Audiobook Review: Storm and Fury (The Harbinger #1)

Author: Jennifer Armentrout

Narrator: Lauren Fortgang

Audiobook Length: 14 hours 20 minutes

Enter a world of gargoyle protectors, rising demons, and one girl with an explosive secret.

Eighteen-year-old Trinity Marrow may be going blind, but she can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. Her unique gift is part of a secret so dangerous that she’s been in hiding for years in an isolated compound fiercely guarded by Wardens – gargoyle shape-shifters who protect humankind from demons. If the demons discover the truth about Trinity, they’ll devour her, flesh and bone, to enhance their own powers.

When Wardens from another clan arrive with disturbing reports that something out there is killing both demons and Wardens, Trinity’s safe world implodes. Not the least because one of the outsiders is the most annoying and fascinating person she’s ever met. Zayne has secrets of his own that will upend her world yet again – but working together becomes imperative once demons breach the compound and Trinity’s secret comes to light. To save her family and maybe the world, she’ll have to put her trust in Zayne. But all bets are off as a supernatural war is unleashed….

Storm and Fury is the first novel in The Harbinger series. It is set in the same world as the Dark Elements series with the three main characters, Zayne, Roth, and Layla being featured in both series. The events from the Dark Elements are spoiled in the Harbinger series, so if you want to read both series, then you should read the Dark Elements series first. If you chose to skip the other series, then you will still be able to understand everything as the plot in this series stands alone, while anything relating to the previous series is included in semi-recaps.

Trinity Marrow is an 18-year-old human true born and the last of her kind, who can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. She also has retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which is an eye disorder that causes loss of vision. She does not let this disorder hold her back as she still lives her life the best that she can and works hard to find ways to still fight. She lived with the Wardens, the gargoyle shape-firsters who protect humans from demons, with her protector/guardian Misha. In order to protect herself and her abilities, she needs to keep her true self a secret from others. Trinity’s clan is visited by another clan, which includes Zayne, who is introduced in the previous series. The story is set into motion when demons attack the compound. A new enemy is introduced as something is out in the world that is destroying both demons and Wardens.

Peanut, a ghost from the 1980s was an excellent addition to the story as the amount of sassy humor gave a nice break to more serious events. Trinity was a little stubborn as she ignored her guardians a lot even if it meant that she would be put into danger, but overall she was still an enjoyable character. Zayne starts off very mysterious as Trinity does not know a lot about him, but the two seem fascinated by each other. He was a little closed off in the beginning, but slowly he showed his personality to Trinity more and some of his secrets were revealed. The two of them were entertaining when they interacted and each brought out some great traits in the other. I love Trinity sharing her disorder with Zayne and his reaction. There was a good balance of the two of them being both light-hearted and serious with each other. There is a growing attraction between them while still having a certain will-they-won’t-they quality. Roth, Layla, and Bambi all return in this novel and it was interesting to see them through the eyes of Trinity, an outsider to the love triangle situation from the previous series.

Overall, I loved the start to this series as Trinity is very interesting and I love getting to know Zayne more without the love triangle overshadowing his character. The pacing of the story is fairly typical for most trilogies where it is slower in order to set up all the characters and plotlines. The pace picks up towards the end leading to a cliffhanger ending that sets up the sequel. The world-building was great and works for those familiar with it from Dark Elements and those that are experiencing it for the first time. There are still a lot of questions to be answered with the plot and additional world-building that can be done, but I’ll have to wait and see how it is handled in the rest of the series. Although there is nothing amazing that makes this series stand out, it still managed to keep me captivated throughout. Now I am anxious to start Rage and Ruin and I hope the series keeps getting better from here!