Review: Amusing but a little hard to follow at first
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 15, 2014
Reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.STORM'S FURY by Nya Rayne is a paranormal romance with an unusual theme and lots of fun, sex and confrontation to keep you entertained.We are introduced to the heroine, called Stormy, at the beginning of this book and to the mysterious dark forces that seem to be chasing her. We then move forward in time and meet Fury, an otherworldly, immortal being called an Anubi, made in the likeness of Anubis, the God of Darkness and Death, who hunts and kills monsters called Yazaron. His path crosses with Stormy and he is immediately and almost literally melded to her as she is his chosen mate and makes him more human in that his heart and lungs begin to function (as they weren't before!)The rest of the story is mostly spent with Fury trying to persuade Stormy (or Ambrosia as he calls her by her first name) to trust him and accept that he is her protector and they are meant to be together as one, "as inevitable as the passage of time". Stormy is understandably a bit disturbed by all this talk of "chosen mates" etc and it doesn't help that she thinks that he has kidnapped her or that Fury is a little bit cagey with his answers to her questions in the beginning. She has also lost a mother, grandmother and aunt and has made running and lack of attachments a way of life. However, she can't help feeling irresistibly drawn to Fury and fascinated by his intensity and his superhuman abilities.Fury belongs to a pack and has other issues, along with the Yazaron, to deal with including finding and taking revenge on another Anubi called Terroar (who was his best friend but betrayed him and gave him up to be experimented on) and trying to placate Hatrid, his brother, who resents Stormy and the hold she suddenly has on him. We also meet Crul, the leader of the pack, and Tempest his chosen mate and we gradually learn more about the Anubi, their history and their powers.I did like the way the author used Tempest as a reassuring figure for Stormy but also to demonstrate how like a family the pack works, especially in regard to the feelings of jealousy and rejection that can arise when someone new is brought in (we are told that Fury felt much like Hatrid does when Tempest arrived). However, the way that past events are discussed in such familiar terms is a little disconcerting. The same applies to the origins etc of the Anubi and the way this is casually referred to in the initial chapters. These elements made it feel as though there should have been another book or pre-story before this one and left me, as a reader, puzzled at first rather than intrigued.I did find it a little strange as well as frustrating that Fury is so vague with his explanations to Stormy at first, especially as he needs to get her to accept him within three days or, instead of becoming fully whole, he will be reduced to the "crushed blood and bones from which he was created". I found it a little unpalatable that he eventually forces their "binding" on her before she has completely accepted him, not to mention that their relationship does come across as slightly incestuous when we learn that she is also descended from Anubis!I found it a little hard to accept the fantastical world that the author has created. I think that she definitely over-eggs the pudding. The names are all laughable to the point of cliché and it doesn't help that Fury possesses not just a few powers but a plethora of them, from shape shifting to mind reading to flying. There is a lot of hyperbole used and this also stopped the plot from being believable. Having said this, perhaps the exaggeration is meant to be comical and, though silly, it was definitely entertaining. Some example phrases are: "one was left with steam that could melt the skin off of a human and peel the bark off a tree" and "a voice born of a thousand demons from the most sadistic parts of Hell".Stormy is a vivacious, attractive character and I really liked the way the author used her to poke fun at Fury. I empathise with her as a reader because I found all Fury's eulogising to be as annoying as she does. This does help to sugar what is a very large pill to swallow. For example, at one point Stormy argues, "There are no such things as chosens or life mates or any of that other romanticized crap....You kidnapped me because you're a horny pervert, that's it."The interaction between Fury and Stormy is fiery, in more than one sense of the word, and often very amusing. I was impressed that the author does not set Terroar up as an out and out baddie but makes him an interesting character. We are led to wonder what his motives are and the verbal and physical sparring between him and Fury is enjoyable reading.Therefore, although STORM'S FURY by Nya Rayne is a little ridiculous and a little hard to follow at first, the Egyptian premise is interestingly unique and the story is redeemed by the steamy sex, the lively banter and the strong heroine.