Storm Born by Richelle Mead

the basics

Title: Storm Born
Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Dark Swan #1
- Storm Born (January 2008)
- Thorn Queen (July 2008)
- Iron Crowned (January 2011)
- Shadow Heir (February 2012)
Add it: Goodreads

summary

Eugenie Markham is a powerful shaman who does a brisk trade banishing spirits and fey who cross into the mortal world. Mercenary, yes, but a girl's got to eat. Her most recent case, however, is enough to ruin her appetite. Hired to find a teenager who has been taken to the Otherworld, Eugenie comes face to face with a startling prophecy--one that uncovers dark secrets about her past and claims that Eugenie's first-born will threaten the future of the world as she knows it.
Now Eugenie is a hot target for every ambitious demon and Otherworldy ne'er-do-well, and the ones who don't want to knock her up want her dead. Eugenie handles a Glock as smoothly as she wields a wand, but she needs some formidable allies for a job like this. She finds them in Dorian, a seductive fairy king with a taste for bondage, and Kiyo, a gorgeous shape-shifter who redefines animal attraction. But with enemies growing bolder and time running out, Eugenie realizes that the greatest danger is yet to come, and it lies in the dark powers that are stirring to life within her...

In Short

Eugenie is a shaman who turns out to be the Storm King's daughter. Her future son is prophesised to take over the worlds and basically be a mighty ruler. So all the gentry want to have a child with her. Eugenie goes to the Otherworld to save a girl called Jasmine from a gentry king, meeting a kitsune called Kiyo (boo) and another king called Dorian (yay) along the way. Eugenie kills the horrible kidnapping king Aeson and gets his kingdom, becoming the Thorn Queen. She also finds out that Jasmine is her younger sister and could also easily fulfill the prophecy.

What Went Down

• We're introduced to Eugenie as she is trying to get rid of a spirit. She accomplishes her goal, of course, and then calls her assistant, Lara. Lara tells Eugenie that some guy called Will says his sister was abducted by something supernatural.
• Eugenie goes to Wil's house and he's hella paranoid. Wil tells her that his sister has been taken to the Otherworld and is being held by King Aeson. Eugenie considers going to save Wil's sister, but first she goes to her stepfather, Roland, for advice.
• Eugenie goes to a bar and meets a veterinarian called Kiyo and they have sex. An elemental rudely interrupts them and Kiyo isn't even surprised. They both fight it off. Eugenie wants to know what Kiyo's game is, and since he won't tell her she tells him to get out.
• Eugenie decides to go after Wil's sister, Jasmine. She goes to tell Roland and they also notice that the scratches that Eugenie got during the sex encounter won't go away. Roland wants to go to the Otherworld with her but Eugenie (and her mom) won't let him.
• Eugenie asks her pet spirit, Volusian, about King Aesion and the Otherworld. He tells her that he's the very powerful king of Alder Land. He also suggests that she goes to the king of Oak Land, Dorian (squee), for help. Eugenie calls upon her other two pet spirits, Nandi and Finn, to ask for their opinion on what Volusian told her.
• Together, Eugenie and Wil cross over to the Otherworld. Wil goes over as a spirit because he's not powerful enough to take a proper human form there. Eugenie's pet spirits are all waiting for her and they start to take her to Alder Land to confront King Aeson. Along the way, Eugenie thinks she sees a fox.
• While in Oak Land (they had to cross through to get to Alder Land) they come across a patrol of Dorian's. Rurik, one of the disgusting patrolmen, says some gross things. They take her to Dorian. He's rather swoon-worthy and snarky with her, and obviously likes her.
• They finally get to talk in private and Dorian tells Eugenie a story about the Storm King, who could control storms and the weather and therefore the elements. Dorian tells her that he himself can control minerals and such that come from the earth. It doesn't sound too impressive until he mentions he can bring down buildings in seconds. Dorian says that Roland took out the Storm King because he wanted to take over the human world.
• Dorian looks at Eugenie's scratches and tells her that she's been marked. This means that Kiyo can track her. Then Eugenie and her crew set off with a guy called Gawyn, who tells her that he's a fan of her father. Eugenie assumes he means Roland.
• They finally reach Alder Land and meet with King Aeson. It turns out that Wil delivered Eugenie to Aeson in exchange for his sister. Aeson implies that the Storm King was Eugenie's father, which explains a lot. Kiyo, in fox form, attacks Aeson.
• Eugenie and Wil escape back to the human world. She tells Wil to get out of her sight, and then Volusian tells her that the Storm King was indeed her father. He had abducted Eugenie's mother and gotten her pregnant. Roland saved them both, and killed the Storm King so he couldn't invade or claim Eugenie.
• Roland confirms the rumours and tells Eugenie that the Storm King found her and they had fought. Eugenie had been struck by lightning in the process. Roland had wiped her memories and started training her as a shaman shortly after.
• Eugenie returns home and is attacked by a Gray Man. She fights him off and Kiyo turns up. Kiyo tells Eugenie that Queen Maiwenn from Willow Land ordered him to mark her.
• Volusian warns Eugenie that people are going to start coming after her because they will want to have sex with her. He suggests that she claims her title as the Storm Queen so that people start to treat her with respect.
• Someone else attacks Eugenie and threatens her mother, so she unleashes her storm powers on them. Maiwenn and Kiyo turn up and Maiwenn heals Eugenie's mother.
• Eugenie returns to Dorian. She asks for help with the elemental thing and they end up kissing. Kiyo interrogates her over it and she's like MATE who do you think you're talking to, you're clearly into Maiwenn. He denies it, of course. Kiyo and Eugenie get attacked by a fachan and then return to the human world.
• Dorian goes to Eugenie's house and it's all very awkward. Dorian implies that Maiwenn sent the fachan after Eugenie.
• Dorian tries to train Eugenie to use her storm powers but she goes a bit OTT.
• Eugenie attends one of Dorian's dinners and Aeson turns up. He says that if Eugenie will go with him for one night, Jasmine will be freed.
• It turns out that Maiwenn is pregnant with Kiyo's child. Eugenie gets very upset because he's kept this from her. Eugenie goes to Dorian and offers him sex in exchange for his help saving Jasmine and taking down Aeson. He refuses, but they do practice with her powers again and this time she's able to find the water and the wine.
• Dorian joins Eugenie in the human world. They have a talk about children, and it turns out that Dorian is really desperate for kids. They train some more and some nixies attack Eugenie while she's tied up. So Dorian kills them all.
• Eugenie talks to Maiwenn, who tells her that the gentry aren't too happy with the Storm Queen's child being fathered by Dorian. Which is very presumptuous if you ask me.
• Dorian and Eugenie do even more training and it all goes very well. Especially since it ends in hot sex.

How did it end?

Dorian and Eugenie go to rescue Jasmine. There's obviously a fight, which ends with Eugenie killing Aeson by making him explode (the body is 65% water, you know) and then Eugenie takes his kingdom. Jasmine gets upset and it turns out that she's Eugenie's sister by the Storm King. Kiyo gets killed and Eugenie goes to rescue him from the spirit world before he dies for good. There, she meets her father, who tells her that she's a vessel for his future grandson who is prophesised to rule the worlds. Jasmine is also a vessel, which is disturbing because she's so young. Anyway, Eugenie rescues Kiyo, and Alder Land becomes Thorn Land. Dorian says he's willing to share Eugenie (he clearly loves her) and Eugenie gets back with Kiyo because apparently she loves him.

Anything else

Gentry: Also known as the shining ones. Basically fae.
Keres: Ancient death spirits that like to haunt shoes.
Kitsune: Japanese fox spirits.
Otherworld: Where the gentry live. It's a separate world to the human one.