Storm

Book: Storm by R.A. Raine

Reviewed by Your_bookish_fantasy

Rating: 1/5

π“π“ž π“’π“Ÿπ“žπ“˜π“›π“”π“‘π“’
βšœοΈπ”»π•–π•₯π•’π•šπ•π•–π•• π•£π•–π•§π•šπ•–π•¨ 𝕠𝕗- STORM by R.A. Raine

βšœοΈβ„π•’π•₯π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜π•€-
(out of 5 stars)
𝗦𝗽𝗢𝗰𝗲 MF 🌢️🌢️🌢️🌢️ / 5 -π‘β„Žπ‘’π‘π‘˜ π‘œπ‘’π‘‘ π‘šπ‘¦ πΊπ‘œπ‘œπ‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Žπ‘‘π‘  π‘ β„Žπ‘’π‘™π‘£π‘’π‘  π‘œπ‘› π‘šπ‘¦ π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘£π‘–π‘’π‘€ π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ π‘‘π‘’π‘‘π‘Žπ‘–π‘™π‘’π‘‘ 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑒 π‘šπ‘–π‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘π‘’π‘ 
πŸ“š π—¦π˜π—Όπ—Ώπ˜† ⭐️ DNF @ 40%

Which books have I also given this same rating?
(π‘ π‘œ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘π‘Žπ‘› π‘π‘œπ‘šπ‘π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘šπ‘¦ 𝑠𝑑𝑦𝑙𝑒 π‘œπ‘“ π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘‘π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘‘π‘œ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘œπ‘€π‘›)
5⭐️ Fourth Wing / Bound by Inked Flame / Anathama / The Lies of Lena / Of Silver and Curses
4.75⭐️ Metal Slinger / The Pucking Comeback / Light Wielder
4.5⭐️ Bitten / The Female / Quicksilver / Bride / Lights Out / A Bargain So Bloody
4⭐️ ACOTAR / Spellcaster / One Dark Window / From Blood and Ash / Phantasma / Butcher & Blackbird / Kiss of Basilisk / Hexes Go Well With Tequila
3⭐️ We Who Will Die / The Wolf King / Daughter of No Worlds / The Ex Hex

βšœοΈπ•‚π•–π•ͺ π•€π•Ÿπ•—π• :
Genre: Dark dystopian romantasy / Fantasy romance

πŸ“– Pages: 428

Release date: 1 October 2026

Plot or character driven? Erm??? Character I think?

Series: She Who Is Wild, Book #1 (Duet)

Reading order? βœ… Start with Storm

Available on KU? βœ… Yes

Pace: Slow and repetitive

Memorable? ❌

Representation: oppression

Did I enjoy this book? ❌ DNF @ 40%

Will I read the next book? No

Would I read anything else by this author? Potentially. I liked the prose.

πŸš¨πŸ…²οΈŽπŸ…·οΈŽπŸ…΄οΈŽπŸ…²οΈŽπŸ…ΊοΈŽ πŸ†ƒοΈŽπŸ…·οΈŽπŸ…΄οΈŽ πŸ†ƒοΈŽπŸ††οΈŽ!🚨
Captivity, slavery, systemic oppression, reproductive coercion, forced marriage, pregnancy, breeding, dubious consent, explicit sexual content and significant power imbalances. Please consult the author’s complete content warnings.

βšœοΈπ•Šβ„™π”Όβ„‚π•€π”Όπ•Š 𝕀ℕ π•Šπ•‹π•†β„π•:
🧚 Fae
πŸ’‹ Humans

βšœοΈπ•Šπ•‘π•šπ•”π•– 𝔽𝕒𝕔π•₯𝕀:
π—¦π—½π—Άπ—°π˜† π˜€π—°π—²π—»π—²π˜€ π—Άπ—»π—°π—Ήπ˜‚π—±π—² MF | 🌢️🌢️🌢️🌢️ / 5
πŸ”₯ Very frequent, graphic open-door scenes
πŸ₯΅ Sex toys
⛓️ Dubious consent
❀️‍πŸ”₯ Hate-fuelled sexual tension
πŸ’‹ Possessive MMC
🀰 Breeding and pregnancy
πŸ–€ Significant imbalance of power
The spice was extremely explicit, frequent and genuinely enjoyable. The complicated attraction between Storm and Melek was one of the strongest elements of the book.

βšœοΈπ•‹β„π•†β„™π”Όπ•Š
βš”οΈ Married to the enemy
πŸ–€ Morally grey / Oppressor MMC
⛓️ Captive FMC
🀰 Breeding
πŸ’ Forced marriage
πŸ›οΈ Corrupt government
⚑ Dystopian society
🀬 Feminine rage
🧚 Feared magical race
❀️‍πŸ”₯ Possessive MMC
Some are elements of the wider premise rather than fully developed plotlines within the 40% I completed.

βœ¨π–‚π–π–” π–œπ–”π–šπ–‘π–‰ π–Ž π–—π–Šπ–ˆπ–”π–’π–’π–Šπ–“π–‰ π–™π–π–Žπ–˜ 𝖙𝖔?✨
Generally I won’t be, however perhaps Readers who enjoy slow moving fantasy with extremely explicit dark romance, breeding, forced marriage, possessive men and complicated captive/captor relationships, particularly if they’re happy for the physical relationship to dominate the early narrative.

πŸ“Cliff Notes Review-
An intriguing dystopian premise with good prose and an EXCELLENT hate/love dynamic, but WHERE WAS THE PLOT?! By 40%, Storm had been claimed, married and impregnated twice, with an extraordinary amount of sex in between. The wider fantasy conflict remained frustratingly distant, and I eventually lost the motivation to continue.

πŸ˜₯ π•Žπ•™π•ͺ π••π•šπ•• 𝕀 𝔻ℕ𝔽?
I genuinely wanted to enjoy this. The premise sounded FANTASTIC! Storm discovers she’s part of a population possessing something the privileged ruling class desperately needs: the ability to reproduce. She’s taken from her life to become breeding stock, only for Commander Melek to take one look at her and immediately claim her as his wife.

Now THAT is an opening with potential.
Instead, the first 40% seemed to revolve almost exclusively around their marriage, sexual relationship and her resentment towards him. They hate each other. They have sex. She hates being married to him. They have more sex. She’s furious about her captivity. More sex.
And I’m sitting here wondering when we’re actually going to DO SOMETHING. Oh wait, then someone dies but it’s out of thin air with no explanation, background or interrogation, it’s like the author though, oh this plot isn’t working I need to kill this person off so that this person has a reason to do that thing in the next chapter and that was it, choice made.

Plus, I hate that the mother and brother just got dropped out of the story, there was a build up like something was coming and then… it just dropped off.

I don’t need constant battles or dramatic twists. I love character-driven stories, but there has to be meaningful progression. I wanted Storm to have something tangible to work towards, some indication that the promised wider conflict was developing.

I reached 40% and realised I was continuing purely because I was waiting for the book I thought I’d picked up to begin. That’s when I called it.

🌍 π•Žπ• π•£π•π•• π•“π•¦π•šπ•π••π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜, π•¨π•£π•šπ•₯π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜ π•’π•Ÿπ•• π•‘π•’π•”π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜:
The prose itself was good, which made this particularly disappointing. R.A. Raine writes compelling emotional tension, and the foundations of this dystopian society are genuinely interesting.

Halo’s social hierarchy, fertility crisis and treatment of its oppressed population create an unsettling premise. I liked the concept of a society whose survival depends upon the very people it considers inferior. Unfortunately, the worldbuilding didn’t give me enough context to properly understand that society. The terminology for the different population groups, guards and social structures became unnecessarily confusing. I don’t mind learning invented fantasy vocabulary, but I need those terms to be supported by clear explanations and meaningful context.

The fae were another frustration. We’re told they’re dangerous and feared, but I hadn’t been shown enough to understand WHY. Without experiencing the threat or its consequences, I struggled to feel any urgency surrounding the supposed conflict.

I also found the twelve-year time jump jarring. So much of Storm and Melek’s changing relationship had happened off-page, leaving us to learn about their history through retrospective internal dialogue rather than witnessing the emotional progression ourselves. The repeated explanations slowed the pacing considerably.

The dystopian setting has enormous potential, but I wanted more exploration of its politics, magic, history and the lives of those affected by its oppressive system.

πŸ§β€β™‚οΈ ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔π•₯𝕖𝕣𝕀:
Storm: I appreciated having an older FMC whose anger and conflicting emotions reflected the reality of someone trapped within an oppressive society. Her determination to protect her children was particularly compelling, and the connection to her mother and brother gave her character additional emotional weight.
However, I occasionally struggled with her internal dialogue. Some of her thoughts became contradictory, and certain expressions felt unexpectedly immature compared with the gravity of her circumstances. I wanted more opportunities to see her strength demonstrated through her actions.

Melek: A possessive, morally complicated commander who is directly involved in the system responsible for Storm’s captivity. His position makes him an interesting but deeply problematic romantic lead. He demonstrates care, particularly as a father, yet remains emotionally distant and controls so much of Storm’s existence.

Storm and Melek: THIS was the strongest part of the book for me. Their love/hate dynamic was genuinely well written. The resentment, attraction, sexual tension and contradictory feelings made their relationship interesting, and I enjoyed how morally messy it was.
I could understand Storm simultaneously desiring Melek and despising what he represents. Attraction doesn’t equal freedom, and intimacy doesn’t automatically make captivity romantic.

However, I struggled to believe in their actual romance. Storm has been isolated from almost everyone she knows, and Melek is both the person providing her with stability and the person keeping her captive. Her growing dependence on him is emotionally complicated, but it doesn’t automatically establish love.

I wanted to see more meaningful conversations, shared experiences and emotional connection outside the bedroom. The physical chemistry was excellent; the relationship needed greater development.

⏳ π•Žπ• π•¦π•π•• π•š 𝕣𝕖-𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕠𝕣 π•£π•–π•”π• π•žπ•žπ•–π•Ÿπ••?
No

πŸͺ§π”½π•šπ•Ÿπ•’𝕝 π•₯π•™π• π•¦π•˜π•™π•₯𝕀:
I am baffled. Combobulated. Bamboozled. CONFUSED.

How did a premise involving reproductive oppression, a brutal dystopian society, a feared magical enemy, corrupt rulers and a furious captive FMC leave me feeling as though practically nothing had happened by 40%?

And listen, I am hardly someone who complains about a book having too much spice. πŸ˜‚ Give me the tension, the toys, the messy attraction and the morally questionable man.
But spice cannot replace plot development when the wider fantasy premise is the very thing that convinced me to pick up the book.

I came for a dystopian war and stayed for the sexual tension. Unfortunately, even that couldn’t keep me reading forever.
WHERE. WAS. THE. PLOT?! πŸ˜‚

πΉπ‘œπ‘™π‘™π‘œπ‘€ π‘šπ‘’ π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ π‘šπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘£π‘–π‘’π‘€π‘  π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘ π‘’π‘”π‘”π‘’π‘ π‘‘π‘–π‘œπ‘›π‘ ;

π•‹π•šπ•œπ•‹π• π•œ
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*

𝕄π•ͺ ℝ𝕒π•₯π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜ π•Šπ•ͺ𝕀π•₯π•–π•žπ•€:
⭐️ DNF

⭐️⭐️
I managed to finish it but it was rubbish. I won't keep a physical copy and won't recommend it, but it's a shame as the plot could have made a good book in another author's hands

⭐️⭐️.5
It was OK. I wish I didn't start this one as it didn't do it for me as I struggled to read it. It had an interesting premise that fell flat but I had to see what happened in the end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
I don't regret reading it, and I will read the next one, but this one did have a few flaws. [These could be repetitive writing, gaps or plot holes, better character growth or world building, areas needing more detail]
Generally, the book lacked depth and became confusing. The plot resonated with me even though it annoyed me on the whole.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right people, but I wanted more! Sadly, it's easily forgettable with a few issues I just couldn't overlook/get past.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Good book! I loved it, but... I needed more! I really did enjoy it, but it had a few parts that needed more detail or added history/background or lore. But that's because the story or characters were memorable, and the plot was strong with brilliant twists. I would re-read if I needed to catch up for the next book and would recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Great book! I truly wish the story had been thought about more, or the author had been given more time as this book is so close to brilliance! I will likely read again and will definitely be recommending it to all!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
WOW! Absolutely amazing book! Well written with great characters and a plot so memorable that it will stay with me. I will definitely read this again, I will be recommending it and sharing it with the whole world! Also- I NEED A PHYSICAL COPY!

πŸ”₯⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️πŸ”₯
This is my God level tier. The book must be perfectly memorable. Even after reading 50+ more books, I will remember character names and emotions along with the plot. If there is a special edition, then I need to own it! If there is a conversation on books- I'm talking about this!

SPICE SCALE:
πŸŒΆοΈβ€“ segsual language and a little on-page action / fade to black

πŸŒΆοΈπŸŒΆοΈβ€“ a lot of segsual language and some on-page open door action, may be occurring a couple of times

πŸŒΆοΈπŸŒΆοΈπŸŒΆοΈβ€“ a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently with 2/3 lurvers

🌢️🌢️🌢️🌢️ – super graphic and explicit, occurring 4 or more times, can be more grey and taboo themed.

🌢️🌢️🌢️🌢️🌢️ – Kinks and Fet!shism, explicit and super graphic. It is likely to be tushy play, toys, playrooms, and more dark / taboo fantasies and realities.

Read full review on ARC Library