Review: Storm Siren

STORM SIREN
Storm Siren Trilogy #1
Mary Weber
Young Adult/Fantasy
320 pages
Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins
Available Now
Source: BEA

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
In a world at war, a slave girl’s lethal curse could become one kingdom’s weapon of salvation. If the curse—and the girl—can be controlled.

As a slave in the war-weary kingdom of Faelen, seventeen-year-old Nym isn’t merely devoid of rights, her Elemental kind are only born male and always killed at birth — meaning, she shouldn’t even exist.

Standing on the auction block beneath smoke-drenched mountains, Nym faces her fifteenth sell. But when her hood is removed and her storm-summoning killing curse revealed, Nym is snatched up by a court advisor and given a choice: be trained as the weapon Faelen needs to win the war, or be killed.

Choosing the former, Nym is unleashed into a world of politics, bizarre parties, and rumors of an evil more sinister than she’s being prepared to fight . . . not to mention the handsome trainer whose dark secrets lie behind a mysterious ability to calm every lightning strike she summons.

But what if she doesn’t want to be the weapon they’ve all been waiting for?

Set in a beautifully eclectic world of suspicion, super abilities, and monsters, Storm Siren is a story of power. And whoever controls that power will win.

MY THOUGHTS
Storm Siren delights from beginning to end, giving us everything we could hope for in a fantasy novel: a strong yet vulnerable heroine, a forbidden romance, and a cause worth fighting for. The pacing of Nym's story is absolutely perfect, drawing us in quickly as we bear witness to how terribly wrong Nym's gift can go even when wielded with the best of intentions, and then providing us with quieter moments that allow us to peek into all the dark corners of our heroine's mind until we feel like we know her through and through.

Nym is a young woman who's known nothing but slavery her entire life, resigned to a fate of changing hands time and again as her ability with lightening has one horrifying consequence after another, but despite the life she's led she's doesn't allow herself to wallow in pity or waste time with “what if” musings. She does struggle with self-loathing when she feels the blood on her hands is particularly visible, but we can feel the guilt of the lives she's taken pressing down on her and it's nearly impossible not to allow our knees to buckle under the weight right along with hers. She balances the gravity of her gift and curse with humor though, the banter between her and fellow paranormally-gifted-trainee Colin a light in the ever-increasing darkness of this world.

A beautifully subtle romance between Nym and trainer Eogan complements the action and suspense of a kingdom on the brink of war, giving us a seed of hope we can't help but want to see grow with each chapter. Always in the back of our minds lingers the fear of it being squashed before it reaches its full potential though, and we read with breath held to see how bloodied and bruised Nym will emerge from the mental, emotional and physical battles she faces.

We of course end with a gut-wrenching opening gambit from the kingdom of Bron and its allies against Faelen, and just when we think we'll be left in a good place to lick our wounds as we gear up for the second installment, we're hit with a parting line that effectively steals our breath and brings Nym's world crashing down around her. As far as cliffhangers go it's particularly well done, not something tossed in just to shock us into picking up the next book, but rather a carefully orchestrated chess move that lets us know we're facing a master in Ms. Weber. Overall, Storm Siren is a hugely enjoyable first installment, overflowing with memorable characters who refuse to vacate our minds and hearts long after we've turned the final page.

Rating: 4/5

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.