Book Review: Storm Born (Dark Swan #1) by Richelle Mead

Summary: 

Just typical. No love life to speak of for months, then all at once, every horny creature in the Otherworld wants to get in your pants...
Eugenie Markham is a powerful shaman who does a brisk trade banishing spirits and fey who cross into the mortal world. Mercenary, yes, but a girl's got to eat. Her most recent case, however, is enough to ruin her appetite. Hired to find a teenager who has been taken to the Otherworld, Eugenie comes face to face with a startling prophecy--one that uncovers dark secrets about her past and claims that Eugenie's first-born will threaten the future of the world as she knows it.

Now Eugenie is a hot target for every ambitious demon and Otherworldy ne'er-do-well, and the ones who don't want to knock her up want her dead. Eugenie handles a Glock as smoothly as she wields a wand, but she needs some formidable allies for a job like this. She finds them in Dorian, a seductive fairy king with a taste for bondage, and Kiyo, a gorgeous shape-shifter who redefines animal attraction. But with enemies growing bolder and time running out, Eugenie realizes that the greatest danger is yet to come, and it lies in the dark powers that are stirring to life within her...

Review:

I am a huge fan of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series and set out to read all of her books.  I like her Georgina Kincaid Succubus series, but I don't like it as much as Vampire Academy.  So, I wasn't sure what to expect of the Dark Swan series, especially after reading the summary, which didn't exactly grab me and make me feel like I had to start reading right away.  

Storm Born is told in the first person, and Eugenie is our narrator.  She is a shaman and banishes spirits, fey, and Otherworld creatures who cross into the human world to do harm.  This book is about faeries, but Eugenie refers to them as gentry, so it was easy for me to forget that I was actually reading a fey book.  Not that I have anything against faeries---I love faerie books---but there were times I totally forgot that the Otherworld's inhabitant were faeries.  

Like Vampire Academy, Storm Born is smart and sexy.  It is an adult novel so there are more adult scenes, but they are not overdone like the Succubus series.  Storm Born is a perfect mix of love and action.  There is a sizzling love triangle, which I love, as well as hidden powers and a secret heritage which add a lot of depth to the story. 

Storm Born reminded me a lot of the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison, and I mean that in a good way.  I love the Rachel Morgan books!  I immediately bought Thorn Queen, book two in the Dark Swan series, after finishing Storm Born.  I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormal stories---it was an excellent read!

Just One Gripe: 

My only complaint is that there are only two books out in this series so far.  I was trying to wait until more books were out before starting the series, but I just couldn't help myself.

The Best Thing About This Book: 

The perfect balance between love and action.

Appropriate for a younger audience: 

No

Score: 

Characters: 5/5

Plot: 4/5

Setting/Imagery: 5/5

Originality: 4/5

Ending: 5/5

Total Score:  23/25