Customer Reviews

Storm Winds

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you chance to be considering this book, get it and read it. I shan't dictate the choice of books, but this has me enthralled. The trilogy has me spellbound.

This was the first I read of the Wind Dancer series despite its not being the first in sequence, but Juliette and Jean-Marc will live on in my mind even when I forget who they are. They are shown so elementally and at such a level that it's hard not to identify aspects with them.

There are shocking parts of 'Storm Winds' and it may be a little too intense for younger readers, but it has a poignant flavour and has such a unique plot, so well entwined, that one cannot help but admire it. It could be mistaken for simplistic writing but it's not for light reading at all.

Catherine, especially, is one character besides the vibrant Juliette that I shall keep dear to my heart. A woman who has experienced what she does may be able to empathise. The Wind Dancer itself is a symbol of Catherine, I think, more than anything else; it has an unparalleled immortality, legendary and powerful, able to capture the fascination of sensitive beholders, and yet in this story we may all read the price one pays for the existence of something with such earth-shaking value.

Anyone who reads this series should, I believe, be able to extract something deep and rich to chew on, and can fall in love with reading such a well written book. Congratulations, Johanssen.

Iris Johansen is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, there's not one book I have read by this author I haven't liked yet! Strom Winds captivated me from start to finish. I felt the characters and the plot were very well developed and strong.

Juliet, a woman hid behind armor, strong persuasive and brutally honest yet behind it all caring, sensitive, and a wish to be loved. Her childhood wasn't easy - her mother blinded by Royals and gold. Her nanny, cruel and abusive. Her only escape was in her paintings.

Jean Marc Andreas, a man of strong will, great business sense and also caring sensitive man whom is determined to fulfill his fathers greatest wish, to return the Wind Dancer back to the Andreas family.

France is at war, The King, Queen and many nobles captured. Life everywhere is in shambles, not even women, children or Godly figures are excluded from the madness.

And yet Jean Marc and Juliet share paths time and time again... fate ?

There's so much more to this story...
Storm winds will forever be etched in my memory
A must read !

Iris Johansen has always been my favorite author, but this book drew me in more than any of her other novels. I own most of her books, and the Wind Dancer series are my favorite of all of them. Juliette and Jean-Marc's realationship was fantastic. Their love and facination with each other started when Juliette was very young. The interest grew into an intense lust and passion when Juliette began to grow older, and eventually turned cynical Jean-Marc into a loving man. Reading the other reviews, I realize that some people were more liking of the love that Catherine and Francois shared, but I was much more drawn by Juliette and Jean-Marc's relationship. I do think that some of the scenes described were a bit violent, but I think that just shows how strong Juliette's character was to survive it. It added a dimension to the book that most other romance novels don't have. Iris's knowledge and use of history was wonderful, and this book was one of the best written that I have ever before read. The characters are moving, strong, well defined, and all different with their own obstacles that they have to rid themselves of before they can feel the true love that will make them happy in the end. I recommend this book to anyone who can possibly get ahold of a copy!

I'm a big fan of Iris Johansenn and never regretted spending my money on her books. This is one of the great historical romances trilogy stories, starting from The Wind DAncer, Storm Winds and finally Reap the Wind. It has great plots, rich characters,gorgeous sceneries and of course dazzling heroes and heroines. You will fall in love in these books and will transport you into another time in a totally different world. Ms. Iris Johansenn switched into suspense thriller+ action nowadays and she didn't dissappoint her fans at all. She still a great "love story" writer no matter what genre she's into.

The characters are intensely alive, the plot is uncompromising, and the love scenes are immensely blistering. This is one of those novels U just have to sacrifice your spare time for. Yes, some readers will be disturbed by the violent scenes, but the author takes U to the heart of the story. I love Francois & Catherine's heart-rending relationship (more than Jean-Marc & Juliet's). I own (almost) all of Ms. Johansen's books & this one is engraved in my memory longer than the others. Smokin' !!!!

Storm Winds is a novel unlike any that I have read. It may take place during the French Revolution, as many other historical romance novels do, but this one is exceptional.
Juliette is courageous and yet vulnerable. Alone in the world except for her paints. She meets Jean Marc and the two are drawn to one another. Jean Marc is dark and brooding. It seems as if he must wear a mask to hide his true feelings.
Juliette forms a friendship with Catherine, Jean Marc's cousin. Catherine is kind and sweet. At first she may seem shy and weak, but after everything that she and Juliette go through, she becomes strong and sure of herself and finds love as well.
Jean Marc and Juliette risk everything for the Wind Dancer. And in the end Juliette finally feels needed and loved and Jean Marc finds that he can love and trust a woman again.
Iris paints a fascinating picture with words. She makes you feel everything you read, everything a character is going through, you can see it through their eyes.
All in all if you want a book and an author who is utterly unique read Storm Winds and you won't be dissapointed.

I have enjoyed other books by Iris Johansen Countdown, Dark Rider, Lion's Bride and Wind Dancer, but I didn't care for Storm Winds as much as I did the others.

Early in the book Iris Johansen describes in a graphic and prolonged fashion a horrid scene of rape and butchery, for me those word visions stayed with me and I dreaded what was to come from the sadistic character that would reoccur throughout the book. It's possible I am to sensitive concerning violent acts upon girls and anyone that reads this review may ask why I bothered to continue with the book, well the answer is simple it's better to read to the end so I'm not left wondering what happen, a final resolution is always the best path to pursue.

This is the second in the Wind Dancer trilogy (Wind Dancer, Storm Winds, Reap the Wind). Wind Dancer took place in the 16th century and told us the story of the founding of the Andreas and Vasaro families. It was wonderful and I gave it 5 stars. This sequel is also masterfully done. Johansen weaves a complex tale with many threads and many interesting characters. She does it so well, you will be captivated. I don't think there is another romance author who does love scenes as well as she does. And one thing I really respect is that from novel to novel, her heroes and heroines are different with unique personalities and attributes. She is so good!

Storm Winds is set 200 years after Wind Dancer, in the late 18th century in France. It begins a few years before the dawn of the French Revolution as Jean Marc Andreas, heir to the Andreas shipping and banking business based in Marseilles, meets Juliette de Clement, a courageous but lonely young 14 year old woman whose mother is a courtesan at the court of Marie Antoinette. Juliette takes care of Jean Marc (who is 10 years her senior) when he is injured and their time together at the inn is not forgotten by either of them. When Jean Marc has the chance to send his ward, Catherine Vasaro, to an abbey for an aristocrat's education, he asks the Queen to send Juliette with her. Juliette thinks it is so she can watch over the sensitive and fragile Catherine, but Jean Marc has other plans in mind. At the abbey, the girls come to be great friends and Juliette pursues her love of painting. Years later, as France's Reign of Terror begins, the revolutionaries attack the abbey, massacring and raping nuns and students. The two young women escape with their lives as one of the revolutionary leaders, Francois Etchelet, comes to their rescue and delivers them to Jean Marc's Paris home. Juliette, wanted for murder, asks for Jean Marc's protection in exchange for which she will use her connections with the Queen, who is now imprisoned in the Temple, to recover his family's once-prized possession, the golden statue of Pegasus--the Wind Dancer--last owned by the royal family and now missing. As Jean Marc and Juliette search for the Wind Dancer, they face treachery, danger and a city in the grip of the Revolution.

You will love this well told tale of a tumultuous time in the history of France. You will love Jean Marc, Francois, Juliette and Catherine. Amazing details, careful attention to detail and history. Highly recommended.

I have read a lot of historical romances and this one is absolutely on the top of my list, and I am a very critical reader. I have read all three of the triology, and I find that Iris's style of adding another romance to the main plot very interesting indeed, because not a lot of authors at all do that. Some of my freinds found that irritating, for they say that the second-romances could have been made into books of their own and not as a sidedish pushed into the story. But I think it is quite an catching style. The double scenes gave an enthralling contrast as to the two pairs personalities and their love story. For instance, I personally do like Juliette and Jean Marc's romantic story better, most likely because I am much more found of Juliette's character over Catherine's. But Catherine and Francois have a class of their own, thier story is so different yet so much attached to that of Juliette and Jean Marc's. And Iris chose,wisely, what I think is the best setting for romatic books, during wartime. The background gave the story much more taste, for the characters change so much during the book, which I think such dramatic changes can only be seemly with along the setting, and war is the perfect solution.
I've heard that a lot of readers found this book too bloody and barbaric...
This is absolutely fantastic book, read it, and maybe you have just found a jewel for your romatic fantasy world, because I had.

Can't stop reading until I finished this book. Great read!