Author: Karen Metcalf
Release Date: February 2011
Published By: Vagabondage Press
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 88 pages
Goodreads Rating: 4.31 stars
Review: Carly's life, to put it plainly, sucks. She lives with her innocent younger brother and would do anything to protect him from the abuse of their stepfather. But there's only so much the sixteen-year-old girl can do, and one day she's so overwhelmed with fear and anger that she snaps. She wakes up to find herself in a strange and beautiful storm world with Morgan, a guardian angel of sorts. And what he has to tell her changes everything.
Carly is a stoic girl who cares deeply for her little brother, willing to sacrifice herself to help him. However, her stepfather, a disgusting creature, knows to play on her vulnerabilities, and that means hurting her five-year-old brother in order to hurt her. I found myself admiring how strong and brave Carly could be even while dealing with such strong fear and hatred, and she was still a realistic portrayal of someone suffering that kind of living situation. I was able to believe her strength.
She was my favorite character in the book, but even her brilliant characterization pales in comparison to what I feel is the strong point of the book - the gorgeous description. The storm world was described so perfectly, I felt like I was actually there, witnessing the strange and terrible beauty of it. Karen Metcalf used words to create a tangible world that made the entire story come alive.
My only quibble with IN THE STORM is that I feel it really could have been longer. I wanted to learn more about the world and find out more about how everything works, because the eighty-eight pages of this novella weren't enough to satiate my curiosity. The romance between Morgan and Carly moved too quickly for my tastes, and I feel like if this was longer, it could have been slower and more developed.
Other than that, I enjoyed IN THE STORM more than I expected to! Carly is such a brave, strong character while remaining a realistic teenage girl that anyone can relate to, and I admired her efforts to shield her brother from the abuse. This novella is worth reading just for the amazing descriptions of the storm world, which can be at times so chilling they sent a shiver down my spine. I recommend this to anyone searching for an original read!
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My boyfriend bought me my first Ereader when I moved to Arizona a year ago, as I had to leave my whole entire collection back in North Carolina. It really broke my heart. I miss having books all around me, but now there are websites like Shelfari where you can create a digital bookshelf, and even give reviews.
We practically live online anyway. Most of us are already accustomed to ordering books online, as well. With an Ereader, it’s faster and cheaper; no shipping fees.
As for missing the feel of a real book, having an Ereader doesn’t mean I don’t still buy paper books. In fact, our new tradition is that I get at least one “real” book every Christmas. I won’t lie; I have some books in both versions; one for the shelf and one for the portability. The ease of having a book at my fingertips at all times is so convenient (and I don’t even have the newer wi-fi equipped version). I don’t have to leave my house, and I have all of my books on one device.
Since I started this blog tour, I’ve come across a lot of people who are opposed to ebooks. The biggest complaint seems to be that they are tough on the eyes. To this, I say you haven’t shopped around enough, yet! There are some really bad screens, and some really awesome ones. I also understand that it is just not the same as holding a real book, and believe me, I completely agree. However, we are living in the digital age.
I don’t tell you this simply because I have an ebook coming out, I tell you this because I am a reader before I am an author. I know you guys love reading just as much as I do, and I’d hate for you to miss out on some really awesome reads.
Giveaway: Thanks to Karen Metcalf and Vagabondage Press, TWO lucky people will win a coupon code for a free copy of IN THE STORM! Just fill out this form to enter! The giveaway ends March 19th.
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