A good start to a series. I didn’t fall in love with it, but there’s plenty to like, and it left me interested enough to try the following books.

WE RIDE THE STORM is a book that has had quite an interesting journey over the past couple of years. Originally released in 2018 as a self-published novel, it just recently got a brand new look for its cover (absolutely stunning by the way) after author Devin Madson was deservedly picked up by well-known publisher Orbit Books.


This book first found its way on my radar last year when it advanced all the way to the finals of Mark Lawrence's Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. For a number of different reasons I just never got around to picking it up. Fast forward a year and in a huge stroke of good luck, I was able to obtain a review copy of the new re-release from Orbit last month. So a sincere thank you goes out to them for doing that. And now, on to the most difficult book review that I've ever had to write (because the book is that special and I don't know if I have the words).


The book is told through the eyes of three main characters. Princess Miko Ts'ai being the first - stepdaughter of the Emperor of Kisia and brother to Tanaka, the would-be male heir to the throne. Miko is literally a prisoner in her own castle and is mostly a princess with no power or recognition. You see, the Emperor doesn't formally recognize either of them as heirs due to the fact that they are the blood children of a hated enemy from his past. and not his own. There have also been numerous assassination attempts on both Miko and Tanaka over the years that many whispering around the palace say were ordered by the Emperor himself. Tanaka believes that he should be the one to now rule Kisia, especially in light of the fact that neighboring Chiltae seems poised for an all-out war. But the Emperor has other plans and won't give up the throne so easily. Miko believes her brother is right but also sees him as somewhat reckless and brash. There is a very real danger in challenging the ruthless tyrant so openly at the moment and she quickly finds herself thrust in the middle of a power struggle that can only end in treachery and bloodshed.


The second main character is Chiltaen Cassandra Marius, part time prostitute, and full time assassin. In fact, she quite often uses the circumstances of her trade to lower the guard of would-be targets, making her a very effective weapon indeed and one that many seek the services of. When she is approached by a mysterious man who asks her to carry out a very high-profile hit in exchange for a cure to silence the voices in her head that torment her, she finds herself unable to refuse the offer. But even she is unaware of the full ramifications of her charge and what it could result in. For one skilled and deadly assassin's knife thrust could very well start the trumpets of war playing in earnest between neighboring countries with a tumultuous history between them.


Then there is Captain Rah e'Toring of the nomadic Levanti. A once-proud farming people, the Levanti have now been exiled by the brutal Chiltaens and their warriors. They are forced to fight for a kingdom that doesn't care for them or die. It's not really much of a choice but Rah and his fellow Levanti do what they must for now with the hope that they can find the opening that they have been looking for to restore their freedom. When Rah witnesses the horrors being carried out by the Chiltaen army, it only strengthens his resolve to find a way to slip the leash of his oppressors. But what hope can one man have against a mighty force of thousands? Maybe more than anyone thinks. For hope is a dangerous thing, but it is also an incredibly powerful motivator.


When the fates of these three main characters and those loyal to them finally collide, both Kisia and Chiltae will be forever changed. One thing is for certain, nobody can be trusted and who you think is your friend may very well really be your enemy waiting to slit your throat at the proper moment. Who will be left standing when the ambitious opportunists sneak out from the shadows to stake their claim?


About three quarters of the way through this book I made a very bold statement on Twitter. I said that WE RIDE THE STORM may be the best fantasy book that I've read in decades. Yes, you heard me correctly, decades. Now I'm not that old, so we're probably talking about only two or three decades tops, but this is still an impressive feat. And now that I've finished the book, I not only stand by that statement but I re-emphasize it loudly.


I cannot believe how many plots and subplots were packed into this one amazing book. It almost felt like I was reading a few different books at once. The fact that Devin Madson was able to not only juggle these, but also to make them all come together to fit into one coherent story is in my estimation a wondrous accomplishment. It truly shows what a talented writer she is and the boundless imagination behind this incredible creation.


There were so many moments in this book that I didn't see coming at all. Soul-crushing moments, heartbreaking moments, and moments of stupendous inspiration that lifted me up while I was reading. Too often I read books that follow a specific flow or predictable theme. I am happy to say that WE RIDE THE STORM surprises at every turn and makes a 500+ page book seem like the fastest read in the world. The layers upon layers that you get to peel back as the chapters unfold makes this one of the more rewarding reading experiences you will find in any book period, let alone any fantasy book.


Lastly I would like to comment on the characters. I felt such a connection to not only the main characters in this story, but every single character that was introduced regardless of how minor. That's the mark of a fantastic storyteller, to get you invested in even the side characters because they are fleshed out so well and their personalities come through in even just the briefest appearances.


Now that I've read WE RIDE THE STORM I honestly can't fathom how it didn't take home the top prize in #SPFBO4. It should have won going away in my opinion. I'm so glad that I finally got a chance to read it because my eyes have been opened to a favorite new author and a series that I will cherish for a long time coming.

What a fantastic start to an epic fantasy series! This is for people who enjoy Grimdark,, Multi POV, first person narration style, and a lot of violence. I really loved our female MC, and thought she was a strong lead. This book was definitely intense, but I found the plot really strong and I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

This is adventure fantasy at its finest. If someone is looking for their new fantasy favorite, I would absolutely recommend this to them!

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. I will update Netgalley once I read & review a physical copy.

My review will be based on the physical ARC I read.

Book titles are crafted to sell the book. They try to strike the right note of alerting readers to the genre while pulling new readers in. There are book title fads (remember when every book title was one word long?) and trends and they are not (as I used to assume) whatever the author thought was the best title for the book.

Devin Madson’s epic fantasy, WE RIDE THE STORM, is an exception. The first installment in the The Reborn Empire series, this book was originally self-published, and Madson kept her original title. It’s a great title for the novel, where the three POV characters are thrust into the metaphorical storm of war, each of them desperately trying to use newly slippery, shifting allegiances to their advantage.

A fragile peace exists between the kingdoms of Kisia and Chiltae. Miko is a princess of the Kisian empire. The current emperor delays naming either her or her twin brother as his heir, because they are not his true children. Determined not be overlooked or discounted, Miko plays courtly games of intrigue to gain the throne, but her brother takes matters into his own hands. He attempts to kill Dom Villius, the Chiltaen man whom Miko has been promised to. This attack shatters the peace between Kisia and Chiltae and destroy’s Miko’s careful plans, forcing her to show her hand and fight for her claim to the throne.

Cassandra is a prostitute, with a lucrative side-gig as an assassin. She’s used to blood, and she’s used to hearing the voices of the dead in her head, including a particularly insistent voice that accompanies her wherever she goes. When a mysterious man promises Cassandra a way to rid herself of the voice in her head in exchange for killing a man, she can’t say no. Of course, Cassandra’s mark turns out to be Dom Villius, on his way to Kisia to marry Princess Miko and secure the peace between Chiltae and Kisia. This complicates Cassandra’s job, but not as much as when she discovers that Dom Villius doesn’t seem to be able to die. Cassandra’s simple assassination mission has gotten her caught in a web of intrigue, and while Cassandra knows what she wants, the voice in her head doesn’t always share the same goals.

Rah is a Levanti rider, who rails against a wave of change that missionaries have brought to the plains. Disheartened at the slow destruction of the Levanti way of life, Rah leads a group of Levanti riders away, seeking a new life. They are captured almost immediately by the Chiltaen army, and join a large group of other Levanti who have left the plains. At their head is Gideon, a man who was once like a brother to Rah. But Gideon has different goals now, goals that Rah finds incomprehensible and at odds with the Levanti way of life. Rah’s principles are pushed and compromised at every turn, but as the Chiltaen army with their new Levanti infantry march into Kisia, Rah must choose between the way of life he has always known and his loyalty to Gideon.

***

A prostitute turned assassin. An angry princess denied her inheritance. These are common tropes in epic fantasy and while both Cassandra and Miko’s stories evolve to have more complicated, intriguing throughlines, it was not their stories that initially drew me into WE RIDE THE STORM, but Rah’s. Madson’s worldbuilding around the Levanti culture is interesting, and Rah’s hard-headedness makes him compelling.

While WE RIDE THE STORM begins with tired tropes, Madson breathes life into them, creating memorable characters and a complex situations.

The book continued to feel a little generic for the first third, but once the status quo had been broken, Madson put her characters in increasingly complex situations with increasingly bad choices to make, which pulls you through the novel. Madson doesn’t shy away from grim and gruesome situations, and she leaves each of her characters utterly changed or defeated.

I would have loved even a few more shades of world building. Madson gives readers enough to frame the conflict, but a touch more history would have helped clarify the stakes of the conflict earlier in the book. The trend in epic fantasy seems to be a much leaner approach to information, which I love, but sometime I just want a good ol’ info dump.

Madson is especially cagey with details about all of the magic in her book. Some of the most interesting moments in WE RIDE THE STORM involved Cassandra literally fighting herself as the voice in her head appears to take over her body. Madson doesn’t give us any details or even hint at a reason for Cassandra’s condition in this book and I’m interested to find out more.

While WE RIDE THE STORM begins with tired tropes, Madson breathes life into them, creating memorable characters and a complex situations that promise difficult and interesting decisions ahead. WE RIDE THE STORM is a solid first installment that poses enough interesting question to make sure I’ll be returning for the sequel.

Okay, let's talk We Ride the Storm. First of all, many thanks to the publisher, Orbit, for providing me this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

There is so much to love about this first edition to The Reborn Empire series. I believe this was the authors' first published work - but there was no indication of that in the writing. The world building was rich and expansive, the characters well developed if not entirely likeable. The pace was break-neck and the twists and turns never stopped coming. The book really ends with a bang and I am very grateful to have the sequel on hand. Let's get into the nitty gritty.

This book mainly follows 3 perspectives. First, and my favorite, is Princess Miko Ts'ai. Held hostage in the kingdom that rightfully belongs to her family, her stepfather the Emperor has been trying to kill her and her twin brother as long as she can remember. The children of the previous emperor, of the Otako line, he has no love for the siblings. Miko is strong, and has a real ability to evaluate the situation she's in at the slightest change and make quick decisions. She only wants what is best for Kisia and she believes that is to put her family back on the throne.

Next is Cassandra, who is an assassin mainly but is also possessed by this entity only referred to as "Her". While most of the time this entity does not have control over Cassandra's body, it is a constant power struggle between the two of them and makes Cassandra want to do just about anything to drown out the voice inside her head.

Finally is Rah, captain of a band of warrior people known as the Levanti, who is taken captive early on in the story by the Chilteans - who are the opposing force in this story and attempting to take over Kisia. He is a very proud man and unwilling to change, even when the traditions his people have carried for so long put the lives of his swords as well as his own in danger.

The story kicks off when Miko's brother gets impatient watching his stepfather rule, and decides to take the throne by killing the man who the Emperor was attempting to forge peace with and then coming back to kill the Emperor. Little did he know that his attempted coup would fail horribly and set off the war they were all trying to avoid.

Cassandra is sent to kill a man who is leading the Chiltean forces. Miko is left under the Emperor who wants her dead right after her brother attempted to steal his throne - and her mother is of no help attempting to kill the Emperor. Rah is riding for the Chilteans against his will and taking Kisian cities by force.

There is so much to say about this story. I really loved how all the characters stories intersected without any of them ever actually meeting. There were so many political moves and machinations that moved this story along, and at the forefront of it all is Princess Miko just trying to retain the safety of the Kisian empire even if it means going against everything she believes in.

The characters in this story really questioning their beliefs and the lengths they are willing to go is a HUGE theme here. I'd contend it's a lot of Rah's story. As well as what it means to be an immovable force in the face of change. The phrase "change or die" comes to mind. There's also this underlying supernatural element to the story - both with the entity "Her" possessing Cassandra as well as another character in this story that for whatever reason simply cannot die.

I read this book very quickly. If you liked the Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart or Seven Blades in Black by Sam Sykes, I'd highly recommend this to you. Or for people who just love fast paced Asian inspired fantasy. This is definitely a new favorite and will be something I recommend anytime someone asks.

5 STARS

I received this book through TBRindr. This is the first book that I have read by this author (Devin Madson) and I have been looking forward to reading this one since I got it a few months ago, and it was well worth the wait. It is the first book in The Reborn Empire series, and it has recently been nominated as a semi-finalist in this year’s SPFBO.

This story opens with the first of three POV characters, Captain Rah e’Torin, the reluctant leader of a group of exiled warriors known as the Levanti, explaining how difficult it is to decapitate a head with a knife. He is doing this not out of dark and barbaric motives, but because his peoples’ religion says that beheading is the only way to free the soul, and everyone deserves this freedom, even enemies. The Levanti find themselves swept up as slaves and soldiers in a foreign war, and Rah holds a very fragile grip on the leadership of his people.

The second POV is Cassandra who will do whatever it takes to survive, including selling herself as a prostitute or as an assassin. She takes her next job to assassinate someone with the promised payment of contact with the Witchdoctor, someone she has been desperately seeking to hopefully get rid of the voice in her head (yes, literally a voice).

The third POV is Miko, a teenage princess. Her parents have arranged a marriage and she wants no part of it. She is the most well defined POV and becomes increasingly central to the incredible story that follows.

From these three perspectives, we quickly discover layers of conflict, deception, and all manner of political intrigue. The book reads like a tightly wound coil that is ready to break loose. The tension is nearly tangible throughout, and it is a very suspenseful ride. (Get it? Ride? Like the title? Nevermind…)

The characters are compelling and richly developed, and their lives intertwine in unexpected ways. The world is given extra care with the reader becoming immersed in the political twists and turns, the religious traditions of the Levanti, the flora and fauna, and more. We see the prisoners suffering, the extravagance of the wealthy, and everyone in between, and no one is safe from the strife and betrayal that is generously handed out.

Honestly, there is very little complaints with this book. It ends with a satisfying amount of resolution while leaving so many ends undone to draw the reader in for the next book. This is one of the best books I have read all year.

This was an enjoyable read, and I would easily recommend it. Thank you, Devin, for sending this to me. Well done! 4.5 / 5 stars.

We Ride the Storm // Devin Madson

While this wasn’t the first book I started this year (that honor goes to Elantris), it was the first book I finished in 2021 because let me tell you, once Devin Madson sucks you into a story, she doesn’t let you go until you turn the last page. This book took me on an absolutely wild ride and I loved every minute of it! I wish everyone could start their year off with a bang like I did.

I’ve noticed that the majority of my favorite fantasy books have multiple narrators and it seems that three is the number many authors fall on. I like that a lot when it is well done because you get a better understanding of what’s going on along the way. Madson chose three very different characters in her story. They came from different cultures, were raised in different social classes and systems, had widely different personalities and attitudes, and have or were preparing for very different occupations. When it came to choosing varying POVs, she really couldn’t have done any better. I love how her writing made you feel empathetic towards each one. She made you want the best for them but the entire way through it was difficult to determine how all of them could come out on top in the end without sacrificing someone’s happiness along the way.

By having such different characters we got to learn about the three main cultures that were addressed in this book. The Levanti social system couldn’t have been any more different from Kisia and Chiltae, and it was absolutely fascinating to learn about their traditions. The setup for the other two countries felt much more familiar at first glance but there were still interesting nuances to learn about them nonetheless. I didn’t know until I finished the book that this series is set in the same world as Madson’s previous series, The Vengeance Trilogy, and I definitely want to check that out to get a better understanding of everything though you do not need to have read those to enjoy this book. Due to having these vastly different characters, we also get to understand their unique motivations, which is providing us with all kinds of intrigue from start to finish. While we do get to learn plenty about the world itself, this never stopped the action from happening. And let me tell you, once it started, it never slowed down until the end. Madson puts both elements – the world-building and the action – together very well though where they complement each other rather than stealing the limelight.

Minor spoilers ahead for trigger warnings (rape/brutality):

I was initially scared away from this book last year when I saw reviewers write about how gory it is. I’m not saying it isn’t that – you do learn about certain things in detail, such as how to cut off someone’s head – but it definitely was not nearly as bad as expected. There is a lot of killing and hurting people, there is rape, there is psychological abuse. But at least to me, someone that really struggles with rape scenes and excessive brutality, this wasn’t done in a way that put unnecessary attention on those actions and they weren’t detailed in a disturbing way either. It’s hard to describe honestly but if you want to take the beheading as an example, the importance isn’t in the brutality of it; it is important culturally to help the souls of those slain bodies move on in the afterlife so the people performing the severing of heads do it out of respect for those fallen, even if they weren’t on their side. It has a much different feel to it than sheer brutality and goriness for the shock effect.

I know it's strange to start a review off talking about the characters but I just have to get this off my chest. In admiration of the character building, Madson manages to create small, and large characters, all with a purpose. As the novel proceeds, we see that everything Devin does, is with purpose.
Madson thrusts the reader straight into an Empire on the brink of disintegration. Her three main characters are no strangers to death and pain: commanding that it be brought about; delivering it; seeking to bring peace to the soul once it comes about. And they are no strangers to struggle as they fight to find their place in the world, with one seeking recognition and power, one searching for escape from the voices that torment her, and one praying for a chance to merge beliefs and goodness with the greed and soullessness around him.

Okay now back to the characters. It’s not just the three-dimensional characters that drew me in, nor the complex and deeply-developed civilisations. It’s Madson’s magic systems. They're subtle and interesting, as in the Vengeance Trilogy, and it’s never clear exactly how those afflicted do what they do, why their gifts have manifested, or where their powers will lead them, and the world around them. At least not until the end, and I have faith that as those that wield the magic learn what they can do, the culmination will be terrible and beautiful.

This is a perfect and well-written opener. I’m hooked, and waiting for the next one

Rating: 9.5/10

Thanks to the author and publisher for an advance reader copy of We Ride the Storm (The Reborn Empire #1) for review consideration. This did not influence my thoughts or opinions.

We Ride the Storm is, simply put, spectacular. It is epic fantasy at the highest caliber and a superb romp from cover to cover. I’ll go as far as to say it should be as well received as Evan Winter’s The Rage of Dragons (The Burning #1) was in 2019. Orbit got a steal when they signed Madson.

I knew of Madson during her run in SPFBO #4 and had seen many rave reviews for this title throughout that competition. I ran out and grabbed her novella, In Shadows We Fall, to get a taste for her prose, world-building ability, and just overall to see if I could get engaged in her writing. I mean, it won the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novella in 2017 so there has to be something to it. Turns out, it was my favorite novella of 2019. EASILY.

We Ride the Storm takes place some time later than In Shadows We Fall and her first series, The Vengeance Trilogy, but just so happens to take place in the same world and has some familiar names and lineages that have carried on through the years. Having said that, there isn’t a need to have read any of her previous works to dive right in. This is one of those cases where having read the first series “enhances” the read rather than being a requirement.

“It’s harder to sever a head than people think. Perhaps if one were skilled with an axe, it could be done in a single blow – so long as the body was not trying to run away at the time – but out in the grasslands, decapitation is done with a knife. The first incision is easy. Then you drag your serrated blade through the flesh and think you’ll soon be done. I thought so my first time. I thought it would be quick and simple and not involve such thick globs of blood.
But it is our way. The Levanti way. So though we grumble, we saw through still-warm flesh and long-dead flesh alike to free the soul within.”
Chapter 2. RAH. We Ride the Storm (The Reborn Empire #1) by Devin Madson

Going to be pretty blunt and to the point: I friggin loved this novel. The characters, the world-building, the political machinations, the decapitations (there are many), the grandness. of it all, and Madson’s prose all balled into one delivers an absolute show-stopper of a read. The story follows three (3) main POVS – see synopsis – and each one has their own engaging thread that soon become entangled with one another; and when I say entangled, I mean a ridiculous mess of tangles that’ll never come unraveled. The way Madson threads these stories together is truly something, and I can’t honestly say which character I liked more over another. Each one has a unique perspective on the ongoing conflict and their part in it, but also give eyes to the world that surrounds them.

All I can say is that you need to go out, buy this book, and read it. I waited wayyyy too long to pick it up, much like I did with The Rage of Dragons, and I will forever kick myself for not being more of a proponent for them.

I originally read We Ride the Storm when it was a finalist in the fourth Self-publishing Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO), and I could immediately see why it fared so well in that competition (you can read the Fantasy Faction review here). I loved it well enough that when Orbit picked it up, I jumped at the chance to read and review the revised edition, and I wasn’t disappointed. The new version is both sharper and smarter than the original, with better pacing and a more satisfying climax. It was a tale told well; now it is a story that keeps you turning pages and leaves you itching for the next installment.

The title of the series is Reborn Empire, but the first book is about divisions and broken ties within and around each of the three protagonists. Cassandra, an aging beauty who earns her living as a prostitute and assassin, was rejected by her family when she was a child because another soul shares her body, and through this spirit, she hears the dead. Rah, the leader of an exiled band of horse warriors, has a sense of honor so rigid he cannot bend, and every decision fractures him a little more. And Miko is an ungainly princess who lives in constant peril because the emperor whose surname she shares is not her true father, and he knows it.

Each protagonist’s story is told in first person, and one of the outstanding aspects of Madson’s writing is the way each main character’s voice comes through crisp and clear. If you flipped to a random page and started reading, you’d know immediately whose point of view you were reading. Cassandra is a jaded and profane survivor who does nothing but what’s in her own self-interest. Rah is kind and stalwart but that intractable sense of honor is a potentially fatal flaw. By necessity, Miko is a survivor too, but her ruthlessness is in service of her people.

The first change readers of the original will notice is the first line, which used to be:

It’s harder to sever a head than people think.

That was, and still is, the opening of Rah’s storyline, but the first chapter in the book now belongs to Miko. When I began the revision, I was disappointed with this change (who doesn’t want to know more about severed heads?), but before I’d finished the new first chapter, I agreed it was the right move. It is Miko’s Kisian empire that is undergoing revolutionary change—being reborn—in the Reborn Empires trilogy, and this rebirth really begins with a secret plot hatched by Miko and her twin brother to overthrow their father. That scheme goes awry very quickly, forcing Miko to make choices that deeply divide Kisia. Yet these changes, as fraught with danger as they are, may be the only way Miko can save her nation from the invaders.

In addition to the new opening that better explains Miko’s tenuous position at court, in the new version, Miko’s story is better laid out, eliminating some unlikely aspects that required a leap of faith (or a blind eye) on the readers’ part, and giving us Miko’s point of view of a key battle in a chapter so vividly illustrated that I stayed up well past midnight to catch every last stroke of the sword. The revised narrative heightened my respect and admiration for Miko as well as my sympathy. I liked her before; but in this version she earned my love.

I always loved Cassandra—she was my favorite character in the original version, and I’m glad to say her new and improved story arc wiped out my sole disappointment with the original (which was that Cassandra’s story ended too early and abruptly). We meet her the same way as before, when a mysterious stranger hires her for a job—a murder that will spark the war between Kisia and Chiltae. Yet we get to know Cassandra and her passenger spirit better this time around, with deeper insights into her motivations and more glimpses into the possible reasons for her divided soul. Cassandra is so brilliantly written that one can’t help root for her, even as she incites war and brings about the death of thousands.

Much as I love the two women, Rah remains the most sympathetic character in the book. After his band of horse warriors is forcibly conscripted into the army invading Kisia, the growing tension between him and his commander—who had been like an older brother to Rah back home—leads him to question every decision. Still, he clings to his faith in the gods, stubbornly carrying out the sacred ritual beheadings that horrify his Chiltaen masters. Thanks to Madson’s deep examination of his character, it’s easy to accept that Rah acts out of compassion, not savagery, when he takes a head. She makes us believe he isn’t mutilating a body but liberating a soul. In the revision, Rah’s conflict with his commander unfolds in a way that is both more natural and more dramatic, which makes their ultimate face-off all the more poignant.

Madson’s writing is bold, vigorous, and filled with passion. She is economical in her descriptions but manages to convey motivations clearly and emotions powerfully. It’s the sort of writing that shines a bright light on character and action without getting in the way.

We Ride the Storm sweeps the reader into a maelstrom of political intrigue, battle and blood, and hope for a better future. Whether you’ve traveled with these heroes before or are mounting up the first time, you’re in for a hell of a ride.

Edit: Link added.

Before I begin the review, a few things I think everyone should be aware of before going into this book: first, there are a lot of severed heads. For one reason or another, almost every person here either wants a head or saws off heads themselves. Now, this is grimdark fantasy after all, so things only get more gruesome from there as violent acts are described in gory detail, and there’s also a rape scene where the rapists get away without any consequences. Secondly, you probably think cringing and facepalming as you witness characters make bad decision after bad decision is something you’re used to by now, but believe me, these people will really test your patience.

We Ride the Storm is the story of two neighbouring countries on the brink of war, and told from the perspectives of three fundamentally different people with contradictory motives. Kisian princess Miko Ts’ai dreams of ruling her country alongside her twin brother, but she is a prisoner in her own home, as she is not a true daughter of the emperor. However, when her world as she knows it completely shifts, she prepares to forge her path to the throne by any means necessary.

Captain Rah e’Torin and his warriors are Levanti, horse-riding nomad warriors. Exiled from home, they are taken as slaves by the Chiltaens, and get tangled up in a war they have no interest in.

Chiltaen prostitute and assassin Cassandra can hear the voices of the dead. There’s a nameless entity in her head, sharing her body, and she wants nothing more than to be free of it, so when she gets a contract that promises her the relief she seeks, she accepts it. Now, all she’d have to do is herald a war between Kisia and Chiltae that will reshape the world.

For a novel that’s character-driven, I must admit I found a distinct lack of character development here. Miko is perhaps the only multi-layered character out of them; instead of falling into the naive and righteous young royal stereotype trap, she is resourceful, shrewd, and has a somewhat satisfying character arc. Rah on the other hand lacked any depth, he felt one-dimensional and fell short compared to the others. Cassandra emerges as the most interesting and mysterious out of the three POV characters, though the voice in her head sometimes makes her chapters a little hard to comprehend and it takes some getting used to. The secondary characters seemed more compelling than any of the leads with Dom Leo Villius, son of the head of the Chiltaen church, perhaps the most fascinating of them all; I was so disappointed that he didn’t get more page time. There’s so much I want to talk about when it comes to Leo, but most of it gives away some pretty big spoilers, so I’ll just say this, Leo is the reason you want to pick We Ride the Storm up.

Madson’s writing shines when it comes to writing emotionally charged moments or action sequences, and especially when it’s a combination of both, like the battle scenes at the end that pack a lot of emotions in a relatively short expanse of pages. There’s not a magic system to speak of, but some supernatural elements that come into play mostly in Cassandra’s chapters aid the story as it progresses, never taking the centre stage, which makes We Ride the Storm first and foremost a war story.

This mammoth of a book is 500+ pages long, and the pacing ought to have lagged at places, but Madson expertly keeps the POVs bleeding into one another even though none of the three main characters ever interact, the taut, sharp narrative immersive and thrilling from cover to cover. There are plot twists every so often to keep the readers on their toes, and they mostly serve their purpose, though the novel does take some predictable turns. These plot twists usually come in the form of major characters deaths (the author has absolutely no qualms about killing off the fan favourites, so if you find yourself attached to a particular character, there’s a high chance she is going to make you sob).

However, as I never really found myself caring for any of the characters, the onslaught of character deaths felt a bit unnecessary and became almost monotonous after a while. When it comes to the worldbuilding, we are provided with basic information about the two empires and the Levanti customs and traditions, but I feel like both the characters and the world could do with more background for them to seem convincing and for the readers to connect with them.

We Ride the Storm has quite a few shortcomings, but if you like political intrigue and low romance books or are a fan of dark fantasy fiction, you’ll be too engrossed in the story to pay attention to them. So if it sounds like something you’d enjoy, go forth and read it!