Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Into the Tempest

SERIES:  The Storm Boys, Book 2

AUTHOR:  N.R. Walker

NARRATOR:  Glen Lloyd

PUBLISHER:  BlueHeart Press

LENGTH:  5 hours and 16 minutes

RELEASE DATE: October 3, 2023

BLURB:

Jeremiah Overton is now in charge of Darwin’s Bureau of Meteorology, and his storm chaser boyfriend, Tully Larson, couldn’t be happier. For Tully, it means watching summer storms with the love of his life. But for Jeremiah, it means relearning everything on equipment that’s older than he is.

But summer storms also mean it’s cyclone season. While Tully’s no stranger to tropical storms and the occasional cyclone, it’s a first for Jeremiah.

As Tropical Cyclone Hazer bears down on the city, Jeremiah and Tully prepare to stay behind. Jeremiah knows what to expect, theoretically, but living through it is a different story.

If they live through it at all….

REVIEW:

N.R. Walker’s The Storm Boys series continues with Into the Tempest, and we eagerly pick up the story of Tully Larson and Jeremiah Overton. These two men are like night and day. Yet, they are the same where it counts most, like their mutual love for each other and their penchant for taking crazy risks to pursue and experience weather phenomena.

If you haven’t read the first book, Outrun the Rain, you should double back and do that before embarking on Into the Tempest. The storyline is continuing and you need the context for Tully and Jeremiah’s shared passion, as well as to understand Jeremiah’s backstory which has so strongly influenced his life’s trajectory.

If you’ve seen the 1996 movie Twister, that is very much how this story feels.  It’s high stakes, high anxiety, and mortal peril literally at the door.  Once the storm gets going in Into the Tempest, you will not be able to look away.  Walker’s descriptions are mesmerizing and immersive and you will feel like you are right there with them as they white knuckle it through devastating Cyclone Hazer.

Where the first book in the series focused almost exclusively on Tully and Jeremiah, in Into the Tempest, Walker brings out the found family feels as Jeremiah is welcomed into the Larson clan and adorably, amusingly, doesn’t quite know what to do with it.  It’s quite poignant if you know and understand his history.  Walker also pulls in some other characters like the larger-than-life Doreen to rally around Jeremiah, and before he knows it he has something he’s never experienced before – friends, family, and people who love him.

Both Jeremiah and Tully show character growth in this story.  Jeremiah begins to trust in himself and those around him. His confidence grows, and that’s mainly due to Tully’s support. But even Tully goes through a bit of a transformation that’s as surprising to us as it is to him. We get to see different sides of Tully’s personality – like the weather, he’s not always sunshine, and his deep feelings for Jeremiah knock him off kilter.

Glen Lloyd captures the vibrant, intense action of this story through his excellent narration.  He nicely balances the extremes of the weather with the steady love and affection of Tully, his family, and friends, and Jeremiah’s slowly building confidence. Lloyd’s authentic Australian accent enhances the Australian landscape that serves as the pivotal character in this series.  It is a force to be reckoned with and Lloyd makes that clear, while also capturing the nuances of Tully and Jeremiah’s relationship as their feelings for each other become more than they expected. 

Lloyd gives a solid performance overall, with clear differentiation between all the characters and thoughtful, well-executed portrayals.  I’ve heard him narrate many of Walker’s books, typically those set in Australia where he’s completely in his element.  Yet his synergy with the characters and the environment here resonates even more.  This series is rooted in the Australian environment and that authenticity is mirrored in Lloyd’s voice.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Into the Tempest.  I listened to it in one fell swoop because I couldn’t break away from Tully, Jeremiah, and the awesome action. Highly recommended. 

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Audible 

Amazon