Roar was a fun and fast paced YA fantasy. I loved the world in which it was set and most of the characters were very interesting.
Roar is about Aurora, and it is about magical storms. Aurora comes from a line of Stormlings, those who possess magic capable of dispelling the fiercest of storms. When she becomes of age she is meant to take her place among her family battling the storms. The problem is that Aurora has not yet shown any sign of magic within herself. In order to keep her secret a marriage is arranged between Aurora and a Stormling prince from another kingdom. He is secretive, dangerous and charming all at once.
Aurora follows him out of the castle one day and discovers there are other ways one can come to possess magic. So the day before the wedding she runs off with a bunch of Storm Hunters on the hopes they will teach her how to catch the heart of a storm and come to possess magic herself.
I rather liked Aurora. Her character went through a slow and steady growth as the book developed. She is a rather weak heroine to begin with and I appreciate that. I appreciate that she is not perfect, that she is not this badass heroine all the time, that she cries and is afraid.
The prince she is to marry, Cassius, had my heart in his hands. I absolutely loved him. He reminds me so much of the Darkling from the grisha series by Leigh Bardugo. And if you know me, you know I adore the Darkling. I was very sad that he didn't get much attention here, I am hoping we will see a lot more of him in the next book. He is not evil or a monster, but he is not sweet and kind either. He is what I would describe as an anti-hero. But to be honest even that seems to strong. There is a lot about him we don't know and the little we do know is not anywhere near enough.
When Aurora runs away she ends up with the stormhunters. I absolutely loved them. They were GREAT secondary characters. Well... all but one that is... I detested Locke.
Locke is meant to be Aurora's love interest (although I am secretively hoping that it won't work out and finally an author will write a couple a little more realistic). He is the one training her, he is the strongest in the group, a bit broody, far too over protective, your typical 'I am tough on the outside and soft on the inside' character. I thought he was boring and did not connect with him at all. And lets not forget the creepy unnecessary fact that she reminds him of his dead sister! yuck
The storms are supper interesting! But I cannot tell you anything about them without giving away the ending of the book. Soooo....... I guess this was just a tease 😉
The ending of the book felt weird. It didn't have a satisfying ending and it didn't have a big cliffhanger either. I felt like the author wrote the whole story than without looking at what she wrote she divided the story in three parts regardless of where each part stopped. So we have this abrupt ending that is not really an ending. Does that make sense?
So... although I enjoyed the book, it was not perfect. The next book will be decisive in setting the Stormheart series into the good or bad read category. If the author continues the story as it is now, with Aurora being all mushy and stupid over Locke, it will get boring fast. Very much like the the second book in the red queen series. Seriously, who actually liked that book?
BUT, if the author gives us a more grown up Aurora, one that returns home and faces Cassius... than who knows? this might just end up one of the best fantasy series out there. It certainly has the potential for it.
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