Review: Storm Forged by Lindsay Buroker

Storm Forged (Death Before Dragons #6)
by Lindsay Buroker
narrated by Vivienne Leheny

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: MF

Blurb:
Moving into a rundown Victorian house with a vampire living in the basement isn’t as bad as I thought, but things go from weird to weirder when a badly injured gnome collapses in my back yard.

The surprising part? It’s my friend Nin’s long-lost grandfather.

Since he’s unconscious, we can’t figure out who’s chasing him, or where he’s been all these years, but if we can’t help him, he’ll die.

To make matters worse, there’s a new dragon in town. A female dragon. Everyone knows females are more dangerous than the males, and this one takes an instant dislike to me. It seems that she wants to date my mate, Zav, and has his mother’s approval.

If I can’t avoid her wrath and find a way to cure the gnome, Nin’s going to lose her grandfather, and I’m going to end up deader than the vampire in the basement.

My Review

Storm Forged in the sixth book in the Death Before Dragons series and I really enjoyed this one. Storm Forged reads a bit like the last book in the series as it wraps up this story arc before introducing another one of the next three books if I understand it correctly. I liked the reveal in this book when we find out what the Silverclaw dragons are really up to and I liked seeing how Val got pulled into another adventure and a dangerous mission.

As I found a way to incorporate more audiobook listening in my schedule I got through this one in a good pace. I enjoyed seeing the story develop. The problems get introduced at the start, then turn into bigger ones and I liked seeing how Val deals with it. There’s plenty of action, some intrigue and more about the familiar characters. The plot is a bit more straightforward, but I thought that worked well here and there are still plenty of obstacles on their path. The ending wraps things up well, although I would’ve liked a few more details and wrap up for certain points, but as the series isn’t over yet that might come in future books.

It’s been quite the journey for Val throughout the series and I liked seeing her develop and change throughout the series. She develops her strength and learns to use her magic and sword better, as well as learns to deal with her asthma and instead of being known as just killing the supernatural she has formed some good bonds with them and has improved her reputation. It’s been really great to see this change happen.

I liked Val and Zav’s relationship in this book. I finally feel they’re in a good spot together and they overcome the last barriers and secrets between them in this book. I also appreciate how while they grew closer and changed they also stay the same at their core. Zav has learned a lot about humans and appreciates Val, but he’s still an arrogant dragon as well. While Val understands dragons are different and understands Zav comes from a very different world, she still points out when he goes to far or does things she won’t appreciate. I liked seeing them battle together and fully team up and be together in this book.

Just like the previous books I listened to this one and I really like the narrator for this series and plan to continue listening to the next 3 books as well. I like the different voices the narrator does and how she brings the book to life.

To summarize: This was another great read and it wraps up the current story arc well. The current story arc gets wrapped up with a satisfying ending while leaving room open for more stories in the series. I really liked seeing Val change and develop throughout the series, from how her strength and magic grows to seeing her reputation among the magical creatures develop. As well as seeing how her romance with Zav develops. I like how they’re really a team in this book, the last barriers and secrets between them get overcome in this book and I liked seeing their relationship grow deeper. I enjoyed seeing them fight this threat as a team and work together and it’s obvious how much they care about the other. There’s plenty more of familiar side characters and it all made for a satisfying read. The pace is well done and the plot engaging. The narrator did an awesome job with this series and I plan to continue listening to the next books as well.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– Audible
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.