Narrator: Nicola Barber
Title: Stormbringers
Series: Order of Darkness #2
Length: 8hrs, 34 mins
Publication: 2013
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Source: Audiobookjukebox
The second book in a YA quartet filled with intrigue, mystery, and romance, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory.
Italy, 1453. Luca and Isolde grow more and more attracted to each other as they continue their journey to unravel the mysteries throughout Christendom. But their travels are delayed by the uprising of an intense religious crusade that threatens the balance of the civilized world. Death lingers in the air as war ravages on, but this religious conflict is nothing compared to the arrival of an intense and deadly storm.
Caught in the midst of unimaginable chaos, Luca and Isolde must rely on one another in order to survive.
The second in Philippa Gregory’s four-book series delves further into a forbidden romance and an epic quest. And the tension builds as secrets about The Order of Darkness are finally revealed...
In this second book Luca, Isolde, Frieze and Ishraq find themselves in the midst of a big mess. A children's crusade comes to the town that they all staying and to discover if the leader is truly a prophet, Luca's instructed to do an inquiry. He of course becomes pulled in by the young man and wants to follow him as well. His words are so profound and there's truth to what he says, how else would the man know so much about the end of days. Luca never expected disaster to strike, for so many to be lost and Isolde once more must prove her innocence. What they don't realize that darkness lurks close...can they save one another before it's too late?
Luca and Isolde are obviously falling for one another, although there circumstances dictate this as completely improper because she's taken vows and he intends to soon. They are both naïve and really irritating in this book. Ishraq and Frieze, their companions, have more knowledge about the world than these two and are much more cautious in where they lay their trust. I actually like the interactions with them more in this book because the main characters were brats. Isolde becomes jealous of her friend, Ishraq because she thinks Luca wants her. Luca is very quick-tempered in this one and believes he is doing God's work but why the secrecy. He so believes in what he's doing that he easily misses signs that will make him wonder about this mysterious order and its leader. Overall, this wasn't my favorite book as the flow of the story didn't move well for me. However, the narrative of the audio by Barber is good. She does a great job of portraying the characters and giving them a unique sound. I would definitely listen to her read again because I love her voice.