A slow-burn Romantasy, The Tempest Soul has a lot of tropes that tick all my boxes:

• a FMC who develops strongly throughout the book

• original, interesting magic system

• slow-burn romance

• fake relationship / pretend dating

• Varying races and creatures

• One bed

• One horse

• Found Family

• Quests

However, there was one trope which it didn't quite deliver on and this is world building. Absolutely 100% yes this world is interesting, I like the dynamics and the different races within the world and how the interact with each other but unfortunately, there wasn't enough information given for me to understand the importance of a name being mentioned or a city because I didn't know who or what they were and their significance.

 

I am never a fan of info-dumping, so that is not the solution, but personally I think this can be easily fixed with Eira having a lesson within the temple in the beginning and it being history based, covering the families, the royals and the races briefly but succinctly. It just needs a small amount of fine-tuning and finesse and it can be so much easier to follow and more enjoyable.

That aside, I did enjoy the story and the characters, even if I was running through the book mostly on vibes. The tension and romance is perfect, I really love a slow-burn that has pay-out in the book (and not several books later in the series) and this was absolutely spot on for myself. The plot twist at the end was genuinely not one I saw coming, which is rare, and I thoroughly enjoyed the shock factor it provided. I will 100% be keeping my eye out for book 2 as I must know what happens next.

I want to thank NetGalley, Fox Tale and Brittany M. Riley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. The review is my own opinion and I have given this freely.