Reading With Tyler

Name: Shadow & Storms
Series: The Legends of Thezmarr #4
Author: Helen Scheuerer
Publisher: Alchemy
Format: Kindle (through Kindle Unlimited)
Genres: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Noted Tropes: Found Family, Feminine Rage, Revenge
Steam or Spice: Spice

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Review:

Shadow & Storms is the 4th and final book in the Legends of Thezmarr series, there are likely spoilers below for the first three books in the series. Spoilers for Shadow & Storms will be marked as such.

Let’s get the elephant out of the way (though that makes this sound negative – it isn’t! Just obvious). Helen, let’s say you have catapulted yourself right up there into ‘auto buy’ territory. This series was brilliant. It was a God-Tier series, 6 star reads. I couldn’t have asked for anything else. I got everything I wanted, hoped for and more in The Legends of Thezmarr series.

I went into Shadow & Storms knowing that there was a sequel series being released in 2025, part of me wishes I’d gotten to Shadow & Storms before the new of Iron & Embers had gotten to me because if I had been fearing for Wren’s life as well as Thea’s whilst reading Shadow & Storms, I would have probably been an absolute mess!

Shadow & Storm picks up immediately where Fate & Furies left off, with Thea on her way to the Scarlet Tower to save Wilder. We knew from previous books that this prison was no joke. Those given the choice between death or the tower, chose death. There was no surviving the tower, though you may be alive, you’d wish you weren’t. So I was petrified when we found out Wilder was there – I didn’t know which version of Wilder (if any!) we’d get for this book!! Not to mention, Thea’s rage was already building, and she truly let loose in Shadow & Storms and I loved it. Thea was done taking other peoples shit at the end of Fate & Furies… so you can imagine how she starts out in Shadow & Storms!!

Thea, I believe, genuinely grew throughout this series. She started out the series believing only one thing in her life mattered (partially due to her limited life span as foretold by the fate stone she was given) and grew into this badass who had to come to terms with the fact that what she wanted didn’t necessarily matter when faced with the greater good of her home, kingdom and family & friends… I loved watching that change with her – I think it was well written and believable. She didn’t just immediately jump ships each time she had to learn something new, but she had to come to terms with it and we followed her on that journey.

Onto Wilder, our MMC, he doesn’t exactly change throughout the series… more like he lets us and everyone else in, finally. Which I suppose, is him changing? But I’d argue what we see with him has always been there, he just has been trained not to let it show. I love Wilder, it’s not hard to see how much he cares for not only Thea but anyone he has let in. Talemir and Torj are two great examples of this! So not only does he have the battle skills and warsword skills to back him up, but he’s great to Thea and his friends… He just needs to improve on his communication skills a bit!

The Found Family aspect of The Legends of Thezmarr series is one of the best I have read. I was so attached the side characters within these pages! Similar to the likes of Fourth Wing and Daughter of No Worlds – the author had me attached to so many characters that they had so much ammo against me and my emotions! To name just a couple: Cal and Kipp, the best buddies! Anya and Dratos! Tal and Torj… There were just so many side characters that are worth loving!

There are characters I loved that I haven’t discussed in this review, because I feel like bringing them up opens a can of worms for spoilers that I don’t want to address in this review! Even mentioning who they are will tell you to look out for them when reading Shadow & Storms, and honestly I don’t want that for you. I want you to experience the twists and turns that Helen created with no prior knowledge (unless of course you better put things together than I did…).

With all of that said… my final comments on The Legends of Thezmarr series… As mentioned, this whole series is a God-Tier series for me. I loved every moment of being in this world, with these characters, and I am sad to see them go. I do intend to read Talemir’s spin off stand alone because I did love his character, but it is set before The Legends of Thezmarr, though that does mean a younger Wilder appears – which is exciting, so I suppose I’m not letting go of Wilder just yet…

There is spice in the series, and I know that won’t be for everyone – but it’s spice AND plot. It’s not spice for the sake of it. So, if you don’t mind some spice with your plot, you should absolutely pick up The Legends of Thezmarr. It’s absolutely worth the read.

“I always said you’d be the end of me…But I was wrong. You’re the beginning.”