Review: Firestorm - Rachel Caine

The Genie is out of the bottle

Rogue Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin is racing to New York to warn her former colleagues of the impending apocalypse.  An ancient agreement between the Djinn and the Weather Wardens has been broken, and the furious Djinn, slaves to the Wardens for milennia, are now free of mortal control.

With more than half the Wardens unaccounted for in the wake of the Djinn uprising, Joanne realises that the natural disasters they've combated for so long were merely symptoms of restless Mother Nature fidgeting in her sleep.  Now she's waking up - and she's angry...

Weather Warden Series:
Ill Wind
Heat Stroke
Chill Factor
Windfall
Firestorm
Thin Air
Gale Force
Cape Storm
Total Eclipse (August 2010)

Visit Rachel Caine's Website for more information & to read excerpts from all of her books including the Morganville Vampire Series. You will also find a selection of short stories, both linked to the series & stand alone that can be read online.

Review:
I read the first 4 books in the Weather Warden series last year after spotting them in my local library.  I enjoyed them so much that the whole series has been on my book wishlist ever since.  I still haven't got round to buying them so when I spotted book 5 & 6 in the library just before Christmas I just had to read them so I can catch up on what is happening with Jo & David!  As it was almost a year ago when I read the first 4 books I really wish I'd started the series again from the beginning as it was hard to remember everything that has already happened but that didn't take away the enjoyment I got from reading Firestorm.

It will be hard to review the book without at least giving some hints about what has happened in previous books but I'll try to give away as little as possible.  I would point out that if you like the sound of this book then I would strongly recommend you start with Ill Wind & read the series in order.  There is so much going on in the series that although you can read the books as stand alone stories it really is much better to read them in order to get the full experience.

Like the first 4 books Firestorm is very fast paced & action packed from beginning to end.  I love the character Joanne, she has a great sense of humor and is devoted to her family & friends.  She is willing to fight for what she believes in & despite the fact that things often go wrong for her she refuses to give up.

I love the chemistry between her & her boyfriend David, although we see less of this than usual in this book.  Although I would have liked to see more of David I can see why that was impossible at this point in the storyline & there was just enough of him in there to keep things interesting.  We also see a few of the other characters we've known & loved in the earlier books including Wardens Lewis & Paul and Djinn Rahel & Venna.

I really liked the major new character in this book Imara who is Jo & David's daughter.  She is only 1 day old at the start of the book but as she is half-human/half-djinn she is already fully grown.  I found the interaction between Jo and Imara really interesting - it must be quite confusing to be pregnant one day and have an adult daughter the next!

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the story develops over the next 4 books and I still intend on buying the series as I know I'll be happy to re-read the books again in the future.

Source: Library

Other Reviews:
Lily's Bookshelf
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