Storm's Heart (A Novel of the Elder Races) [Mass Market Paperback]

Thea Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 2, 2011 | Series: A Novel of the Elder Races (Book 2)

Able to wield thunder and lightning, wyr sentinel Tiago Black Eagle has ruled the skies for centuries. His massive build and thunderous power make him one of the wyr's best weapons. And he's the one sent to protect Tricks, heir to the Dark Fae throne, when she's almost assassinated in Chicago. Soon Tiago and Tricks will fall prey to the stormy hunger that engulfs them-a passion that will shake the very foundation of all the worlds.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The mix of supernatural creatures makes for interesting world-building, politics, and relationships." ---Publishers Weekly

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Thea Harrison is the pen name of author Teddy Harrison. She wrote her first book at age nineteen and had sixteen romances published under the name Amanda Carpenter. Thea holds graduate degrees in philanthropic studies and library information science and has worked as an activist for a nonprofit consumer rights organization, a receptionist, an office manager, and a director of development and research. She lives in northern California. An avid reader her whole life, Sophie Eastlake happily extends her love of books to her passion for narrating. She lives in New York, where she survives the subway grind with a book in her hand and drops in on every literary reading she can find, while on a never-ending quest for the perfect cup of coffee.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Original edition (August 2, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425242668
• ISBN-13: 978-0425242667
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thea Harrison resides in Colorado. She wrote her first book, a romance, when she was nineteen and had sixteen romances published under the name Amanda Carpenter.

She took a break from writing to collect a couple of graduate degrees and a grown child. Her graduate degrees are in Philanthropic Studies and Library Information Science, but her first love has always been writing fiction. She's back with her paranormal Elder Races series. You can check out her website at: www.theaharrison.com, and also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 51 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Can you love an author but also want to wring their neck? August 19, 2011

By C. Church

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I really struggled with how to review this book. It's rare I encounter a problem like this one, but it's happened nonetheless: I like the author, loved the first book in this series, I even thought the writing in *this* story was good...I just couldn't stand the characters, Tricks in particular. Maybe I should commend the author for making the heroine's annoying qualities so pervasive and realistic that I actually struggled to keep reading. That must be a sign of great skill, right? Here's the thing: there is this old Meg Ryan movie called French Kiss where Meg's character is talking about women who annoy her, little girls who "smile when they're sad, pout when they're happy, say yes when they mean no, and no when they mean yes." This is Tricks exactly. She wears pigtails. She babytalks frequently, saying things like "Sowwy" instead of "Sorry". At one point Tiago accuses her of sex-kitten manipulations, and he's right. I didn't mind Tiago one way or another: he seemed kind of cardboard-ey to me, like one of those Fathead wall decals; his role really could have been filled by any ancient alpha male type guy.

I really loved Dragon Bound and I especially liked the fish out of water presented by Pia. In this genre it's not unusual to have larger than life heroines who never make a mistake and who never need help in kicking butt and taking names. It was refreshing to see a normal woman who panics, cries sometimes, acts bossy other times, but who ultimately gets the job done. Tricks, unlike Pia, was just an idiot. And it's not even like I have a major bias against "too stupid to live heroines" because I adore old Julie Garwood historicals and she's famous for idiot women characters.

At the end of the day, I will think of this book as a pit stop on the way to Rune's story. I've got it pre-ordered and can't wait, despite Tricks attempting to waylay me with her psycho Playmate of the Month personality.

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from Thea Harrison August 2, 2011

By Jen TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Thea Harrison has a gift for writing sexy Alpha heroes. First, she gave us Dragos... And now we have Tiago. (Purrr.) We first met the ancient thunderbird during the last story and honestly, I was a little disappointed that he would be the next Wyr to get his own book. We didn't really get to know him in Dragon Bound, except as a hulking, intimidating sentinel, who was fighting with Tricks. But sometimes an author knows what we want better than we do. This is one of those times.

As the story begins, Tricks has left the Wyr kingdom behind and is going to claim her place as the Queen of the Dark Fae. Things go bad quickly, when she becomes a target for assassination. So Dragos sends Tiago to find and protect her.

Even though Tiago and Tricks both worked for Dragos for hundreds of years, they didn't interact much. Now that they are thrown together, the fireworks are unmistakable. Tiago is commanding, powerful and sexy. And Tricks eats it up with a spoon. The sexual tension between these two was outstanding! What's more, there were plenty of opportunities for familiar tropes to take hold: lack of communication; big misunderstandings; self-sacrifice for the other person's supposed happiness or safety. I kept waiting for the inevitable, familiar roadblocks to fly up. There was one scene in a nightclub, where I was just so sure we were going to have all three devices take hold at once... I swear I was already rolling my eyes. But Thea Harrison sidesteps the conventional foils, leaving me jumping up and down on the sofa, hooting like an idiot. (Yes, I can admit that.)

In the meantime, there is a great storyline going on. We're treated to lots of action, as Tricks and Tiago fend off her enemies. And we've got a great mystery to solve as our couple works to figure out who is trying to kill her. As much as we learned about the Wyr in the last book, now we're getting a peek inside some of the other Elder Races. Harrison reveals more details about the inner workings of the Dark Fae and the Vampyres. And we travel to Adriyel, the magical Dark Fae land.

This book gave me everything I wanted. A hot Alpha hero, a smart and resourceful heroine... love, sex, action, adventure, strong secondary characters, and world building that is both consistent and easy to understand. The Elder Races series is a PNR fan's dream. Thank you, thank you, Thea Harrison. I'm pretty sure I love you. 5 stars.

*ARC Provided by Berkley

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Soooo disappointed! August 30, 2011

By Pamelia A.

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

OK. I loved "Dragon Bound" and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and different fast-reading paranormal romance. This book though... aiy-yai-yai! I must confess I haven't finished it. I got to page 244 (out of 303) and literally COULD NOT GO ON. My problem with this one is that the characters are not really characters at all. Tiago is a walking talking hormone-drenched battering ram of a warrior. That's it. That's all he is. No personality at all. I got REALLY tired of all the descriptive turgid language about how massive he was and how sexy that was to Tricks. Tricks is completely NOT the same as in the last book where she was fun and funny and witty and clever. In this book she mostly thinks about how big and sexy Tiago is and the rest of the time she has nightmares about the "tragic past"; worst of all though is how she completely hands her life and her decisions over to Tiago at every opportunity. It just doesn't work for me. I can't buy that either of these characters are as old as they are supposed to be. He reads about 30. She reads about 18. My reading experience with this book has been: pick up book, start reading a paragraph, roll my eyes (twice), set book down, lather, rinse, repeat. I will keep my pre-order of the next one and PRAY it has the same "something" "Dragon Bound" had; but that "something" is nowhere in "Storm's Heart".