Sanaa's Reviews > Ill Wind

[3 Stars] I went into this book knowing that it probably wouldn't impress me as much as other urban fantasy books have lately, but I still wanted to pick it up because the premise just sounds so interesting. I wanted to read an urban fantasy book that didn't have shapeshifters, vampires, or fae in it, and this really scratched that itch for me. It was probably my least favorite first urban fantasy book in a series (that I've read so far), but I still enjoyed it and see its potential.

First lets talk about the good stuff. The world building is so freaking cool! I loved the entire weather warden society. I loved getting to know about the weather wardens through Jo's flashbacks. I loved the djinn in the story, and yeah it was really freaking cool. It was different. I also really loved the way we got to know about the world: through Jo's flashbacks. You got to know about the world and also about Jo's character. It was a clever way for the book to keep from having info dumps everywhere. I also thought some of those scenes were really entertaining like, for example, when Jo gets her first kiss.

Now, let's talk about the not so good stuff. I really don't care that much about the characters and our main character is a bit frustrating. She is wild, stubborn, and pretty hmmm aware of her sexuality? It is a character I both am familiar with and am not familiar with. She got on my nerves but at the same time I kinda appreciate that she is so aware of her sexuality. She likes sex. She likes dudes. She is not quiet about such. At the same time, I felt like the romance progressed far too quickly in this, and I'm afraid of Jo becoming a bit of a Mary Sue. HOWEVER, Stuff that happened at the end makes me SO CURIOUS about Jo's character. In short, Jo both frustrated me and intrigued me. The other characters are kinda meh right now, but this is the first book in a series so I'll let it slide.

The other thing some people might find annoying is that not much really happens in this and it is all about getting to know Jo and this ling roadtrip. I didn't really mind it, but I think some people might be disappointed that it isn't more action packed and that the romance moves pretty quickly. I also feel like sometimes the weather stuff got too technical. I wish it was explained juuuuuust a touch more.

Allllllll that being said, I definitely enjoyed this one. It was well written and the world building was super cool. I'm going to be reading the second book pretty soon, and hopefully it will make me a little more invested in the series. If it doesn't who knows if I'll continue on or drop this one.