Review: Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

I have wanted this book ever since the cover was revealed. That was the first time I had heard of it. And the cover is so stunning, I knew I had to read this book. Then I read the summary, and I was sold. I knew Stormdancer would be an epic book that I would love. And I did. I loved it. Cause Stormdancer is amazing. And Jay Kristoff has an amazing way with words. Plus, he has created amazing characters.

I haven't felt like reading for several weeks now, but then I got accepted to read Stormdancer. And I decided that I would read it; I could do it. And I totally did :D lol. Stormdancer is such an unique and different book. It reminded me many times of other fantasy books that I have read, and I loved that. It was still so unique in its own way. The writing is stunning. But it is also a bit hard to read at times, but that might be only me. In the beginning there is a lot of information to be learned, and you must focus. :)


There is a lot of words in this book. It says Stormdancer is only 336 pages long; but they are loooong pages. I didn't mind, though. Wish the book had been even longer. :) Many of the words are a bit hard to remember and understand, but there is also an awesome Glossary at the end of the book. And it was easy enough to understand; plus I liked the words. Like Arashitora meaning Stormtiger. <3 That was my favorite parts of this book. The Stormtiger. Thunder tiger. Buruu. So perfect.

Wish I could talk about Buruu like I want to. But, yeah, that would be spoiling a lot. So I won't do that. :) Will just say that I love him, and he is the best character and he is so amazing. But as you can see from the summary, the main character, Yukiko can speak with him in his mind. And I'm just gonna say that that is beyond amazing. I love the way Buruu thinks. It is awful and wonderful at the same time. It is all just so perfect. I love the way Jay has created that. :)

Stormdancer is written in third person point of view. Most of the time. And I loved that. We got to see a lot of different people, what they were up to, and how they felt about certain things. Like Kin. *Cries.* But mostly the book is from Yukiko's point of view. And I'm pleased with that. Cause I loved her. She is an awesome main character. She is strong, and fierce, and brave and brutal. Wish I could say she is kind, but, she does some awful stuff at the end I didn't approve of.

But I love her with Buruu. And she does try her best. I think. Maybe. Anyway! I love her even though she is cruel at times. :) She is a very special person, and very unique from other characters I have read about. And I loved that. She has a gift. And I won't talk about it, cause I loved reading about it, and I'm pretty sure you will too. But her gift is so amazing. It is perfect, and I wish I had it. So, yeah.

I also loved her father, Masaru. Okay, maybe not at first. Because in the beginning he is kind of an asshole and I didn't like him at all. But I also felt like he was misunderstood. At least a little bit. And by the end I loved him. But he also made me cry. And I'm not sure if that was a good thing. Well, you'll see. :) Yukiko also had a mother and a twin brother. And a dog. And omg. I hated reading about that, the past. Even though it was perfect. I loved that it was in the book. But it hurt so much.

The plot in Stormdancer is very unique, and extremely exciting. So I won't talk about it much. You understand some of it by reading the summary and teasers and such, but, well, you must wait until you have the book yourself. :) Cause the story in this book is too complicated to describe. At least for me. But it is so exciting and horrible and sometimes sweet and it is just perfect. I kind of loved reading about the Lotus Flower. And Lotusflies. Argh. Yeah, that is an awesome plot twist.

I thought Stormdancer was a Fantasy book. And it is. But it is mostly Steampunk. And that is so amazing. I love Steampunk. It fits the book so well. It is also Dystopian. This book has it all. It even has some romance. But I didn't like the romance. Not one bit. And that was kind of depressing. Cause first we learn of Kin, such a sweet and kind and loving boy. And I was sure he was a love interest. But Yukiko didn't seem interested in him at all. And that made me sad, cause Kin is perfect.

She is, however, interested in this Samurai. Hiro. And I can somewhat understand that, with his perfect eyes and whatever. I just didn't see it. And I hated some of the things she did with him. I did not approve at all. But then, at the end, I kind of got it. A tiny bit. But it also made me hate Yukiko for a moment; cause she was so cruel towards someone, and gah. Cries. I am hurt by it all. But I was happy by the ending. But I also have lots of hope and wishes for book two, and I just hope they come true. :)

Hopefully I haven't spoiled anything by this review. I don't think I have. But I should mention that Stormdancer is an AMAZING book. It is perfect. It has even more perfect characters, and they are so so interesting to learn about. And the world it is set in is so exciting and awful and it is so perfect. I need to know more about it all. There is a lot of death in this book. But I approved of that. Sometimes. It made sense, at least. But it was so horrible to read about, but I kind of enjoyed it.

Sigh. I do not know how to express my feelings for this book. Just know that I loved it. And I adore Jay Kristoff. He is the master. And I cannot wait to read more books by him. Thank you Jay, for writing this stunning book. Just hope the sequel will be even better ;) And with lots more of Kin. Pretty please? :) Anyway! Stormdancer is a must read. It is exciting and full of mystery. It will keep you up reading until the end. It will shock you. And oh, it will even make you cry. It is perfect.

The history in this book is written so well. There is lots of background information. And I want more of that in the sequels. I loved everything in this book. The weapons, the clothes, the places. It is all just done so well, and I am so glad I read this book. Thank you, Jay. :) I know I will re-read this book. Maybe many times. Stormdancer is just perfect. I might have said that a lot. But it is true. And I'm pretty sure you will all say it after you have read it. You better. ;)

I pre-ordered the three different copies. They were kind of expensive from book depo, but I needed them. <3 Need this pretty cover and book all for myself. :) Stormdancer has the most beautiful book covers. It is just so stunning. Plus! The book has many awesome maps as well :D Love those.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this book early. :)
I finished this book on July 22nd. (My first tiny post about it when I finished it is here.)

Goodreads - Pre-Order

 Stormdancer and Merida. They do look pretty awesome together,  don't you think? ;)

Update: Newer and better review of the book can be found here.