Unfortunately, despite trying to get into this book multiple times over several months I just couldn't click with it--I think this is one of those "it's not you, it's me" situations, as I loved the premise and was intrigued by the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

I’ve never had the pleasure of diving into a Filipino-inspired fantasy before, and I couldn't be more thrilled that this was my first. As a fan of fierce, rage-driven female protagonists, this book did not disappoint! The character's intensity and determination truly hooked me. While the magic system took some time to fully grasp, I found myself just going with the flow—and eventually, everything started to click into place. Now, I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment

Thanks to Titan Books for the gifted copy!

I absolutely love reading fantasy inspired by other cultures, so this Filipino-inspired debut was so up my alley! I was also obviously super intrigued by a stormcalling bisexual nun who controls the weather with her hair. What a super unique magic system! My favorite part of this book was learning the Filipino culture. The fantasy plot in general was a little slow for my liking. TBD on if I'll continue to book two, but I did appreciate reading this!

In this an enthralling Filipino-inspired epic fantasy, a nun concealing a goddess-given gift is unwillingly transformed into a lightning rod for her people's struggle against colonization. For fans of R.F. Kuang, Tasha Suri, and The Hurricane War .

Absolutely perfect! I loved it so much and can't wait for the next book in the series!

Gabriella Buba masterfully captured an imaginative fantasy world, weaving an incredible story around well-rounded characters. For some reason it is labelled as Book 2 in the series on Amazon, but this is the one you're starting with if you're reading this review after Flood & Fury comes out.

The pacing is a bit slow in the early chapters as the author builds up the characters and world, so I'm hopefully we'll see a bit better pacing in the sequel.

Thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for this copy in exchange for my review.

To start with this book does handle some pretty heavy subjects like racism, religious trauma, and SA so forewarning with that when you go in. This isn't a knock against the book at all, just more of a heads up. But considering Buba took inspiration from the colonized Phillipines, there is no surprise to the heavy nature.
The characters and their relationships with not only one another, but the world around them and the gods is complex.
This was an overall really amazing read. I loved the world building and the inspiration taken from Filipino culture. It was a nice, fresh change of pace.

4 out of 5 stars.

In Saints of Storm and Sorrow, readers are immersed in a dark, Filipino-inspired fantasy that follows Lunurin, a bisexual nun hiding the dangerous gift of stormcalling. To the world, she appears to be a loyal servant of the colonizing forces, but in truth, she is secretly chosen by the goddess of the very heretics she’s supposed to oppose. Her double life is thrown into chaos when a devastating discovery forces her to turn to the goddess for help, setting off a chain of events that puts everything—and everyone—she holds dear in danger.

This novel takes readers on an intense, emotional journey through a lushly-detailed world deeply influenced by Filipino culture. It delves into weighty themes like colonialism, racial tension, religious trauma, childhood abuse, and toxic relationships, creating a haunting and often distressing narrative. The magic system is more flexible and less defined by rigid rules, which allows for creative use of Lunurin’s abilities, though some readers may wish for more structure to fully grasp its mechanics.

Lunurin is a deeply layered protagonist, and her relationships throughout the story add richness to the narrative, though they are often fraught with pain and complexity. The romantic subplot, particularly her sapphic love interest, brought a mix of emotions—while the bisexual representation is appreciated, the direction of the romance left some questions. Alon, another key character, is equally compelling; despite his fears and moments of uncertainty, he eventually grows into a figure who wins over both Lunurin and the reader, though their bond remains complicated.

What truly stands out is the world-building and the lore surrounding the deities and their tempestuous connections to their priestesses. The novel pulses with raw emotion, particularly anger and grief, making the story resonate deeply. However, certain plot points can feel repetitive, and the pacing may have benefitted from a tighter narrative focus.

Despite its intricacies, Saints of Storm and Sorrow offers a gripping, mythological tale of magic and rebellion, woven with personal struggles against oppression. It’s a story that lingers long after it’s finished, offering both a beautiful and harrowing experience.

3.5/4 stars
"daughter, won't you drown them for me?"

a queer filo debut had to go straight (gay) on my tbr-list. I put all my other books out of the way to start reading this.

two points made me really happy: 1. there are only two POVs, which makes it less confusing. 2. bisexual rep!

I had the hardest time getting into the world system and, honestly, I am not sure if I get it now... magic? storms? water-healing?

although the magic/world was puzzling, the way the author handled the pages about (view spoiler) had me take my time reading. it is not an easy subject to write about and the way all is explained in the book.

do read the trigger warnings before this book.

So this is an interesting book for me to review. I thought it was decent although I found it a bit of a struggle to get through at times. However, after finishing the book I learned that a lot of the book was inspired by real historical records of magic wielding people facing off against the church and the conquerors that came to the Philippines. If I had known that it was more of a historical fiction with fantasy elements I think I would have come to appreciate it more. That being said reading it as a fantasy was a little disappointing which is why I gave the book three stars. Thank you for netgalley for providing an eARC, this did not influence my review.

This was a very compelling story with real depth to the relationships between characters and to the themes of faith and loyalty. The worldbuilding was fantastic, the magic of the gods was very cool and reading about the way that Lunurin's culture had been colonized and her internal struggles between her community and her goddess and the life she'd built for herself was great.

This is a Filipino-inspired fantasy debut that tells the tale of Lunurin, a bisexual nun with a hidden stormcaller gift. Lunurin is both a seemingly-devoted servant to the colonizers and a chosen daughter of the heretics' goddess. Her secret is upended when a horrific discovery forces her to seek help from the goddess, leading to a series of events that put everyone she loves in peril.

This book is a dark and immersive journey through a richly-detailed world influenced by Filipino culture. The story tackles heavy themes such as colonialism, racism, religious trauma, child r @ p e and pregnancy, and kind of distressingly toxic relationships, so PLEASE make sure you are in the right space for this. The magic system is a pretty soft system without lots of rules but I LOVED that it could be used in unique ways, though it would have benefitted from more defined rules to enhance understanding.

Our main character is a complex protagonist and although her relationships add depth to the story, they are also ... difficult. The romantic elements, especially the sapphic relationship, left me with mixed feelings. While I appreciated the bisexual representation, I was disappointed by the direction the sapphic romance took. Alon, on the other hand, was a compelling character, despite his fear and uncertainty at times. He eventually won me over, though their relationship was confusing at times.

The world-building and lore are standout aspects, with fascinating deities and the intense, tumultuous relationships they have with their priestess'. The story is filled with rage and emotion, which resonates powerfully throughout. However, some story beats felt repetitive, and the narrative could have been more streamlined in parts.

Overall, Saints of Storm and Sorrow is a compelling read that offers a unique blend of mythology, magic, and a deeply personal struggle against oppression. It’s a story that demands attention and leaves a lasting impression, despite some of its complexities and challenges.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy. This review is honest and voluntary. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, this just didn't engage me. I didn't understand the magic system, and I struggled to understand whether this was YA or Adult, because it read very young at times, but at other times it was very much an Adult book, and it was very jarring. I liked the foundations of the book, set in Filipino-inspired mythology and with themes of colonialism, I quite liked the two main characters and the kind of marriage of convenience they're involved in, but I didn't feel invested in the relationship or the plot.

I found this book extremely confusing. I didn't quite grasp what was going on with the world building since the beginning. I felt that I justr dropped in the middle of the action and sometimes there would be these nonsensical info dumps.

The plot also didn't make a lot of sense in my mind with the whole fake marriage that wasn't really fake.

I was just really confused.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

Bisexual nun with hidden powers in a Filipino inspired fantasy novel? Sounds good, right? And reading "Saint of Storm and Sorrow" was a lot of fun, but a lot of things also annoyed me. I could understand why our protagonist hid her powers and tried to lead a normal life away from goddesses using her, but I did not understand why she was and kept being in love with her fellow nun who was a walking red flag. I feel like the w/w romance in this one was horrible and I was glad when our protagonist realised that the sexy dude who had had a crush on her for years and years was also an option. The balance between story, world building but also normal story and horrible violence did not work out for me. The magical abortion scene for a child that had been raped by a member of the church is also something I wish I could unread. Honestly...what??? And our nun got her powers...she should just kill them all...but nah.

Ach, I don't know. I also disliked the ending. So much unused potential...oh well.

I absolutely fell in love with this book from the very beginning. It's fresh and new. Sapphic nuns, angry gods, crisis of faith, slow burn golden retriever romance all wrapped up in one package. This book took me on a emotional roller coaster and had so many relatable subplots. There were characters i fell in love with immediately, others I immediately despised and a few I thought I'd love but irked me by the end of the book haha I cannot wait for the next book in this series. It's been a long time since I've anticipated a new book in a series this much. I hope the author releases the next book as soon as possible!!

Unfortunately I had to DNF this. The world building was not good even though the premise sounded promising. Maybe it was not my cup of tea.

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

I still don't know how I feel about this story.
At first I didn't understand anything, it was very difficult to get involved with the story, I was confused by the book but as I found myself in the story I started to like it a little more, I think this is a book that could have been simplified, I often thought that the author just couldn't explain the events and the world itself properly so I was quite lost.
It's not a bad book, just confusing, even when I understood the main plot and what the author wanted to convey and say, sometimes it would get confusing again.
I think there was a lack of explanation of the world and mythology, a lot of things were just thrown in and we as readers have to understand it through the context what does that mean.
I don't know that if because English is not my first language somehow affected my understanding of this book, I'm used to reading fantasy books with unfamiliar terms but they are usually explained, here I felt there was a lack of explanation, during the story I only understood a few things and I accepted that it would be that way.
The plot of the story itself captivated me a lot, I liked the allegories, metaphors and analogies that the author brought to the story, and also the discussion about religion and colonization that the story has.
It's a book that if it had been a little better worked on the creation of the world and mythology it would have been 5 stars, because even the characters I liked, I'm a little sad that I didn't like the story more and I don't know if I recommend this book to everyone, I think it's a book I recommend for anyone who wants to read a fantasy where the characters and plot are good but the world and mythology are not, so if you don't care about poor world building this book could be for you.

This was an amazing fantasy debut from Gabriella Buba! Absolutely phenomenal. There's so much to gush about in this book. Taking inspiration from Filipino culture and history, specifically under Spanish colonial rule, I absolutely adored the worldbuilding here. It's so rich and immersive and all-encompassing, especially the magic system and how religion intertwines with it. It's clear that the author has done so much work on this and paid so much attention to even minor details to make them come back to life. The plot is super engaging, I never felt like I wasn't interested in turning the page to see what comes next. There's so much action, but also with a vivid and steady emotional centre so it doesn't feel like all moving plot and nothing else. I also really loved Lunurin as a protagonist and her entire characterisation with so much burden on her shoulder, and the external and internal cages preventing her from acting out for so long until she's able to find some agency for herself. Love a powerful bi woman! I feel like there's so much here that I need a reread and a notebook beside me just to keep track of all of the little details that I'm sure fit into a much bigger piece. If you're looking for a diverse, zealous, powerful fantasy read, this is the one for you!

A friend told me about this book and after reading the premise I looked forward to exploring this world's fantasy take of a 16th century Philippines under Spanish colonial rule. The magic system was also something that seemed to have great potential and I started reading the moment I got my hands on an ARC. Unfortunately, it's been a chore trying to get through this book. It got to a point where I had to force myself to read one chapter at a time, followed by timed reading sprints just to get more reading done… which leads me to dnfing the book at chapter 11. It's a soft dnf though! Because I want to give this story another try on a later date. It’s so strange because I didn’t hate what I was reading. In fact, once I could get past the teen pregnancy and abortion scenes, the book started to really pick up for me. With that being said, a content warning would have been nice for what I just read. I suppose I could have assumed a book set in this time period would have said subject matter but I walked into it blind and my discomfort had permeated the scenes that come after. I soon realized that I was reading without absorbing any new information which then led to me having to reread a lot. I was just not having the best time.

There was something about the writing style and pacing that made the story feel so inaccessible to me. I don’t mind looking up terms and historical context in order to understand what I’m reading but I also think that this book could have gone through a few more rounds of editing for clarity’s sake. There were far too many sentences I had to reread, reread out loud, and even showed to others to see if I was the one who couldn’t understand. But they also confirmed my thoughts.

I want to buy a physical copy now so I can interact more closely with the text with my notes in the margins and sticky notes. It just seems like the kind of book I need to do that with as to get the most out of my reading experience… so there's that going for it. I feel like there are other reviews that sum up the pros and cons in a more useful and informative manner than I can in this review. Maybe upon my reread, I will return with a more compelling commentary.

4.25/5

I was immediately obsessed with this cover and description and for a debut book, it really didn’t disappoint!

This Filipino-inspired fantasy was an action-packed read from start to finish. If you love morally grey characters, especially women, this is definitely one to add to your TBR. I’m not sure how I felt about the dual POVs, but I thought all of the characters were very complex and well thought out. The magic system was very interesting and unique and was definitely one of my favorite parts. I also loved that the MC was bisexual and it was actually explored/discussed a lot in the book!

Overall, I recommend to anyone who loves angry women and LGBTQ+ fantasy full of action, adventure, and elemental powers!