The Lord of Thunder has passed, leaving daughter Evelyn Stormbourne to overcome her kingdom’s greatest enemies, but first she must embrace her dominion over the sky.
“…it’s got swords and horses and dirigibles and pirates and magic and caravans. A fun mix of Lord of the Rings-type high fantasy and steampunkish tech (did I mention there are dirigibles??), blended into a delightful … blended into a delightful Europe-inspired universe that feels at once new and familiar. … All in all, this was a delightful read and just the kind of heroine-centric fantasy adventure I’ve always loved.” ~ Mary Fan
The Lord of Thunder’s sudden death leaves his daughter, Evelyn Stormbourne, unprepared to rule Inselgrau in his place. Weeks before Evie’s ascension to the throne, revolutionaries attack and destroy her home. She conceals her identity and escapes under the protection of her father’s young horse master, Gideon Faust. Together they flee Inselgrau and set sail for the Continent, but they’re separated when a brutal storm washes Evie overboard.
In her efforts to reunite with her protector and reach allies on the Continent, Evie befriends a band of nomads who roam the world in airships fueled by lightning. She also confronts a cabal of dark Magicians plotting to use her powers to create a new divine being, and she clashes with an ancient family who insists her birthright belongs to them.
If she’s to prevail and defeat her enemies, Evie must claim her heritage, embrace her dominion over the sky, and define what it means to be Heir of Thunder.
EVOLVED PUBLISHING PRESENTS the first book in the “Stormbourne Chronicles” series of young adult fantasies, where you’ll discover an extraordinary new world, epic adventure, and memorable characters. [DRM-Free]
Books by Karissa Laurel:
- Heir of Thunder (Stormbourne Chronicles: Book 1)
- Quest of Thunder (Stormbourne Chronicles: Book 2)
- Crown of Thunder (Stormbourne Chronicles: Book 3)
- Midnight Burning (Norse Chronicles: Book 1)
- Arctic Dawn (Norse Chronicles: Book 2)
- Molten Dusk (Norse Chronicles: Book 3)
More Great YA Fantasy from Evolved Publishing:
- Kingdom in Chains by J.W. Zulauf
- Two Moons of Sera by P.K. Tyler
- Dream Warriors by D. Robert Pease
- The Chosen Series by Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabef
more
Being a fan of Karissa Laurel’s work it was a no-brainer reading this book YA or not. Besides I like YA books just as much.
And I was not disappointed. It was a beautiful paranormal coming of age story that kept me captive and guessing to the last page.
I really enjoyed the world, in which we follow Evie (Evelyn Stormbourne) through her adventure. World building was great and it just brought you right into the setting.
Though, I have to say that the beginning of the book seemed a bit slow, with the world and character interdiction but once we get past that point maybe 15-20 % into the book it really picks up and fast .
Things are happening with and to Evie, and she is just trying to survive. She also has a lot to learn as she never used to have to do much on her own, being sheltered by her father most of her life didn’t help. Now on the run with Gideon she has to learn fast. Of course there are hick-ups and not everything goes as smoothly as she thought. She also learns quickly that she should not trust everyone and that betrayal is a real.
I liked how much Evie grew throughout the book and how she became more and more confident in her abilities and herself.
Gideon is there to get her to safety in one piece, but there are a few things that are a mystery about him. We learn more and more about as Evie grows closer to him. But how much we really know about him is yet to be seen.
Evie meets a lot of great and interesting people along the way. Some help, others are out to get her … some do both.
Overall great book and I enjoyed it a lot, once it got passed the slower start. Really looking forward to see what happens next to Evie and her crew.
I rate it 4
I was asked to read and write a review on Heir of Thunder and I am so glad accepted. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a really long time and that is saying something. I don’t know if my expectations in books has gotten higher or if I’ve just been unlucky, but lately most books I read are pretty low quality and boring and if I’m honest, I thought this book too would fall under that same category. You see, I’m a big sucker for romance in stories and when I read the description it didn’t seem to have much of that, which made me doubtful that this book was going to be any good, but boy was I proven wrong!
The story starts of right away filled with action, drama and adventure and keeps it up throughout the entire book. I did not once get bored while reading it and that is really unusual for me. It shows an author with great talent who knows how keep the reader invested in the story with unanswered questions and mysteries and how to develop the story in an intriguing way. The author skillfully kept me on my toes with the drama, the adventures and the character development and made it into a page turner.
What I like most about this book is the characters; their developing personalities and relationships. In many other books the relationships and dialogues feels forced and unreal, but in Heir of thunder it flows naturally and realistically like these people could actually exist in real life and it makes it a lot easier to feel for the characters and connect with them. The fact that the character also have obvious flaws makes them so much more relatable and likeable. Often I have read stories where the author has written the head character as perfect, thinking she/he will be more liked by the reader that way, but I have noticed that the effect is very much the opposite in those cases. Karissa Laurel however shows she knows her readers by making the people in her story not perfect, but realistic. She even has a way of making the smaller characters enjoyable. When I read the part with Malita and Niffin all I wanted was a book dedicated just for their story, so I really hope Karissa decides to make a 1.5/sequel just about those two as well as a sequel about Evie and Gideon.
As in every book out there there are always something that can get better and though this story is already pretty amazing I’ve noticed some things that could have been worked on a bit more. One thing is that Evie doesn’t seem to show that much worry of the place and people she left behind. Sure, she mentions Gerda in some scenes and believes the castle is probably ruined, but she doesn’t seem to worry if Gerda and many of the other people of her kingdom is alive or not; if they made an successful escape. Another thing is that there are a lot of places seen and mentioned in the story and after a while it gets difficult and confusing having to remember all the names of countries and cities, where they are geographically. Don’t get me wrong, as an adventure/fantasy book I expect nothing else and I enjoyed their adventure. What I would have liked however is a map of the world the author has created. It would have made it much easier for the reader to keep track of where their travels are taking them.
This book and this author is worth every star given and having finished reading Heir of Thunder I can hardly wait for Quest of Thunder!
Karissa Laurel was a new author for me when I came across her Stormbourne Chronicles. I’m really glad I tried out the first of these books and, now that I’ve ended up addictively reading through three, I can most happily confirm that this is one heck of a great series. Well plotted, well written and with really well- done world-building and character creation, this was lot of fun to read. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend.