Darkstorm by M.L. Spencer is the first book in The Rhenwars Saga. Braden and Quin Reis, two brothers of great power, are the only hope to stopping a conspiracy of mages who are intent on unsealing the Well of Tears.

Plot 5/5 : Interesting plot with some twists.

Characters 5/5 : Well fleshed out characters

World building 5/5 : An interesting setting

Pacing 5/5 : Steady pace with spurts of action.

Writing 5/5 : Beautifully written with tastefully written scenes of sexual encounters

Overall 5 stars

M.L. Spencer's beautiful prose, world building, and character development breathe life into this tale of love, betrayal, determination, and intrigue. This is a must read book for anyone into fantasy. ( )

Sent to Aerysius to avert a possible war, Ambassador Branden Reis of Bryn Calazar is also the lover of Sephana Clemley. Both are also mages. When Sephana's acolyte, Merris Bryar, uncovers a plot at a high level, Branden realizes there is more danger than just war between the two countries. He sends Merris to his brother, Quin Reis, to gain his aid in defusing the plot on that side.
I'll make a confession right here. Somehow I got confused in the order of these books and read DarkMage (the next book in the series) first. I liked it but realized I was missing some important backstory so now I'm reading these books in order. Darkstorm is a fastmoving epic with a lot of characters and magic, good, evil, and betrayal. The worldbuilding is excellent; the story pops with small details that draw the reader in and makes this world real.
The characters aren't realized as fully, but I was okay with that for the most part. I did wonder about motivations and emotions in some sections but I enjoyed the story too much to care much. The one exception was Merris; she was pretty schizophrenic in her motives as well as her apparent appearance. She starts out as an acolyte running through tunnels; I took her to be fairly young and untried. Suddenly, she's a femme fatale enticing all the men around. Her character does a 180 also though there's an explanation for that. But I wasn't buying the sudden confidence that apparently leads to her new beauty; if that was the case, why didn't she use sex to blackmail Prime Warden?
I also would have liked a longer book with more backstory. Maybe that's me, but I enjoyed the section about the horse people from Khazahar Steppe. I wanted to know more about them and then what happened to them. Maybe I'll get the answers in the rest of the story.
Still, there's some fine writing here. I'll keep going with the series and hope for more depth to this otherwise great story. ( )

Darkstorm by M.L. Spencer

Plot 4/5 : Interesting plot with some twists.
Characters 4/5 : Well fleshed out characters
World building 4/5 : An interesting setting
Pacing 4/5 : Steady pace with spurts of action.
Writing 5/5 : Beautifully written with tastefully written scenes of sexual encounters

Overall 4/5

I definitely recommend this book.

Purchased from Amazon. ( )

Darkstorm
The Rhenwars Saga, Book 0
By: M. L. Spencer
Narrated by: Simon Wright
This is an audible book I requested and the review is voluntary.
I have to say that as soon as the book started I was drawn to the smooth and attractive voice coming from my tablet. I had not heard this narrator before and I was enticed right away. Loved his voice! This man could get away with murder! He delivered a flawless performance and and had me glued to his dreamy voice.
The book was wonderful also but different than what I am accustomed to. My heroes don't die normally! Sob, sob.... Great world building, interactions, characters, and plot. Loved the fantasy aspects too. Fresh and appealing, dark and aluring. I had bought all three books before I had the chance to review this book. Now I can't wait to read the other books. I may just wait and listen to them!
Enjoyed this book tremendously! ( )