In this 600-page tome, we are promised a haunted and malevolent sword, tomb raider vibes with some strong heist energy, and partnership based on deep trust despite the multitude of secrets that try to stand in the way.

I was a bit overwhelmed by the world-building at first, not because of a complex system but because of presentation. It's an ultimately simplistic system with two groups of magic users serving different gods. One group, The Devoted, works for the government and is bound by oaths to receive powers from their patron goddess, Calsta. They trade for magical abilities by abstaining from specific joys and experiences. On the other hand, the Basists don't give up anything for the power they receive from the nameless god. Too much power corrupts them, and they become soul-sucking shapeshifters.

Sadly, this didn't deliver on its promise for me. The magic of a heist story relies on nailing its crucial elements. Our pair of thieves don't genuinely start pulling together a crew until the second half of the book, and there's no snarky banter or emotional attachment to convince me to pledge my loyalty to the group. The meandering pace is at odds with the kind of fun, over-the-top, sneaky action plots I seek out in a heist. The book also attempts romantic tropes for two pairs of characters that should have drawn me in: forbidden love, fake engagement/courtship, opposites attract, yet the delivery was so dry that it didn't spark any excitement in me to see it on the page.

My opinion of this one is that there wasn't enough content to fill a book of this size, meaning that there was a lot of filler and dawdling storytelling to take up the extra space. I love a long book if the emotions, characters, and world make me want to stay for the duration. This one was a miss for me because I did not want to stay so long; it was more a trap than an escape.

I definitely requested this book because of the cover. After reading this though, is the person on the cover, Calsta?

We follow four main characters in this story: Anwei, Knox, Mateo and Lia but to me the one that stood out the most was Anwei. I connected with her being a healer and helping Knox and many others – but I also love that she had the double identity, healer by day, thief at night. She was the most interesting character to me.

The other characters Knox, Lia and Mateo were interesting as well. Knox and Lia are part of the Devoted, an order that follows Calsta’s ways, what I got from the story was they were not shy to use violence and were trained to fight. Mateo was different – he’s an archaeologist who just wants to find a way to cure his disease. He can’t fight like Knox and Lia but Mateo has his own type of strength.

As far as the story goes – everyone is looking for this cursed sword that is in a tomb. What they uncover in the tomb is more than the sword but the true story about the Devoted, and the Basists. I think the second half was much faster paced than the first half and we get more into the heist of the story. Also the twist was interesting and makes me wonder what will happen in book two.

There is some feelings taking place between Anwei and Knox but it’s full of angst, longing and not sure what will come of it. Lia and Mateo are in an interesting situation themselves, I found myself more invested in their relationship only because Knox is adamant about being devoted to Calsta. Lia and Mateo might have a good chance at love.

Random Notes:
Content Warnings: assault, violence

Lia is a Spiriter, a Devoted all covered and she has an obsessed stalker, another Devoted named Ewan. The story does address being attacked and not blaming oneself for freezing up in a moment like that. And I loved that Anwei was the one to tell Lia this.

It took me awhile to get into this story – I liked the second half more than the first half because there is more action. The beginning was slow and I didn’t even think I’d want to finish the book. I think world building wise, it was intriguing enough to keep me reading but at times I felt it was so vague, unless those were just the times I felt unmotivated reading the story (the slow beginning).

I was frustrated with Knox and his devotion to Calsta who speaks in his head and Willow-his sister who is trapped in the sword and talks to him in his head, as well. Poor guy, it’s crowded up there! All he wanted was to be himself with Anwei but nope…he is bound to Calsta.

FINAL THOUGHTS~~
Why you should read it:

*you like heist stories
*interesting cast of characters, mostly Anwei and Mateo for me
*a good twist at the end

Why you might not want to read it:

*not into heists/thieves
*slow beginning

My Thoughts:

I almost gave up on this book because I wasn’t connecting to the story but Anwei was what made me keep reading on. I love her as a character – a healer who is a thief trying to avenge her brother’s death. I think you would like this book if you enjoy heist stories. There’s a nice plot twist at the end that makes me curious to read book two but I’m still on the fence if I would pick it up. Overall, it was good, not quite for me though but definitely for anyone who enjoys these types of stories.

She Who Rides the Storm is a very captivating fantasy novel that initially appealed to me with its cover and compelling synopsis. When I began reading this novel, I believed it to be a standalone story. In reality, it is the first novel in a duology. For me, this did affect my reading experience as the pacing, plot, etc. all read differently as a duology compared to me reading it incorrectly as a standalone. While it did not affect my enjoyment and comprehension after finishing the novel, it did affect it during the actual reading process. That being said, this novel is a page-turner as there are multiple twists and turns to keep the reader guessing throughout the chapters.

Within the world of Chaol amongst the Commonwealth in the novel, there are people, the Devoted, blessed with powers by Calsta, goddess of sun and storm, and those that follow the nameless god, the Basists, who are natural born witches/healers. Followers of the first, due to fear of the shapeshifter kings of old, who were cruel and bloodthirsty, hunt the ones that follow the latter. The history of the two sides was explored in a lot of detail, so it was interesting to learn about the two different sets of followers and how their feud has existed over time. The story instantly captivated me as there are four main characters with two on each side, two Devoted and two Basists. The characters are all on the same quest to find the legendary ancient and cursed sword of the Shapeshifter King located in his tomb.

Our four main characters are Anwei, Knox, Lia, and Mateo. Anwei, a healer, is set on revenge for the death of her brother that she believes was at the hands of a shapeshifter. She is a thief to both make money and secretly find information to help her achieve this revenge. She eventually collaborates with Knox, a former Devoted, who is now in hiding from them and hears both the voice of Calsta and his dead sister in his head. Lia is a mind reader Devoted, who Knox thought of as a sister, who is sent to find Knox. A man set to marry her to his son, the fourth main character Mateo is blackmailing her. Mateo is an archeologist set on finding a cure for the disease that is killing him. Between the characters, two romances begin to form with one being a slow burn one that develops over time while the other begins as fake-dating/courtship. Anwei and Knox have a lingering distrust of each other yet they would protect each other at all costs. Mateo and Lia begin as acquaintances to potentially something more. Both sets of romances have a natural progression throughout the story and fit the different characters.

The story is multi-perspective with each character having their own story along with the main story. The four points-of-view are Anwei, Knox, Lia, and Mateo. While I tend to favor this type of storytelling, it did get a little confusing when the points of view would change mid-chapter. It could be a formatting issue and could look different in the final version, but I found the changes very abrupt and I would need to re-read certain sections, as I did not realize the perspective changed. Once I had everyone straight, then I could follow his or her development throughout the story and it was well done. I hope the formatting is updated or there are some transitions added as I would not have connected to the characters as much if I did not take the time to re-read some chapters.

Overall, the pacing at this novel is slow in the beginning as the characters and world are explored. Once the plot fully sets into motion, the novel was a quick read and the pages flew by. While there were moments where I preferred the pacing to pick-up sooner, I appreciated the initial set-up of the world as I could fully picture everything. One thing that I hope is in the final version, or, hopefully, the sequel is a map, as I would love to have a visual representation of the world. Based on the synopsis that makes it seem that the novel will be non-stop action, the novel was not what I expected; however, it was a very compelling read and I would be interested to see what happens in the sequel!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

She Who Rides the Storm by Caitlin Sangster is a young adult fantasy that pulls you in from the beginning and holds your attention until the very end. A story that sweeps you away to another world full of mystery and intrigue. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I absolutely loved this story and was so surprised that there has not been more hype surrounding it. The world-building and the character development is so well done that I could not help but feel drawn into this story in full. I felt like I was walking the very streets of the city with these characters. I sometimes have a hard time with multiple main characters. Usually because I tend to be drawn to one character or another, but I found that I was fully invested into each character and their story.

Plus a lot of fantasy has become predictable but this story had a few twists that I definitely did not see coming. I can't wait to read again knowing all of the things I did not the first time!

I immediately am purchasing the special edition from the author because I just could not put this book down.

I read a title from this author’s backlist a few years ago and was excited to see she’s releasing a new series. The fact that it’s a heist story made it even more appealing.

Talk about lack of trust. Each of these characters has valid reasons for not placing theirs in just anyone after being betrayed in various ways. They’ve also suffered incredible losses – Anwei her parents and twin brother, Knox his sister and best friend, Lia her family when she was ripped away from them, and Mateo his parents and possibly his life if he doesn’t find a cure for the wasting disease. I liked each of these characters and quickly grew to care about them. Mateo also injected some humor into his scenes that I especially enjoyed. Anwei and Knox have been partners in crime – literally – for a year, and before long all four of their lives become entwined. Stories that bring together a group of misfits are among my favorites, and this one also offered a couple of sly, crafty supporting characters who add to the plot.

Romance wise I was skeptical when it became evident these four would be paired off into relationships, but both are vastly different. Two of them have harbored slow burn feelings for quite a while, but the other two are in a quasi-kind of fake courtship that results in some light-hearted, comedic moments. They each work well within the scope of the story.

World-building is a big thing for me and this being a fantasy, it’s incredibly important to the plot. It’s clear the author developed a complex world with some original elements, but I never felt like I had a good grasp on it. Looking at other reviews, this wasn’t mentioned so it could have just been me being distracted at the wrong times. The pacing is a bit slow for my taste, but like a carrot on a stick, hints were dangled throughout to keep me going. I admit to being thunderstruck over the twists at the end – a perfect setup for the sequel.

With hints of Indiana Jones, a dangerous heist, and easy to love characters, this novel is sure to appeal to fantasy fans. I’ll be watching for the sequel.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

See this review and more at my blog, The Scribe Owl!

Thank you to NetGalley and Margaret K. McElderry Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5/5 stars

She Who Rides the Storm is an incredibly engrossing high fantasy. I was a little bit nervous for this 600-pager, but it managed to stay interesting the whole time!

Our core cast was a good size, with four POVs and intertwining storylines. They were all unique, and I loved the way the all connected to each other in some way.

When you have a book that's this long, it has to be a little slow-burn. I definitely don't mind, I love that! But it does it so well that it never feels slow. You're always moving, always getting to the next plot point if you aren't there already.

The only thing that annoyed me about this book was the mid-chapter POV switching. Sometimes it took me a while to figure out who was talking! Maybe it's just the formatting of my ARC, but there wasn't even a page break or anything to mark it.

All in all, this was a great book! I enjoyed it more than I expected to, and I would highly recommend it.

Anwei only wants one thing: revenge. Revenge for the death of her brother. Unfortunately for her, she only has a single clue as to whom it could have been: just a strange smell left behind when she found the remains of her twin. Knox has also suffered the death of a sibling, but in his case, his sister’s soul got stuck in a sword, while the goddess he follows got stuck in his head. The goddess promised to help his sister, and led him to Anwei. Together, they’re supposed to be safer. But how safe can one be when the entire world seems to be hunting you? And when both Anwei and Knox relentlessly hunt for their own answers?

I received an advanced reading copy of She Who Rides the Storm in exchange for an honest review.

She Who Rides the Storm is a young adult fantasy novel by Caitlin Sangster. It’s one of those fantasy novels that spends a lot of time developing the setting, and because of that, the world really comes to life.

The world of She Who Rides the Storm is one of two different people. You have those who follow Calsta, who are honored and considered to be the best warriors. And then you have the followers of the nameless god, who are hunted by the followers of Calsta due to fear that they will someday become like the shapeshifter kings of old, cruel and murderous. Our characters mirror these two peoples, and it’s a clever strategy to put two people who have similar histories and goals on two completely different sides.

And while I only really mentioned two characters in the blog post intro, the novel is actually told through the third-person POV of four characters, not two. This POV swaps between them frequently, sometimes mid-chapter, and I have to admit sometimes I wondered whose POV I was in. Still, it often didn’t matter, and I was able to stay interested in the story as it went on.

In fact, this was one story that surprised me on multiple occasions. Often, I can sort of tell where the story is going, or what the twist is going to be. This novel kept me guessing until the very end. Or, maybe not guessing, but definitely assuming wrong for most of the time. Now that I look back, I can see all those baby hints that the author dropped, along with the much more obvious ones. It’s just so perfect.

She Who Rides the Storm was an exciting novel with a fun cast of characters, deep world history/lore, and a great tomb heist that somehow brings them all together. I know I’ll be picking up the sequel once I find it. Oh yeah, there’s an open end here, so I better see a sequel at some point! Maybe I’ll get lucky enough to get an ARC of that too.

She Who Rides the Storm will be released on September 21. You can preorder your copy from Margaret K. McElderberry books here.

This book had quite a lot going on in it; so much so that the plot was very disjointed and hard to get into. I will have to wait until the book comes out in finished form to see if it gets better.

Thanks so much Netgalley for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

DNF at 67%. The plot was super interesting and I think it was a great idea, but I could not connect at all with the characters, and I rarely feel as though it's this hard to get into a book. While I think this is a book that many people will enjoy, it felt like it required all my brain space to understand the world building, and I couldn't provide that. :( I feel like this is one of those 'It's not you it's me' books, so if you are someone willing to do a deep dive into a new world, maybe give it a shot?

3.5 STARS

The immersive and dark fantasy that features incredible worldbuilding and compelling characters that did not quite hit the mark for me, SHE WHO RIDES THE STORM is a book that is sure to captivate readers. This novel is a tale of revenge, power, and political intrigue that offers a unique magic system that would appeal to fans of detailed high fantasy stories.

SHE WHO RIDES THE STORM is a young adult high fantasy novel by Caitlin Sangster. It features four main characters who are swept into a perilous heist in the tomb of a powerful shapeshifter. They all want to steal a cursed sword, all with different motives, and all with complex backstories.

CHARACTERS:
I enjoyed the characters in SHE WHO RIDES THE STORM. There are 4 main point of views, an each are equally entertaining to read about. Anwei is a Basist who is out for revenge for her twin. Knox is a runaway Devoted who has a dangerous secret regarding his sister's soul. Lia is determined to escape from her Devoted life. Mateo is a snotty archeologist who is suffering from a disease. All have fairly interesting stories and were fun to read about, but I couldn't quite connect with any of them the way I wanted to. My favorite was definitely Mateo, but they were all great characters.

WORLDBUILDING:
The worldbuilding is SHE WHO RIDES THE STORM is simply spectacular. It is lush and magical and well fleshed out. I was definitely a little confused at the start. There wasn't any info-dumping, but it still felt like a bunch of terms were being thrown at me from the start. I thought that the magic system was very cool and helped sell the story for me. I loved the whole vibes of the setting from the beginning and it was very well done.

PLOT:
Unfortunately, the plot is where SHE WHO RIDES THE STORM falls a bit short for me. This book is pitched as having a high-stakes heist that can be compared to SIX OF CROWS. However, I felt like the heist element in the story was rather unimportant until a good chunk of the book in. The first 30% of the book felt like it dragged on. I could barely force myself to keep reading and considered DNF-ing the book multiple times. I'm glad I stuck out with it, but the beginning did not draw me in like I expected it to.

VERDICT:
I would definitely recommend this book, although it was not my cup of tea. If you are a lover of intricate and immersive worldbuilding, this book would definitely appeal to you. If you love character driven stories, this book would appeal to you. But if you are looking for a heist story, you might be left underwhelmed.

This is the first time I've heard of Caitlin Sangster, I hope to see more titles from her! I hope when this book is published, more people in the general audience will come to know this author! She Who Rides the Storm has fantastic world building and fantasy elements, it's a very lengthy book which I normally don't mind as long as there are reasons for long pages. Every word is needed for the readers to be immersed into this world!

Caitlin Sangster just went from unknown to auto-buy author for me. It's been a while since I discovered a new fantasy series this rich and immersive, I was swept away from start to finish...of all 600 pages. This one really blew all my expectations, and I can't believe I haven't heard more about it. Plenty of mystery and intrigue makes this a twisty AND deeply felt delight. And there are a couple of major surprises waiting for you at the end that will have you reflecting back on all you've read and everything you thought you knew. **Thank you to Netgalley and Margaret K. McElderry Books for my eARC in exchange for an honest review**

The Lowdown: Touted as a heist fantasy, I found it to be less Six of Crows (I realize this is everyone's current benchmark for YA Heist Fantasy) and more Mistborn. The world building and fantasy and magical elements far outweigh the actual heist element (which is more Indiana Jones than Six of Crows). It's not that there isn't a major heist aspect to the plot its just that there is so much more!
It's rare that I read a book with essentially 4 main characters and end up liking them all pretty equally. They are a diverse group and should appeal to male and female readers equally (they also represent a good racial mix, along with some of the supporting cast I got a meso american, eastern indian, asian, irish and african vibes). I also appreciated the meso-american shapeshifter vibes vs the more common eastern european (werewolves) ones.

We've got Anwei who wants revenge for her murdered twin, she's a Basist (those blessed by the nameless God, one eradicated from history and blamed for the creation of the "evil" shapeshifters) and her thieving partner Knox, a runaway Devoted (those blessed by the Goddess Calsta and in service to the Warlord) who's hiding the fact that the sword he keeps hidden contains his sisters soul, who grows more desperate to escape her confines every day.
Then there's Lia another devoted, a Spiritist (blessed with the most powerful gifts from Calsta) determined to seek her freedom away from her fate at the hands of the Warlord. Originally she's in the city in order to hunt down Knox (who was her best friend before his escape) for the Warlord, but circumstances force her to flee her life as a Devoted. Then we have Mateo, a spoiled young archeologist on his death bed, who I was pretty sure I was going to hate but ended up loving (inspite of the fact that he never really changed ie he never suddenly became a skilled fighter or anything, but instead used his weaknesses to his advantage and fought against them as best he could). His self deprecation and sarcasm made him a witty addition to the story.

Now introduce a tomb of a once powerful and evil shapeshifter being excavated, three different groups all with different motives trying to infiltrate the dig, a mysterious magical "Wasting" disease infecting the devoted. along with another possibly magical or poisonous plague infecting everyday people, a strong supporting cast of complex characters throwing wrenches in the plot, a restless and possibly cursed ghost, a Goddess speaking to people in their heads, plenty of political intrigue and mysteries buried within mysteries, great action, betrayal, sabotage, unique and unusual magic and magical systems, and lots of secrets...secret identities and secret powers....and you've got a good idea of the tip of this iceberg.

My one bone of contention: Hear me Publishers!! Put a MAP IN IT!!! Sorry its a pet peeve of mine. Fantasy should have maps in them, those no reason not to have one, and it adds so much to the world to have it.

Highly recommend. Perfect for those who love detailed full blown unique fantasy, and fans of series like Sanderson's Mistborn, VE Schwabs A Darker Shade of Magic, Maas' Throne of Glass,and Danielle Jensen's Dark Shores,

I was really looking forward to picking this one up once being approved. The cover is stunning and the blurb is intriguing and has a lot of keywords that I tend to gravitate towards. There were a few problems I had with this book and although it was still a good book, I don’t know if I would continue on to the sequel. (P.S. I didn’t actually know this would be a duology until after I finished this book.)

The book is told through multiple perspectives: Anwei, Knox, Lia, and Mateo. Each of these characters have had a different life whether it’s because of their upbringing or the jobs they now do. I did like learning about their pasts and what their motives are. I did have a couple I liked more than the others. Their development wasn’t bad but I also thought I would get more from them as well since I feel like I don’t actually know them all that well. There was a bit of a disconnect because of it.

There are other characters that play into the plot but again, I was expecting more from them. The blurb talks about a Warlord but I honestly could only tell you a few specifics about them. As something that is brought up in the blurb I would assume that they would have a bigger role but they didn’t and they also had very little page time and it was also towards the end of the book. Another character comes to mind that I also found myself curious about but again it just felt like there was nothing for them until the end when a plot twist is revealed and then you realize, “Oh” and slap your forehead, haha.

The world-building was kind of hit or miss for me. I liked the idea of the goddess Calsta and the abilities that she bestows on the Devoted but it was just lacking as nothing was explained that well. I don’t know why they have Devoted connected to her or why they even worship her in a way. I don’t even get her big connection with Knox. This could also be said for the plot as well. A lot of different plot points pop up due to their being multiple perspectives but it leaves room for less information and more questions than answers. It is also a pretty long book and so there was room for more but I never got it. I think the book could have also been shortened a bit because some of the things just felt irrelevant to the rest of the plot. There was definitely mystery when it came to the plot and that’s what kept me going for this one.

When it comes to pacing the first half of the book felt a bit slower than the last half. A lot is packed into the last 20% and that is also where most of the shapeshifting talk and being in the crypt actually happens. I feel like the blurb is a bit misleading since it makes it seem like the whole book is high-intensity and deals a lot more with the crypt and shapeshifters than it actually does. I am sure there will be more to do with the shapeshifters in the sequel because of the ending but it would have been nice to know more about them in this one.

Overall, it was a decent book and hopefully the sequel will do much better with giving more information.