“My gaze shifted to the blond. Zayne. That must be his name. He turned slightly, and every thought I had scattered like ashes in the wind as I got my first look at him. A tiny, still-functioning part of my brain knew how bad being that distracted by appearance was, but I was . . . stunned.
Stunned straight into stupidity.
I liked to think that I wasn’t someone who could be easily distracted by a gorgeous face, but he was . . . He was beautiful.” – pg. 47 of Storm and Fury
“Stunned straight into stupidity”?? Like that doesn’t happen in real life, does it? You meet an attractive person and you’re so captivated you’re dumbstruck? Instant attraction is a trope I hate in any form of media, me and this book, Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout, are going to have problems.
This book has been on shelves for the past four years and a half years, but only recently has it become a problem. A member of Moms for Liberty, a group that seems focused on book bans not liberty, actually went to the police station to report a crime. The crime in question? A librarian allowed a 17-year-old to check out Storm and Fury from the school library. Every week it seems like someone is complaining about a book and trying to get it removed or outright banned. Laws are being passed, making it illegal in some states to have certain types of content in libraries — even dictionaries. Pen America does a better job of recapping the nonsense of book banning overall than I ever could.
In the case of Storm and Fury, two people in Florida went to the police to report the librarian and called for an investigation. I watched the whole video of the encounter, and the entire time I thought “They can’t be serious?” Actual crimes, like theft or assault, were probably being committed while this interaction was taking place. The officer who took the report went outside to discuss the issue with his fellow officers. Yes, OFFICERS plural. MORE THAN ONE COP responded to this. One of the cops asked, “What does she want us to do?” So, someone who is sworn to uphold the law doesn’t even understand the need for an “investigation.”
I’m not a teenager or a parent, but all this video made me do is buy the book – not just to support this author but to see what all the fuss was about. The people in the video called Storm and Fury pornography. Is it? The short answer is NO!
What’s it about? Eighteen-year-old Trinity has been raised in secret. If the world at large knows what she is and what she can do, her life would be in danger. She has a unique gift; Trinity can see and speak with ghosts and spirits. The people who guard her are called wardens, but the secrecy is about to end. Wardens from another clan, including the handsome Zayne, come with some disturbing news. Someone or something is killing wardens. As is the case in most books like this, Trinity has to work with Zayne. The kidnapping of Trinity’s friend and protector, Misha, puts Trinity and Zayne to the test.
I wanted to like this book, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. The book has issues, but after reading it I can say it’s not pornography. This is tame compared to some of the adult romances I’ve read. There were also multiple errors in the book, which were hard to ignore – but I fault the publisher, not the author for those. Errors in books happen all the time, which is why reprints exist but four years after publication and they’re still in there? There is a lot of telling instead of showing. I felt like a third of the book was the author explaining terms as if this were a guidebook instead of a novel. Pop culture references seemed to be thrown in to remind the audience that the characters are cool. There is a twist near the end that I didn’t see coming, which redeemed the book a little bit for me.
There is some racy content. Lingering looks. Bodies brushing up against each other. Quick kisses that lead to confusion. And . . . several pages toward the end where Trinity and Zayne do everything just short of sex. I can see where parents would have a problem with this book, but that’s when a parent should you know PARENT their child. A parent has every right to monitor what their child reads and say they don’t want their child to read certain books. However, it’s not right for one parent to say ALL children can’t read something. Banning books isn’t the answer. Look at the results of some of these bans.
People are going to law enforcement and filing police reports about BOOKS. No, in the grand scheme of things, a book is not worth filing a police report. There are so many other problems in the world. Books, which should be a source of enjoyment, entertainment, comfort, and refuge, are a hot-button issue – a dividing issue. Parents in particular have been sounding the alarm about books they consider explicit, harmful, and/or pornographic, resulting in raucous school board meetings, laws restricting what types of books can be included in school and public libraries, and books being removed from shelves. Some recent legislation allows just one complaint from a parent to have a book removed or put under review. The target of many of these bans tend to be books about race, history, gender, sex, and/or LGBTQ issues. I just shake my head every time I see articles about book bans because what purpose do they serve? Who gets to decide what’s appropriate reading material? What’s the end game other than dumbing down our future leaders, thinkers, doctors, lawyers, and teachers?
Banned books I recommend


Upcoming posts
Thursday: Lost recaps for episodes fifteen and sixteen
Monday: Solo Travel is on the Horizon