Release Day Party: Storm Surge by R.J. Blain

Welcome to the release day party for Storm Surge by R.J. Blain! If you haven't read my review of the first book, well, you can find it here. And yes, you should totally read the first book before reading this as a lot of the world building was done in Storm Without End.

Storm Surge picks up where Storm Without End left off, with Kalen and a few of his guardians in a Mithrian mercenary camp run by Captain Silvereye. New guardians are created, a princess is found, and the time to prevent a war (or death by Skreed) is running out. And who knows what Crysallis, the witch wants?

Lots of things happened in this story, and it felt as if the plot moved forward a lot more. I especially love how the mercenaries had their character development in the story, and of course, the Yadesh. I can't believe I forgot about the Yadesh. The Yadesh are horse/deer-like creatures that can speak and determine when people are telling the truth. They all have personalities of their own, which makes them developed supporting characters in my eyes. Despite the fact that there were a lot more fleshed out characters, I never felt confused by what was going on, or about who was who.

Kalen and his guardians are as likeable as ever, although Kalen seems even younger in this book than the first, if that's possible. He is short, and he has this really childish sense of humour. It was quite startling for me to remember that he's 30 years old. Then again, Breton comes across as young to me, and he's one of the oldest guardians. Speaking of which, where were the other guardians? They were in the first book, but in this book, only the four that found Kalen were present. The rest were... probably still searching, I guess (although according to one plot point, I think they should have made their way to the camp by the end of the book).

Seriously, Kalen and his guardians, Captain Silvereye and his subordinates, and of course, the Rift horses and the Yadesh, these three groups were the highlight of the book. I love reading about them and their interactions.

The only character I didn't like was Princess Tala of Kelsh. Seriously, she was spoilt and useless and arrogant. And, for some reason, she reminds me of the token female character (or characters in some cases) in shonen manga; which, if you know me, you know I normally don't like. If her character and relationship arc develops the way I think it's going to, then this will be the part of the book that I cringe at. It's quite surprising, because Lady Delrose, Anrille, Verishi and the other women in the book are awesome characters that I root for. I didn't expect to find one I disliked.

Overall, with the exception of princess Tala, this was a good book. The foundation laid in Storm Without End really paid off, and the plot advanced at a good pace. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review.