Litslut

Servants of the Storm will be one of the most amazing young adult books of 2014. Of that I am sure.

That creepy cover! That spine-chilling story! Those unsettling characters! It kept me on the edge almost to the finale. And what a damn awesome ending! The shadowy story is hauntingly beautiful as is the writing and it stays with you for very long, lingering subconsciously night and day. The descriptions of a Savannah destroyed by hurricane Josephine, infested by sinister characters, full of shadows and the smell of decay, its gory details make you squirm and bite your nails.

This book has the creepy jump factor: unexpected creatures lurking in the shadows. There is enough to make you check your own room before jumping into bed!



This story is like David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, surreal and cryptic with a big hint of Mary Ann’s mental breakdown in The Devil’s Advocate, like when Mary Ann claims that the wives of the other partners at the firm are demons after she sees their faces briefly become demonic. Illusions and nightmares hide in the shadows, foul demons feed on human fear and seductive cambions are waiting to enslave the unsuspecting. One of the big strengths of the story are the twists and turns that will keep you guessing. There is always something that you haven’t seen coming, revelations that will surprise you and outrageous, new directions the story will take. The ending just blew my mind.

I would have given the story 5 stars if not for 2 major failures.

The first letdown I’d like to address is the age factor. Sometimes I have the impression authors regard young adults as children. This is exactly the case here in Servants of the Storm, too. Carly and Dovey, their friendship is portrayed as one of 10 year olds, who are sworn blood sisters complete with tokens of their friendship bond. Dovey is 17 in the story but it doesn’t show. Her language when talking about Carly is that of a small child. I was strongly reminded of nine-year-old Starla Claudelle in Whistling past the Graveyard. Dovey has never been kissed before, has had no boyfriend although people tell her repeatedly how beautiful she is. I had my first kiss with 14. It is hard to believe that a young beautiful girl could escape the attention of boys for that long. The constant flashbacks, even though they are very atmospheric, to childhood promises and memories of children laughter, holding hands with Carly and lemon pie afternoons with Nana and Gran are no help either in making Dovey seem older.

The second disappointment was the love triangle. I really don’t get it why authors still believe they need to introduce us after years of failed love triangles to another stupid one. I just can’t read another one about the gentle enduring friendship-turned-love vs the passionate instant magnetic attraction.