Blood Storm (The Books of Blood and Iron)

I LOVED this book. It's a fun and fast-moving story with characters one really cares about. I'm not a big fantasy reader, just the occasional one for variety. I read Harry Potter, but not Twilight, liked Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings-not so much. If your tastes are like mine, you should buy both The Iron Axe AND The Blood Storm( not as gory as title suggests).

Another winning book by a reliable, innovative author. Get this book! Then find all his other books and get them, too.

LOVE THIS BOOK! I RECOMMEND THE WHOLE SERIES!

BLOOD STORM is a terrific sequel to IRON AXE, but no worries if you haven’t read the first in the series; this book stands alone, and has a thorough and fun recap at the beginning of the book to fill you in on any details you missed. At first, the book seems like the adventure three friends go on to save the lives of their other two friends, but it turns into so much more. On the quest to learn the magic of the Shape, which is wanted by the enemies holding their friends hostage, half-troll Danr, undying Talfi and the former slave Aisa all learn a great deal about themselves and what it means to be strong for themselves and each other. In fact, strength is one of the major themes of the book. Here, finally, we get a strong woman who doesn’t earn the title by the usual means of wielding weapons and constantly finding ways to prove herself against her male counterparts. She doesn’t need to do either. Aisa’s strength—and indeed, that of all the characters—comes from simply being herself and holding to her beliefs and doing what’s right. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep one reading, along with positive portrayals of women and LGBT characters. I listened to the audio, which was well-done and entertaining, and I can’t wait until the third book comes out!

this isnt my style of reading

For Danr, the half-troll, he ended centuries of fighting; he is still not living a quiet life that he longs for. Now rumors are abound of people having the power of shape again and if Danr can learn to wield it, he could be human and spend his life with Aisa. But he is not the only one who wants that power. When two of their friends are held hostage, Danr, Aisa and Talfi must face the fates, Death and a giant wyrm to get that power because if he fails then the enemies that are closing in will destroy all they know and love in one fell swoop. When I picked up the first book, Iron Axe, it was on a whim and I was looking for something different to read. What I encountered was a story so amazing, edgy and consuming with characters you fell in love with that I immediately grabbed book two after I finished Iron Axe. If you haven’t read book one then don’t worry. The author does a great job in catching up readers in the beginning of BLOOD STORM but I highly recommend reading the trilogy in order to get all the nuances and meet all the characters from the beginning. BLOOD STROM picks up months later after the end of Iron Axe and we find Aisa, Danr, Talfi, Kalessa & Ranadar in the port town of Balsia. Things are not easy for them. When they go out in the public, some townspeople want to hear the story of how Danr saved the world; the other half just see him as a half-breed and is evil. But when problems come up between Danr and Aisa, well, let’s just say the enemies of this group of friends decide to use it in ways that will make you scream in agony and wait on the edge of the seat for more. BLOOD STORM is also about strength…strength of character, of convictions and in oneself and others. Here we see a female character strong not in wielding a weapon and wining battles, but in her convictions and simply being themselves. That goes for all of our four main characters. Strength to do the right thing, to see what others see in themselves and more play a major point in the story. What thrilled me the most was how the author does a great job in showing these characters as they continue to grow and learn about themselves and each other, as they find they are needed in ways they never anticipated or dreamed and that doing the right thing means something totally different to another person? What I loved the most about this book, heck this series so far, was how the author makes the characters so wildly different yet so enjoyable as well, even the bad guys had a few turns where I sympathized with them even as I rooted for Danr and his friends to defeat them. This is a new to me author and I am finding I can not get enough of this series. I am eager to get back into the story as these characters go on their last leg of the journey and discover more secrets. If you enjoy epic fantasy stories filled with magic, mystery, characters that brim with life and steal your heart then I highly recommend the books of Blood and Iron to you and am eager to see where this author goes next in the final book, Bone War. This is an objective review and not an endorsement

The second book in the Books of Blood and Iron goes further than the first. Death is still meddling in Danr and Aisa's lives, and now slavers are forcing them to hunt down the long-lost power of the shape. Every character in this book is a charmer. You feel for Danr, caught between his trollish and human heritages. Aisa is sharp and sarcastic and funny. Their relationship is rocky and difficult and utterly believable. The worldbuilding is equally fascinating. And the climactic battle at the end wouldn't let me put the book down.

Another terrific story from Harper. A really good stand-alone book, but an excellent sequel to Iron Axe, I continued to find the characters rich and interesting. The story was wonderful.