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dreavg's review
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
krystaaal's review
5.0
Let me start off by saying that I won this wonderful signed copy from the Goodreads Giveaway. I had no idea there were two books out before Hurricane when I had won this book and I was not familiar with the author, Jewell Parker Rhodes, prior to reading this book. But I'm glad I won a signed copy because the book was beyond amazing (I finished it in one day).
I've never read a book like this - ever. I wasn't sure what to expect since I wasn't familiar with the series and I felt I wouldn't connect with the main character, Marie, because of it. But the more I read, the more I felt it didn't matter whether or not I read Season or Moon because Rhodes wrote in a way that made sure those who did not read book 1 and 2 would still understand the characters, even the ones that did not show up in this book because of certain events that happened in the previous installment.
So, all in all, I enjoyed this book very much. Very descriptive of the locations - making me wish I was there to see the beauty of New Orleans and Louisiana in person. I would definitely recommend this book, but I would also recommend whoever planning to read it that has not read the first two books should read the first two before reading this one since it is the final book in the trilogy.
I've never read a book like this - ever. I wasn't sure what to expect since I wasn't familiar with the series and I felt I wouldn't connect with the main character, Marie, because of it. But the more I read, the more I felt it didn't matter whether or not I read Season or Moon because Rhodes wrote in a way that made sure those who did not read book 1 and 2 would still understand the characters, even the ones that did not show up in this book because of certain events that happened in the previous installment.
So, all in all, I enjoyed this book very much. Very descriptive of the locations - making me wish I was there to see the beauty of New Orleans and Louisiana in person. I would definitely recommend this book, but I would also recommend whoever planning to read it that has not read the first two books should read the first two before reading this one since it is the final book in the trilogy.
sumayyah_t's review
4.0
Rich with history and legend, "Hurricane" by Jewell Parker Rhodes is a pretty good read. Weaving mystery with the history of Louisiana and calling upon the loa, this book is a win. The third and final installment in a series, some readers may be confused if they have not read the first two books. Join the descendent of Marie Laveau as she speaks with spirits, heals patients, dodges Death, hunts a killer, and experiences Hurricane Katrina in the bayou.
scorpstar77's review
3.0
Marie Levant has now fully adopted her true namesake, Marie Laveau. She is the reigning Voodoo Queen of New Orleans - when she's not tending to the sick and poor as an emergency room doctor in Charity Hospital. Something calls her to the gulf town of DeLaire, where she bears witness to a horrifying murder and also meets the local voodoo mambo of that town, who has foretold her coming. Unfortunately, the mambo's grandson, the sheriff of that town, has no plans to investigate the deaths she saw, and she begins to suspect he may have played a role in them. The town turns against her when she won't play the same voodoo game their mambo has been playing for years, and a deadly killer pursues her even into the city when she goes home, and two new spirits begin appearing to her that are somehow connected with DeLaire. Meanwhile a tropical storm named Katrina is possibly headed toward the gulf, and the spirits are trying to give her a message about water that she can't quite decode. Everything is happening fast, and Marie may run out of time before she makes sense of it all.
I didn't feel this book was nearly as good as the previous two. It was disjointed and rushed. I loved the story - and the characters - underneath, but the storytelling wasn't nearly as tight. I wonder if that's in part because the author feel so strongly about the subjects of Katrina and the environmental disaster/losses occurring for decades on the Louisiana Gulf coast - like she was too close to the material and story to give a smoother story. That's pure speculation, though. As always, Marie's character shines through as the best part of the story, but this is definitely my least favorite of the trilogy.
I didn't feel this book was nearly as good as the previous two. It was disjointed and rushed. I loved the story - and the characters - underneath, but the storytelling wasn't nearly as tight. I wonder if that's in part because the author feel so strongly about the subjects of Katrina and the environmental disaster/losses occurring for decades on the Louisiana Gulf coast - like she was too close to the material and story to give a smoother story. That's pure speculation, though. As always, Marie's character shines through as the best part of the story, but this is definitely my least favorite of the trilogy.
claudiaswisher's review
5.0
Rhodes returns to the subject of Hurricane Katrina...here with Marie Laveau, the 21st century voodooienne. She's grown so much as a character, into her gifts...which are also a curse. There is more loss here. I wonder how much she and I can take.
In this book Marie is impelled to visit the little bayou town of DeLaire. Deep in oil country, run for years by the plantation family, with faithful retainers staying on the land.
But this is a town with secrets. Nana, a voodoo healer, worships gods Marie has never heard of...Nana seems to have a hold over the residents of DeLaire -- or do they have a hold on her?
The mystery deepens, and Marie's frustrations with Nana and her grandsons compounds itself as she attempts to solved the violent murders of a young family -- whose baby calls to Marie when she thinks of her own Marie Claire.
More loss for Marie, as she inadvertently steps into a much bigger conspiracy than she dreamed of.
And all the while, Katrina is bearing down on the bayou, on New Orleans. On the land men have tried to wrestle into submission...men with their enormous hubris, believing the old gods can be subdued.
I think for me this is the most satisfying of the three books, the one deeply rooted in metaphor and history and the truth of what we are doing to this beauiful land.
Rhodes says the series is finished...but many questions are left unanswered...I hope to see Marie again. And again.
In this book Marie is impelled to visit the little bayou town of DeLaire. Deep in oil country, run for years by the plantation family, with faithful retainers staying on the land.
But this is a town with secrets. Nana, a voodoo healer, worships gods Marie has never heard of...Nana seems to have a hold over the residents of DeLaire -- or do they have a hold on her?
The mystery deepens, and Marie's frustrations with Nana and her grandsons compounds itself as she attempts to solved the violent murders of a young family -- whose baby calls to Marie when she thinks of her own Marie Claire.
More loss for Marie, as she inadvertently steps into a much bigger conspiracy than she dreamed of.
And all the while, Katrina is bearing down on the bayou, on New Orleans. On the land men have tried to wrestle into submission...men with their enormous hubris, believing the old gods can be subdued.
I think for me this is the most satisfying of the three books, the one deeply rooted in metaphor and history and the truth of what we are doing to this beauiful land.
Rhodes says the series is finished...but many questions are left unanswered...I hope to see Marie again. And again.
nyarlathotep's review
4.0
A satisfying conclusion to a fascinating trilogy. I grew to love the characters and along with them Louisiana. If you have any interest in voodoo as a religion in modern America I feel this novel can provide a good insight.
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