A Roaring Romance

Roar by Cora Carmack

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you, Macmillan, for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

She was a bundle of contradictions, but one thing he understood all too well was her independence.

Roar is one of the most unique and romantic YA fantasy books I’ve ever read. Before this, I hadn’t read anything by Cora Carmack. Hence, I really didn’t know what to expect. Still, looking at the covers of her already published works, I had a hunch that I was in for a lot of cheesiness. :3

Essentially, Roar is a fusion of Veronica Rossi’s Under the Never Sky and Mary E. Pearson’s The Kiss of Deception because it is about a runaway princess who lives in a world ravaged by powerful, fantastical storms. Also, like the latter trilogies, Roar contains a plot that is rich in action, political intrigue, and romance. Despite this lack of originality, I am willing to give this book a high rating because it hooked me from start to finish.

Calling this book “cheesy” is not an exaggeration. From the very first chapter, sparks were already flying between Princess Aurora and a certain fishy man. When Aurora ran away, she met her real love interest, and there were mounds of melted cheese everywhere. With large servings of sugar. Flirty banter was rampant, as well as stolen Xs and Os. Haha. For the most part, it was very entertaining, but there were times that I couldn’t help but sigh and roll my eyes in disdain. It was like this book was the epitome of raging, teen hormones, or better yet, Selena Gomez’s Hands to Myself. Be sure to take some water breaks while reading this novel. 😀

My favorite aspect of the book was its unique world and magic system. Aurora and the other protagonists in this book were Stormlings, special people who could destroy various storms (firestorms, thunderstorms, and more). They were also capable of stealing the jeweled “hearts” of such phenomena, thereby gaining magical powers. In that sense, the relationship between humans and storms was not necessarily bad. The storms themselves were surprisingly sentient, having emotions like the humans they aimed to harm. It was honestly my first time to read a fantasy novel that personified natural disasters, so I found Roar to be a breath of fresh air.

The not-so-major problem I had with this book was its lack of a climax or conflict. Many events happened throughout the novel, and although they were relevant, I kept on waiting for something more serious to happen. The most probable cause of this flaw is, unsurprisingly, the book’s focus on romance. A lot of effort was put into building romantic tension to the point that more meaningful plot points were neglected. Don’t get me wrong; I do love a good OTP. Nevertheless, that’s not the only thing I look for in books.

In totality, Cora Carmack did a good job in writing her first YA fantasy novel. In spite of its shortcomings, Roar is a book worth reading. I particularly loved its fascinating take on the connection between humans and the natural world. If you are an avid fan of the author’s previous, romantic works, you’ll probably enjoy this book more than I did. Happy reading!