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sparklingreader's review
3.0
Things I liked: The writing is dry, quirky, witty, fun. There is a good deal of adventure, twists on time-travel, and Stormy. I loved that she was a "modern" woman but based in Victorian England. There are modern references to Google and other things that belong to our time and definitely not in the past, yet there she is.
Things I didn't like: I was completely and totally confused by the book. I had no clue where I was or what was happening. It wasn't until I was pretty far into the story that things began to make sense. At first, Stormy's character didn't resonate with me. There she was, a wife of a Peer and mother of a 4-yr-old, but acting like a wayward teenager pulling pranks. I eventually understood (again, that whole read the first one first), but I was really lost in the beginning.
The plot took me some time to get into, but once in, I was completely hooked and I did enjoy it.
Recommendations: This is a good book with quirky characters and an interesting plot, but you really really need to read the first book in the series to understand what is happening in this one.
ladyhighwayman's review
4.0
I won't say anymore, in case you want to check it out, which I do recommend, as you'll have some background for The Bewitching Tale of Stormy Gale. Now, the main problem I had with Twisted Tale was that it was way too short. I liked the concept, though, and was surprised to see there was a sequel, which was longer!
In The Bewitching Tale of Stormy Gale, it's 1840 and Stormy is retired from time traveling, but comes across a mysterious man who is up to something funny, so she decides to have him tailed. This leads to Bacon being pulled back to 1698 Salem, Massachusetts, where he is accused of being a witch.
Because Stormy and Bacon grew up in the 21st century, there is a lot of modern talk, which I love. It's a weird combination: a sorta-historical book with modern characters, but in this case, it's ok. Stormy is quite sarcastic and a very kick butt kind of woman which makes for a great heroine. She had me laughing out loud several times.
A satisfying read, and I can't wait to read the next book!
triciaschneider's review
5.0
Although you could probably read these out of order without getting too lost, I highly recommend you begin with the first. There, we meet all the major characters and we get to fall in love with Dev, who becomes Stormy's husband. The first story is definitely in my opinion a romance, the second I can't quite label as such. Dev and Stormy are already married with a precocious daughter in this book, but I was pleased to visit this world and these wonderful characters again.
Ms. Bell's writing style is riveting. From the very beginning, I'm pulled into Stormy's viewpoint where she takes me on an adventurous ride through time. With this journey she chases a suspicious time traveler back to Salem, Massachusetts, where the infamous witch trials are fresh in the memories of the residents. There she must save her brother who has been arrested as a witch, an event that threatens to ignite another mass hysteria of witch hunts. Stormy and Dev need to save Bacon and stop the rogue time traveler from messing up the events of history.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story just as much as the first. As of this moment, I don't see any more books published in this series, but I certainly hope that changes sometime in the future. I'd love to read more of Stormy's time-traveling adventures and snarky dialogue.
tsana's review
3.0
That said, it's possible this review might contain spoilers for The Twisted Tale of Stormy Gale simply because I'm not entirely sure which bits might be spoilery. You've been warned.
Stormy, as she is affectionately known, is apparently a time pirate. I say apparently because nothing particularly piratical takes place in BToSG (sorry, it's too long to keep typing out), but it's part of her back story. She was born in 19th century London, spent her childhood poor and on the streets until she was taken in by a time-traveller who took her and her adopted brother to the 21st century at age 14ish. Now living in the 19th century and married to the Duke of Leister, I found Stormy a little too blasé about her acquired wealth. I was willing to believe that hanging out in the 21st century modern mannerisms might have rubbed off on her, but I was unwilling to believe that after a childhood of poverty she could so casually mention her toddler daughter intentionally destroying a dress without being angry for her ungratefulness. (Especially since Stormy isn't a bad person.) It was a really minor, throw-away line but it bothered me for the lack of authenticity.
The story revolves around Stormy identifying a suspicious time traveller, having her husband and brother help her follow him around and then a rescue adventure after her brother accidentally gets himself transported in time with aforementioned shifty time traveller. They end up in Salem a couple of years after the witch trials where her brother appearing out of time gets him arrested for witchcraft. Of course.
It was a fun read. Not the kind of story to be taken too seriously because then you start noticing the people in the past sounding a little bit too much like modern Americans. There was a surprising twist near the end which livened it up after I thought the tying up of loose ends would be predictable. Stormy started out as brash and amusing but later on became a bit less of the strong heroine I was expecting. From what we learnt/were told about her, I expected more saving of the day on her part.
I've tagged it as romance, because it's marketed thus, but the pairing isn't the main character (since Stormy is already married). This didn't bother me at all, but I thought maybe I should warn romance readers who might be expecting more.
Overall, I might pick up the first story and/or the sequel (when it becomes available at some unknown point in the future). I recommend it to anyone interested in a light time-travel story, with some light steampunk overtones and a bit of romance thrown in.
I received an advanced review copy of The Bewitching Tale of Stormy Gale courtesy of Carina Press. It will be released on the 28th May and will be purchasable from this link.
3.5 / 5 stars