Title: Blood Storm (Lharmell #2)
Author: Rhiannon Hart
Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy, Vampires, Romance 
Publisher: Random House Australia
Publication Date: 1st August 2012
Pages: 384 pages
Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis (from goodreads):
The rain wanted to be ocean; the ice in the mountain caps wanted freedom. I never knew that water held such longing. The clouds above my head rumbled like a growling wolf, impatient to release their burden. I held the rain there a moment longer. I turned to Renata, heard her gasp and knew my eyes glowed blue.

I spoke a single word. ‘Rain.’

In the Second Book of Lharmell, Zeraphina and Rodden must travel across the sea to find the elusive ingredients that will help them to win the coming battle against the Lharmellin – but shadows from Rodden’s dark past may come back to haunt him. And while she learns to harness her new abilities, Zeraphina still fights the hunger that makes her crave the north – not to mention avoiding her mother, who wants to see her wayward daughter married to a prince at all costs.

My Review:

Five months after Blood Song finished, Zeraphina is still in Pergamia and has been extremely busy. Training with her trusty bow and arrow – as well as her drain cat, Leap and loyal eagle, Griffin – Rodden has been trying to get Zeraphina prepared for fighting the Lharmellians. With her seventeenth birthday approaching, there’s more to worry about than just the Harmings – her mother, Renata, is finding potential Princes who would be willing to marry the somewhat wayward princess. Trying to fight both her destiny and the blood tie to Lharmell, Zeraphina and Rodden set out to collect supplies for a weapon deadly to all with Lharmellian blood.

Zeraphina is one of those heroines that make me like her more with every word I read about her. She’s fiercely loyal and smart. Her bloodthirstiness (and not just the thirst-quenching kind) is somehow admirable. I adored how she took care of Rodden, both physically and emotionally. She’s brave and even when things are at their most dire, she’s starting to behave like a potential queen and is looking out for those who can’t look out for themselves.

I loved the relationship that has been brewing between Rodden and Zeraphina since the first time we met the King’s Advisor in Blood Song. They have chemistry but with the class system and Renata so violently opposed to their relationship it feels like they are doomed from the start. Regardless of the potential (and probably) doomed ending, I love how these two interact. They’re not all rainbows and sunshine (however there is a cute fluffy bunny or two). Their world is hard and dangerous but throughout everything I love the way Zeraphina and Rodden treat each other – it’s not often kind but always considerate.

This book developed Rodden’s history fantastically. As he and Zeraphina travel the lands gathering supplies for their secret weapon we get to see just who Rodden was before he became Prince Amis’ best friend. The view of the country and the people who live there added an extra something to this novel and the world in which it exists.

Blood Storm is a fantastic fantasy novel set in a world where the blood-sucking creatures are so much more than your typical vampires. The characters are interesting and the plot gets thicker and more fascinating with every twist. After the way this book finished I am on the edge of my seat with anticipation. Blood Queen will be released sometime in 2013. I can not wait to get my hands on a copy!

Purchase the novel from:

Amazon / Book Depository