in the Storm King’s wicked game.

Note:

TAKEN BY STORM is the first book in the STORMS OF BLACKWOOD series, a fast burn, RH, paranormal romance. 18+

Thoughts on Taken by Storm

Little Rushed, but good. 3.5 rounded up

I liked the overall concept of this book and enjoyed quite a few laughs along the way, but it did feel a bit rushed. The character development, at least for the guys – a quartet of brothers – was sorely lacking. Emotions and heat spawned very quickly, leaving much of the plot behind in favor of forcing a bond.

That said, it was still fun and I’ll continue the series – because of the sloth. Trust me. The sloth is everything.

Pros:

Intriguing.
For once, women are not pitted against each other, not really.
Mythology.

Cons:

Rushed.
I need to understand WHY those emotions are there, not just told about them.

Perspective

First Person, Single POV

Ending Type

Cliffhanger

Rating

Mature 18+

Romantic Dynamic

MMMMF (MMMMMF)

Character Age Range

24+

My Final Verdict on Taken by Storm

I really enjoyed the concept of this book, though the actual execution of the narrative was a touch disappointing. I wanted more connection. Regardless, it is still pleasing enough to spend a few hours with, especially as this Fast Burn is free on Kindle Unlimited.

Published September 26th, 2019
364 Pages