Cape Storm

Whew! This one took my breath away! It's definitely a favorite of mine within the Weather Warden series! Now I understand the build up in the last two books. It was worth the wait and the cliffhanger endings!

In this installment, a deadly storm is heading for the coast of Florida. It's unlike any the wardens have encountered, controlled by an evil force. To deal with the problem, the wardens and djinn board a cruise ship and head out to sea, knowing that the storm will chase them. Can't tell you how without spoiling it for you. Just read the book. You won't be sorry. All of our favorite characters are on board (literally) and each one is facing his or her own personal challenge in connection to the coming battle. Lewis is forced to make show more some heartbreaking decisions and is struggling with the "right" and "wrong" ways of fighting the storm. It was neat to see him struggle with his humanity. He's always been the strongest warden out there, and with so much on the line, we get to see a bit of his ruthless side.

Jo is up there with Mercy Thompson and Kate Daniels on my list of favorite heroines. She's strong and resilient and willing to give her life for the innocent. This is her biggest challenge yet as the evil force controlling the storm has a physical hold on her. David is by her side through the majority of the book, juggling his own set of problems. He's busy leading the djinn and fighting to contain the darkness that has invaded Jo. If he can't stop Jo's demon mark from taking over, it will swallow her moral compass completely. This leads to a conflict with Lewis that was jaw dropping! This was just an overall exciting and fun book to read!

The ending surprised me and it's a fantastic segue into the final book of the series, which I suspect will be amazing! I don't know what I'll do without more Jo and David books in my future! Ack! show less

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Cape Storm

Joanne, David, and their combined team of Wardens and Djinn face off against their greatest foe. But who said facing the end of the world has to be done without style? Aboard a luxury cruise ship, they race against a hurricane arrowing straight for Joanne. But it isn’t just the hurricane they have to worry about. Joanne’s not herself lately. Contaminated by the very power they fight against, she’s losing the battle against it. And when Joanne snaps, she’ll take everyone down with her.

Rachel Caine doesn’t hesitate to up the stakes with each Weather Warden book. Cape Storm is no exception as innocents are thrown directly into the line of fire. Time is ticking and the show more wardens don’t have the option of waiting for all passengers to leave the ship before setting sail. Not to mention the threat Joanne herself presents to the team. Every one of her actions could be laced with deceit and she wouldn’t even know.

Relationships are strained as trust gradually disintegrates. Harsh realities will rise to the surface, forcing characters into corners they cannot escape from. Rachel Caine made a wise decision by adding in passengers without powers. With all the tension thrown into the mix, they were a great way to defuse situations. It also gave Cherise time to shine as she wooed them into coercion and fangirled over some of their more famous passengers. Cherise is such a fun character and is just the personality to balance out the team.

And despite the series nearing an end, there is still a healthy dose of world-building thrown into the story. New revelations about the use of powers and ways to block them arise. And new enemies and lore crop up, throwing twists into carefully laid plans. There is never a dull moment in Cape Storm. Readers will be enthralled from page one and demand answers from the final novel Total Eclipse. show less

Been so busy over the past few days I only had time to read in bits and pieces - Having just finished [b:Gale Force|2295830|Gale Force (Weather Warden, #7)|Rachel Caine|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256098447s/2295830.jpg|2302139] you plunge straight back into the story without a chance to breathe. There were some really interesting scenes in this installment - Lewis's confession and choices, Joanne struggling against Bad Bob's influence and David's fear and fury. Of course there is also non stop action, but the strong emotions almost overshadow it.Another entertaining read with a suprise ending - looking forward to [b:Total Eclipse|7048787|Total Eclipse (Weather Warden, #9)|Rachel show more Caine|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1265266930s/7048787.jpg|7299154] show less

Let me start at the beginning...I first started Rachel Caine's phenomenal Weather Warden series a little over a month ago -pretty much on a whim. I instantly fell in love with Joanne Baldwin -the awesome, butt-kicking heroine -and her wild Warden life. I quickly devoured all of the subsequent novels up to Cape Storm, which is supposedly the second-to-last book in the series (Weather Warden book 9 is already scheduled for an August 2010 release on Amazon).

This may be why I had some trouble with Cape Storm. If you waited a year to read this novel after Gale Force, than all of the repetition between Cape Storm and the last few Weather Warden novels (particularly Gale Force and Thin Air) would probably not be so fresh in your mind. But show more since I literally put down the last book and picked up this one, they seemed to blur together into a story that I've already read before (multiple times) in this series.

While the story still has plenty of fast-paced fun and action that fans have come to expect from this series -Joanne's honeymoon to her Djinn lover David has to be postponed (again, the couple can't be happy), but she can't worry about it too much because the world is ending (again). Joanne wrestles with evil/good and in control/out of control conflict (this gives me flashes of Thin Air) and the story ends on yet another cliffhanger.

Frankly, this should have been the last book in this series. It really feels like the Weather Warden universe is to getting exhausted and there are simply no more stories to tell. show less

I've been going pretty hardcore on this series, and I feel with this book that my attention is starting to wane somewhat. Maybe it's the premise - although having it set on a cruise ship is actually kinda nifty. Maybe it's just that the whole black mark, evil Joanne thing bugged me a bit. Who knows. As I neared the end, was trying to decide whether to plunge straight into Total Eclipse or pause for a breath of fresh air.

I plunged right in. So I guess I'm still addicted!

Now sort of kind of married, Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin and the love of her life, chief Djinn David, are facing a whole new world of evil. Bad Bob, true to the nickname that had once been a badge of admiration from his fellow Weather Wardens, has activated the demon mark tattooed on Jo's back and set the end of the world in motion. So not only does Jo have to fight the weather, Bad Bob, and the army of renegade Weather Wardens and captive djinn he's put together, she has to fight the evil vying for her soul.

Another capable installment in this popular series, the action in Cape Storm is almost nonstop and there are some true moments of doubt about the outcome. And, as has become her trademark, Caine ends with a teetering cliffhanger.

Cape Storm was OK. Joanne has to deal with a Demon mark and helping the Wardens and Djinn fight Bad Bob. Throughout most the story, she's struggling to maintain her morality and it's a constant fight. Things don't go quite as planned and there was one scene of extreme emotional intensity. Things wrapped up in the usual Caine manner. My fascination with Joanne and company has come to an end, unfortunately. I'll probably read the next in the series, but honestly, I wish the author would wrap it up already.