Review: The Force of Wind, by Elizabeth Hunter

Author: Elizabeth Hunter

Title: The Force of Wind

Series: Elemental Mysteries(#3)

ASIN: B007GPYMHO

Publisher: E. Hunter (March 2012)

Disclaimer: Copy received for review purposes.

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“How far would you go to protect the ones you love?

What would you sacrifice to kill the one you hate?

Join Giovanni Vecchio and Beatrice De Novo as they travel to a hidden island on the far edge of China to seek the help of an ancient immortal court. Can they weave their way through the tangled web of centuries-old alliances and ruthless feuds to find what they’ve been looking for? Friends will be revealed, enemies will find them, and a dangerous secret will come to light.

The third book in the Elemental Mysteries series will see Giovanni and Beatrice joined by a group of unlikely allies as they explore the history and myth of the far East. Many have been stolen, but only one holds the key.

The Force of Wind is the third book in the four-part Elemental Mysteries series. It is the sequel to This Same Earth and is a paranormal mystery/romance for adult readers. ” GoodReads’ blurb

So many things to say, so hard to find the right words to say them. “Pure awesome” is never enough in a review, so... let’s try to put my feelings in order.

First, though, I should probably state that this is one of my favorite series, that you can find my review for book 1 here and my review for book 2 here, and that there’s spoilers for those two books if you still haven’t read them.

That said, though...

The Force of Wind was everything I had hoped for, and more!

While the book is more or less the same length  of the previous ones, I’ve to say that it seemed that it was a fast read – mostly because I ceased to take note of the outside world while I had this one on my reader.

After the first two books, Beatrice and Gio have finally located a clue that might help them find out where her father is, and what was the book our beloved villains is after.

This might be a bit spoilerish, but since we find out in chapter one I’ll go ahead anyway: score on both accounts! Finally, it seems there’s an end to the race for the book in sight... right? Right? Let’s just say that this series has four books, and step aside from the plot before I start to reveal too much.

If you’ve seen my previous reviews from this series, you already know that the thing I love the most about it is its characters. They are so real, their reactions so consistent, that it truly feels like there’s no creation process on the author part – that she’s just writing down what these people, these vampires say and do. And she’s done it again this time. Not only Beatrice and Gio, either – there’s Tenzin, there’s Stephen(B’s father) and there’s Baojia (a bodyguard sent by B’s vampire granddad).

While the story never moved away from our main couple, or from the book that now is so close at hand, there was time to develop each of these secondary characters into beings I’ve come to love.

Take Tenzin. We knew she was old, but now we learn who she was, how she changed, how she met Gio. And while she might be the most powerful vampire alive, she’s also vulnerable and kind – and when we learn why that is so, we’ll also learn a valuable lesson about just who she is now.

Stephen. Not going to say much about him. I want you to read about him and feel for him as I did (sorry!)

And Baojia... Wow. Just, wow. I want so much more from him. I’m not sure if it’s the apparent hate for his roots in China, or his stoic silence, or his playful banter while training B, or his sheer prowess. I just know that I got to love this character in this book, almost better than I got to love Carwyn in previous ones(which is to say, a lot!) And, for those who are worried about clichés, there’s nothing to fear, either.

While I can’t talk much about the action because most of what I’d say is too revealing, please let me say that this book was not only terribly engaging, but also very emotional. There were tough moments, soaring moments, and moments where I was in denial and about to cry.

We also know what the book was by the end, and I deeply suspect that, in truth, not even Lorenzo knows what he’s playing with. I know that I can’t wait to find out! Book 4 has a expected release date of June, so you’re right on time to start on the series and make it just in time for the release if you still haven’t.

If you have, I doubt I really have to encourage you to pick up the Force of Wind – bet you grabbed it the moment it went on sale, didn’t you?