The Spider and the Storm was recommended to me by a friend and I just had to read it because I love a loner hero. I don’t know why, but something about a solitary, isolated man who finds the right partner to finally love, to finally have a person, just melts my cold heart every time. 

Much like Saving Rain, this is also told just from the MMCs POV. Charlie also had a rough childhood but at least he always had his brother. He was an anxious kid, to the extent they had to pull him from school for his mental health and because of bullies, and we follow his story, which is full of tragedy and heartbreak, into adulthood. 

It’s told in dual timelines with the present, where we find Charlie has become a fully isolated adult, living alone in the cemetery where he’s also the caretaker. One day he bumps into the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, a woman who likes him for him, even if he’s quiet and anxious. He’s also tall, tatted, bearded, and drives a motorcycle so I’m sure that helped. 

Also much like Saving Rain, the romance is the lesser plot but I still really enjoyed it. Charlie and Stormy were pretty much instantly into each other, and I was so glad he finally found someone who loved him in return. 

This one is a whopper of a book (691 pages) but please don’t let that deter you. I binged both Saving Rain and The Spider and the Storm in about two and a half days and was entirely captivated the entire time. I love the extra time we got to really root around in the Spider’s head and honestly could have kept reading.

I really just thought this was a great story, it is angsty and sad but never TOO angsty and sad for me. Just the right amount! I really enjoyed pretty much everything about this book (and Saving Rain) and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. 

*This book can 100% be read as a standalone but if you think you’re going to read both books, I would start with Saving Rain since the characters do overlap and you’ll really appreciate seeing Soldier from Saving Rain here.