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!

As someone with religious trauma this was difficult to read but I love when we turn abusive systems on their head. The bi panic love triangle, marriage of convenience, and coming into her power were what I was most excited for. It was really well written and I would recommend to anyone who thinks it sounds good.

We could always use more of queer, especially bisexual, bipoc books.
I liked reading this Filipino-inspired queer fantasy. I also liked the theme of anti-colonization. The fantasy elements were intriguing. I especially enjoyed the sapphic goddess couple though they were only mentioned a few times.

The author described this story as ATLA but if the avatar wasn't a pacifist and Lunurin doesn't contradict those words.
Her rage and unhingedness was satisfying to see.

Spoilers ahead.

The thing which wasn't satisfying was the romance. Lunurin hadn't even let go of Cat but here she was extending an arm towards Alon. Lunurin was so inconsistent throughout the romance. It was disappointing. The romance felt rushed and I believe it would have been better if Lunurin had taken her time with it all.

Some more things I'd like add:
I loved Sina. She was such an enjoyable character.
But you know who wasn't enjoyable? Catalina. Oh, I absolutely hated her.
I'd have loved to see more of Biti and Inez for sure.

To conclude, this was a good read with a beautiful prose, a compelling and gripping story of fighting against colonization starring MCs of colors with interesting fantasy elements.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC.

DNF

Unfortunately I could not get into this, I just kept getting lost and nothing was really gelling together for me

This book was all alright. It was hard to follow at places, and I had to keep going back and referencing my notes as to who was who. The pacing was a bit everywhere, and I didn't feel very engaged or pulled into the story. The author has potential, though, and I'd love to try to read other works by them in the future.

I really enjoyed the setting of this story! Felt well-developed/researched.
Unfortunately I did not feel fully engaged with the story.. Some parts were a bit too dramatic and it felt more YA than adult to me.
I was also a bit confused with the magic system and how it worked. It seemed to me as if we had a system, but it worked differently for the main character?! Or maybe I just misunderstood..

thanks to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for a review!

equal parts politics and romance (give me all the morally gray bi characters PLEASE), all set in this rich world of the spanish/catholic colonization of the philippines. the magic system and gods were intriguing and heartbreaking, seeming to "bless" people with powers that run wild and out of control, further diminished by what seems to be witch hunts by colonial settlers. super interesting power dynamics and character relations. loved it.

Saints of Storm and Sorrow by Gabriella Buba
 
“It’s worth weathering even this storm to stand by your side.”
 
4⭐️
 
🌊Fantasy
⛈️Elemental Magic
🔥Filipino Mythology
🌊Bisexual FMC
⛈️Love Triangle
🔥Vengeful Goddess
🌊Marriage of Convenience
⛈️Colonisation
🔥Cultural Identity
🌊Personal sacrifice
⛈️Dual POV
 
“Lunurin has been living a double life for as long as she can remember. To the world, she is Sister Maria, dutiful nun and devoted servant of Aynila's Codicían colonisers. But behind closed doors, she is a stormcaller, chosen daughter of the Aynilan goddess Anitun Tabu. In hiding, Lunurin does what she can to protect her fellow Aynilans and the small family she has created in the convent.

Lunurin is determined to keep her head down - until one day she makes a devastating discovery, which threatens to tear her family apart.

In desperation, she turns for help to Alon Dakila, heir to Aynila's most powerful family, who has been in love with her for years. But this choice sets in motion a chain of events beyond her control. Torn between the call of Alon's magic and her duty to both her family and her people, Lunurin can no longer keep Anitun Tabu's fury at bay.

The goddess of storms demands vengeance. And she will sweep aside anyone who stands in her way.”
 

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC copy of Gabriella Buba’s great debut fantasy novel. Drawing heavily from Filipino history and mythology, ‘Saints of Storm and Sorrow’ was an original, rich and immersive story that weaves together mythology, magic, and political intrigue.
 
At the start, I found the intricate world building a little hard to follow as you’re given a lot of information very quickly along with a lot of words and terms that I had to google which took me out of the story a little. However, once I’d wrapped my head around it all it made for an original story with a detailed and vivid setting. The start was a little slow for me due to all the intricate information, but then it picked up and became such a page turner – balancing action, magic, loss and love.
 
I really enjoyed the magic system within the book, with the idea of storm callers, tide-touched and fire tenders, who have the ability to draw power from their surroundings with their own goddess that helps protect their people. At times, the limitations to their powers fluctuated making it a little inconsistent, but I enjoyed the use of elemental magic and felt it was weaved throughout the story well. Moments like Lunurin using her powers with DeSoto was incredibly satisfying…
 
The majority of characters had great complexity to them along with great character development, however, there’s one character in particular I found very hard to like from the start and found myself questioning their relationship with the main character. I felt they didn’t have any redeeming qualities from the beginning and came across quite two dimensional. I really enjoyed Lunurin, the FMC and her journey of self-acceptance and strength. Even if she wasn’t a storm caller, she’s a force to be reckoned with.
 
Overall, this debut novel was filled with complex characters and was rich in both culture and folklore, while exploring themes of magic, cultural identity, rebellion and self-acceptance. While the detailed world building may require patience, it gives way to an immersive and original story.

(Also, how gorgeous is this cover!)

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this, and after feeling some disappointment with Hurricane Wars, I kept my expectations for a Filipino fantasy low. But Gabriella Boba DELIVERED!!! This was everything I was looking for, featuring a fierce but complicated FMC fighting colonizers with the power of the gods of old. Not only that, but the world was RICH and blatantly Filipino! No whitewashing done to try and make it palatable for a mass audience. There are Tagalog phrases throughout, the traditional words used for cultural clothing, foods, and more!

This is a rather obvious retelling of Spain's colonization of the Philippines, where Buba offers Filipinos a chance to see a world where they fought back - and won. It is a painful yet hopeful story to experience if you are Filipino. Knowing the amount of lived history that went into this fantasy hurts. It hurts a lot. But getting to experience a world where our history is flipped on its head is also empowering. I'm so grateful Gabriella brought this story into existence!

Thank you to NetGally and Titan for sending me an arc !! This book was so captivating I truly got lost in this filipino inspired world every time I opened it. The magic system was fascinating and the way the characters used it made me keep thinking ‘wow this author is so talented how did they even think of this’. There were some parts where i struggled with it cause English is not my first language but my enjoyment was still very high. I loved the rage in the book, it felt so real and everything that the characters did was deserved and satisfying, i wanted to see them thriving. I loved Alon and thought he was perfect for Lunurin ( who i also loved) they complemented each other so well, don’t get me started on Catalina tho ….

A Saints of Storm and Sorrow is in its first official week on the shelves! This Filipino-inspired new adult fantasy book is a perfect book that sends an amazing fuck you to the Spanish settlers that erased the indigenous Filipino identity in the name of Christianity.

Check CWs/TWs before reading: Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Abortion, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Rape, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Colonization, Pregnancy, and Homophobia

The characterization in this book was done well, especially in the manner of how religion can be so destructive to its followers. It was reflective of the accounts from the Spanish colonial times, specifically since the Catholic church was established in the 1600s and Animism was eradicated for “witchcraft”. This book discusses toxic faith, which is a trait that remains prevalent in the Philippines and has significantly halted societal progression. The writer was trying to show the difference between a hurtful, manipulative relationship and a reassuring, safe one and gives readers, especially queers, a chance to both relate to it and form their own judgement. Moreover, it gives insight to how my country would’ve looked like without white colonizers and if indigenous culture was sustained.

I would’ve truly loved this if the pacing wasn’t messy, if not a bit all over the place. So much was happening, and at the same time, nothing. The lack of direction in the storytelling eventually lessened its appeal. There were highs and lows, which should’ve made this book exciting, but it fell flat to me. However, I would still recommend it because there are enjoyable parts and is overall very informative, centering on the dynamics of the church and state.

In the past ten years, Lunurin has seen the colonization of her island, the destruction of her culture, and the murder of her people by the Codicíans. She has watched as their healers, gifted with powers, were whipped to death by the Christian church. Her people have been sold into slavery, forced into work camps, forbidden their own religion, and forced to convert. Even now, the Codicían Governor lives in the Palisades, a walled city that stands where her people once celebrated and prayed to their goddesses. And through it all, Lunurin keeps her head bowed and her hair bound.

As the child of a shipwrecked Codicían priest and her Anyilan mother, Lunurin holds a special place. On the one hand, she is a Stormbringer, sworn to the goddess Anitun Tabu, goddess of vengeance; on the other, she is the unacknowledged daughter of a man about to be named Archbishop of the Codicían holdings in the east. She is granted respect and a modicum of safety; she has even found a bright light in all of this darkness: Cat, her lover, and Inez, Cat’s sister and the sister of Lunurin’s heart. With them she is happy.

When Inez is hurt, Lunurin’s thoughts are filled with vengeance and, as if summoned, Anitun Tabu’s voice returns to Lunurin’s thoughts. Anitun Tabu is a goddess of vengeance and storm, and she is angry. Her statue has been taken and locked away in the Christian church, and her people now make offerings to it in the name of Santa Maria of the Drowned, lessening her powers, causing her people to forget her name. But Anitun Tabu has not forgotten her people.

When Lunurin is possessed by her goddess, her childhood friend Alon saves her. He claims she was only drunk, that all of this was only an act to break free of the church so that she could be married to him; he says they have been promised to one another for years. Cat supports Alon’s story, and so Lunurin is married. Alon is the only voice that quiets Anitun Tabu. His strength keeps her magic calm, and his love for her is as boundless as the sea. But Anintun Tabu is angry, and she will have her vengeance.

This is a book that deals with dark subject matter … and I love it with my entire heart. There are trigger warnings for religious abuse, child pregnancy, abortion, toxic relationships, and torture. While these elements are present in the book, they are not the focus; the focus is love. About learning to love yourself, which — when you have been warped and twisted to hate everything you are — can seem almost impossible. It’s about the love and support of community, the grief of loss, and the balance between vengeance and justice. It’s about finding someone who loves you for who you are, not who they want you to be.

This book is a fictionalized — fantasy? — retelling of the Spanish conquest and colonization of the Philippine Islands and the forced conversion of its people to Christianity. Lunurian, for all that she is living in a convent, is not Christian. She does not believe in the Christian god; how can she when she hears the voice of her sworn goddess in her darkest thoughts? But to save herself, she hides her power. She keeps her hair tightly bound, her head bowed, and holds onto Cat with all of her strength. Having lost her mother, her aunts, and her family, Cat is all Lunurian has left. Cat is her guiding light, and Lunurin does her best to please Cat, to keep her happy, even while she lies to her.

Cat believes. Cat is pious. She wants to be a nun, even while she sins with her relationship with Lunurian. And Cat doesn’t like it when Lunurin acts against the Abbot, protecting the servants and Aynilan children forced to live at the school. Lunurin works hand in hand with Alon in an effort to mitigate the damage the Codicíans are doing to their people, while Cat would prefer they not.

Cat has taught Lunurin to distrust herself, taught her that she wasn’t worth of love — that she is dangerous, rebellious, lying and sneaking and never good enough, never pious enough, never pure enough for Cat. Because of this Lunurin is always apologizing, always in the wrong, always the one who must prove herself and her love. Cat wants to see Lunurin bow her head, to be less than she is … because when she is small, and hurting, and afraid she turns to Cat for comfort, for protection and strength. Cat emotionally manipulates and twists and berates Lunurin; in sex she is violent, leaving scars and wounds and blood behind. Cat is selfish, cruel, and afraid, and with her, Lunurin holds herself back, afraid to be herself, afraid to be truly seen and judged by Cat, and found wanting. And all of this feeds into Anitun Tabu; all of this darkness and rage, all of this fear and guilt. Lunurin doesn’t want to call the storm, afraid of killing more than just the Codicían, of killing her own people. She is constantly afraid … until there is Alon.

Alon is his father’s scapegoat, bearing all the emotional weight of his father’s unhappiness, hatred, and crippled pride as the token native lord under the thumb of colonizer conquistadors and priests who stripped away his culture and whipped his wife near to death for witchcraft. Alon lives his life walking on eggshells, doing his best to keep his father happy, the governor happy, everyone happy while working himself to exhaustion and — in his spare time — trying to save his people, to help witches escape, or servants, or girls who need to get away from their rapist masters. And yet, even living like this, Alon’s determined to keep his rose colored glasses on in order to keep his own sanity, hoping that diplomacy and patience will win out, that his father will see sense, that by playing by the rules no one will get hurt, even as he has to acknowledge, however unwillingly, that the Codicíans keep changing the rules to suit themselves, lying and cheating and happily ignoring what they promised only a day ago.

And Alon loves Lunurin, has always loved her. He hates himself for having forced her into this marriage, for having taken liberties by cutting her hair and making a mock of her to the Abbot and the Governor. When she turns to him for comfort, he gives it, and knowing that she loves only Cat, he refuses to put pressure on her. He is trying so hard to be what everyone else needs that he doesn’t see his own pain; Lunurin does, though. She sees his rage and his anger, his sorrow and heartache, and when he is brought to his knees by it, she is there to shelter him, to comfort him, and to simply be with him.

Cat is an excellent foil for Alon; one takes, one gives. One would have Lunurin throw away her goddess for a Christian god, while the other would accept her regardless of her faith. One hurts, one heals; one listens, one lectures. And yet I never doubted Cat’s love. It’s a twisted love, a broken love, a codependent love as Cat, without Lunurin at her side, has no one. She chases people away and is shocked when she finds herself alone. She loves with the ease of someone who knows they are loved, while Alon loves with pain of someone who thinks they will never be good enough. Cat wants Lunurin to look at her; Alon wants to look at Lunurin.

And then there’s the story. I’ll touch on it only briefly because I’ve waxed on too long already, but you don’t understand how much I love this book. Anitun Tabu is a force of nature; there are three goddesses in this world, three magics. A goddess of the sea and healing, a goddess of fire and the volcano, and Anitun Tabu. When Lunurin argues with her goddess about how she doesn’t want to be the cause of death, her goddess points out that this isn’t just about Lunurin and what she wants. This is about everyone. Her people are dying; they are raped and tortured, murdered and locked into slavery ,and they and their souls call out for vengeance. The storm Lunurin is to summon isn’t for Lunurin’s pain, it’s for Aynila.

The reluctant hero is an ancient trope, and Lunurin’s desire to not cause death and destruction is a good one. But she’s lived a safe life, protected by the church. She has been hurt, she has suffered, but hers is not the only voice Anitun Tabu hears. It’s a glorious moment. And the climax of the book where so much happens is wonderful and cathartic. Everything comes together so well, all of the elements that were sprinkled into the story.

The writing is beautiful and elegant, never overwritten. The pacing is perfect. I didn’t notice the time at all while reading, never felt like one moment lingered to long or that a scene went by too fast. The romances — both of them, the toxic and the healthy — feel so real. Lunurin is a character that it is easy to empathize with. She’s scared, she’s angry, she’s kind and loving, and in her rage she is everything. The world building, the magic… everything is perfection.

For me, this is a six-star book, one of those books that you read at just the right time, that has just the right characters, just the right arcs, just the right emotions and elements that resonate with every part of you. You will see this book again in my year end wrap up where I will beg you — as I am begging you now — to read this book. This is the author’s debut book and I cannot wait to see what more they write in the future.

I read that this was a Filipino-inspired queer fantasy and I was immediately sold. Lunurin, our main character, is the chosen vessel/daughter of the storm goddess. But she must hide such power and suppress the vengeful tendencies of her goddess in order to protect herself.

*Saints* is an ambitious debut. I loved the rage and grief and the anti-colonial sentiments woven into the story. It’s meticulously researched and it’s unapologetically Filipino. The casual use of Filipino terms as well as the several references to our history and mythology and indigenous culture set further context into the story. I must admit, however, that this made the book easier for me to read, but I understand how this might be difficult for others to understand.

There were, however, a few things I had qualms with. First was the romance between Lunurin and Catalina. I don’t understand their romance—how Lunurin was so in love with Cat (and how Cat returned such affection), but Catalina refuses to acknowledge Lunurin’s roots and culture and constantly rebukes it. I feel like it might be framed as toxic sapphics, but in our culture, this feels more like *gugmang giatay*. Catalina is an interesting character, though; it’d be interesting to see her development.

Second was the pacing. The first 30% or so was captivating and fast-paced, but the plot and direction petered out during the middle. The last 25% was action-packed, though, but after the lackluster middle portion and buildup, the climax didn’t seem like much anymore. The plot and worldbuilding could have been better solidified.

Overall, *Saints* has potential. It’s heavy on politics, history, religion, elements and experiences with colonization. It’s still a fantastical homage to the Filipino culture and mythology.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for the ARC! :>

This book is an out and proud bisexual of a book. I loved how it showed strong relationships between both two females and a female and a male. Though I felt that the love triangle between them didn’t quite work, as it was late into the book before I saw the relationship between Lunurin and Alon as anything but one sided. I still appreciate the effort though and if it had worked, it would have been fantastic.

I also appreciate that the author showed a toxic relationship between Cat and Lunurin. It was good to see the back and forth between the two of them and how they really loved each other but were being pushed apart by Cat’s faith in the church and Lunurin’s role in the coming struggles.

I loved how the basic of this story was goddess is angry about colonialism and wants to tear the world down around the invaders. I loved how Lunurin could summon storms with anger and just the pure rage of it all. I think this was a really strong plot.

Overall, if the romance had been better, I would have marked it higher, but it was still good.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of Saints of Storm and Sorrow.

On paper, this book was everything I wanted! Neat magic system, bi MC, fighting puritanical religious systems. I love all of that!

Unfortunately this book ended up being just fine. I really struggled to find my footing in the story because there was so much going on with a lot of new terminology being thrown around. And I’m used to fantasy books where I’m trusting the process for the first quarter before it all clicks. I never quite understood how the magic works, and I’m not sure if that is because it was relying on a cultural understanding that I lacked or if it was underdeveloped fantasy worldbuilding. But at every turn I found myself having to reevaluate how the magic was working and that made it harder to get sucked into the story.

I’m glad I read it even though I didn’t end up loving it!

Saints of Storm and Sorrow by Gabriella Buba is a Filipino-inspired fantasy featuring a bisexual not-quite nun named Lunurin, who has been gifted by the goddesses as a stormcaller. Lunurin leads a double life as she struggles with her powers, for she is filled with her goddess’s rage her thirst for vengeance against the colonialism of her people— all of which must remain hidden as she does what she feels she must to protect the little family she’s built within the church, comprised of her lover, Catalina, and Catalina’s sister, Inez. As secrets unfold and events unravel, Lunurin finds herself in a marriage of convenience with her childhood friend, Alon, who has been in love with her for years. This book tackles anger, grief, healing, the impact of colonialism, and the deconstruction of faith within a compelling story involving the tide-touched people of Aynila.

While the writing did take a little time for me to get used to (because as much as fantasy is one of my favorite genres, I’ve had a little bit of a hard time consuming new worlds since covid), I found myself constantly thinking about this book as I was going about my daily life, pickling on how the book’s colonialists, the Codicians, impacted the book’s indigenous peoples, and relating to the far reaching impact of the Spanish colonialism on the Filipinx people, particularly my very own family, today. As a person who was raised Catholic but no longer ascribes to the church, I found myself at mass (for a funeral) while in the midst of reading this book— there was something about going from reading Cat’s unwavering faith to the church (in spite of how it negatively affects her relationships) to having to listen to (and honestly eventually tune out) the priest going on about the commitment and action it takes to get into Heaven.

As a heritage Filipino speaker (who is absolutely not fluent in the language but can understand most casual conversation), there was something cathartic and special about reading words with the rhythm and cadence of my family’s mother tongue. The familiarity in reading the non-English words felt like putting on the comfiest sweater from childhood. Making connections from this book’s inspired people and places to their real life counterparts genuinely brought me so much joy— is this what it’s like to have representation and have your culture reflected within the pages of a book?? Amazing!! Cathartic!! Honestly, felt like reading bits of home packaged into this fantastical world.

Furthermore, even while I was physically reading the ebook with my eyes, I started listening to the audiobook (since I did not finish reading the ebook before the book actually released whoops lol). It wasn’t necessarily a tandem read, since I was still far ahead in the ebook than the audiobook, but I also wanted to hear the pronunciations of names and places and how my understanding of the Filipino language holds up to the book’s versions versus what I had been mentally saying. (There were still some differences from my personal pronunciations from the book’s, but that didn’t detract from the feeling of home I found within the familiarity of the written word’s cadence.) Additionally, I also wanted to listen to Dante Basco narrate Alon’s chapters because I have been a fan of Dante for years, and I am so appreciative of his and his familiy’s contributions to the industry in paving the way for Filipinx Americans. His narration also brought about a sense of familiarity and comfort from having grown up hearing his voice in so many distinct characters throughout my life.

Anyways, I loved Alon. He is everything Lunurin deserves, and I can only hope to have the kind of love, loyalty, support, and understanding that he gives to Lunurin. He is everything.

And then there’s Cat. I hope I wasn’t supposed to be rooting for her because as a person with my own religious trauma, she was everything I couldn’t stand. I’m glad Lunurin felt love in some way over her ten years with Cat; however, I am sad that it came at the hands of toxic faith to a system that will never look favorably upon them or their people.

As for Lunurin as well as her goddess, Anitun Tabu, I have so much understanding for their pure rage and desire for vengeance (and also Lunirin’s wish to hide from that anger in order to save and protect her loved ones). I am all for supporting women’s wrongs, especially in the face of colonialism and harm to her people. I only wish the Philippines had had more success stories of driving away the colonizers, much like this one here.

On another note, I feel like this specific book could really benefit from including a page for trigger/content warnings, especially seeing as how child sexual assault and on page abortion are vital to the events that contribute to the overall plot. This is not a question of spoilers— this is instead a matter of ensuring readers’ safety for those who need it.

Reading this queer Filipinx-American debut gave me a sense of home that I have actively been searching for within the books I read. I’m excited to read more by Gabriella Buba! Thank you, Netgalley and Titan Books, for the ARC!

SAINTS OF STORM AND SORROW (4 STARS)
Mostly, I loved it. The settings, characters, and everything else was amazing.

Only a couple minor criticisms—
The Catholic Church randomly existing in this world was very confusing. I got over it by the middle of the book, but I couldn’t wrap my head around how it was there… are we in a fantasy world? A different timeline? How did Jesus Christ get here! Does this mean saints from France, Italy, and America are here too? Swapping that for an imaginative parallel religion (like Spain and the Philippines being Codicia and Aynila) would have made the narrative flow better and removed my initial confusion.

The magic system was extremely unique, which I LOVED considering most magic systems all seem to rip one another off these days. Also— girl chosen by goddess trope is so overdone, yet this book freshened it up and did a wonderful job. However, some of the magic system lacked clarity. I just don’t understand WHY things are the way they are. Why dive for pearls, why does salt water calm her? Why her hair? I also would’ve loved to hear what Antitun Tabu was like BEFORE the inquisition. Did she bring in rain for crops? Was she peaceful and loving or did she destroy previous enemies. Etc… but I loved the aspect of her primordial rage and pain.

Lastly, the sex scenes with Alon was somewhat baffling and clunky. The one with Catalina I found made sense— but Alon’s was just randomly slapped in. They found out there was going to be an attack on his mother’s villiage, she had just tried killing herself, and they’d been in a forced marriage for (I think?) less then a week. She hasn’t really WANTED him and Catalina had just betrayed her and all of a sudden—despite the dire circumstances, she and him were having sex. It felt really forced and unnecessary, and the writing style for those started to read like erotica with descriptions of sex organs that felt out of place for the narrative…

The ending was so satisfying.

SAINTS OF STORM AND SORROW is a sweeping tale of colonialism and magic fighting back.

It is an epic story of grief and rage and love. Lunurin struggles against her goddess' pain, which makes it hard for her face hers as her energy is going into stopping all this divine anger destroying indiscriminately. There are so many close calls, made harder by the oppressive dictates of the colonisers and their religion.

I liked the magic system, the ways objects and people could help or hinder the magic. Plus there is some very inventive use of magic - such as storm magic being used in healing as an anaesthetic by blocking the electrical pain signals to the brain. It also lends itself to some spectacular scenes in the midst of storms.

Lunurin's two love interests - Alon and Catalina - represent two different ways of attempting to co-exist with colonisation. Catalina has fully embraced the religious side of it while Alon tries to bargain and find gaps for his people to live in. I liked that it wasn't an obvious "this LI is for the colonisers and this one is against", as that would have made the ending obvious. Instead, this set up lets the book explore the reasons people try to work with those in power

What makes the relationship she ultimate ends up in successful is how they together find a way to accept their rage and pain for all their hurts and use it to fight back. The one that isn't has a constant friction of the love interest unable to understand or accept the pain, clinging instead to their beliefs.

Me parece maravillosa la tendencia actual en la fantasía de explorar mitologías y escenarios distintos a los habituales, como ha hecho Gabriella Buba con Saints of Storm and Sorrow, con referentes filipinos de los que nunca había oído hablar y que traen una nueva corriente oceánica al género.


Las Filipinas son un archipiélago y es por tanto totalmente lógico que su magia esté íntimamente relacionada con el mar y el agua salada, algo que Buba tiene muy en cuenta en el desarrollo de la narración. Pero también tiene en cuenta el pasado colonizador de los españoles, sin llamarlos nunca por su nombre pero siendo evidente en su crítica tanto a las actitudes de superioridad de sus prelados, a sus instintos depredadores y la imposición de una religión que choca frontalmente con las creencias de los naturales de las islas.


En toda la novela cobra especial importancia el mestizaje y la sensación de no pertenecer completamente ni a un mundo ni a otro. La protagonista es Maria Lunurin, novicia de los colonizadores aunque en secreto es una poderosa storm caller, gracias a su herencia mixta. Maria, junto con su pareja Cat y la hermana de esta viven una vida reposada aunque constreñida, hasta que los abusos de los españoles la fuerzan a tomar una decisión que cambiará el rumbo de sus vidas.

Saints of Storm and Sorrow es un libro sobre la rabia, más que la venganza. Sobre la ira que ya no se puede contener más cuando las justicias se acumulan una sobre otra, cuando la desigualdad campa a sus anchas y solo queda revolverse contra la autoridad, por más que las consecuencias puedan ser terribles. Me quedo con eso del libro y con lo original del sistema mágico (aunque no quede muy claro cómo funciona), porque la historia romántica me parece que flaquea en algunos momentos, aunque estoy muy a favor de que la bisexualidad de la protagonista sea algo totalmente normal que no se ponga en duda nunca. Es muy destacable la ambientación que ha conseguido Buba, que es capaz de transportarnos a un paraíso tropical amenazado por las tormentas y también es meritorio cómo consigue describir la opresión de un sistema autoritario religioso nada más comenzar la novela.

En resumen, me parece una estupenda novela de debut, con sus fallos pero bastante recomendable.

I just finished this book and I am in shambles.
(see content warnings at the end)

This is an intense, dark, anti-colonization, queer fantasy set in a Filipino-inspired land during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines. Lunurin, storm bringer and lightning wielder, hides that she’s goddess blessed.

A novel overflowing with vengeance, grief, and primal rage, this is a story of a woman, one of the last of her kind, who tires of making herself small to endure the whims of white men.

As the last chapter came on and sat there staring at the wall like: “so how the fuck do I review this?”

Saints of Storms and Sorrows is in no way perfect. I see its flaws and yet Buba is an author with something to say and her voice echoes loudly over a century after the Spaniards pillaged our home land.

The Philippines is known as the only Christian nation in Asia with close to 80% of the population identifying as Roman Catholic. The current collective Filipino identity is so closely associated with Catholicism but its origins are brutal- Columbus came to a flourishing, native land with its own beliefs, languages, and culture, but deemed us uncivilized heathens only fit to be exploited, converted, and used as goldmine for resources.

Just knowing how much lived Philippine history went into this fantasy world hurts so much. I feel open and raw. My wounds weeping with scabs picked off and bleeding. Knowing my people were subjugated and forcefully civilized and converted to Catholicism under 333 years of Spanish colonization instead of having had Lunurin save them has me struggling to breathe.

Buba takes the historical narrative and flips it on its head offering freedom from the success of Spanish conquest that we know today and offers Filipinos their freedom, even if it’s just in a fantasy world.

Honestly, my biggest gripe with this book was that the male audio narrator was absolutely terrible. I feel like he didnt coordinate with the female narrator on how to pronounce words as most of the names he pronounced a DIFFERENT way. He also had a heavy American accent which when pronouncing Filipino-inspired words triggered me, most especially since this is an anti-colonization novel.

This is not a book meant for everyone. But if it is for you, I highly recommend picking up a physical copy.

READ THIS IF YOU LIKE: Sword of Kaigen and Blood over Bright Haven by ML Wang, To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose, She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan, The Poppy War by RF Kuang, A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair, The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso, So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

CONTENT WARNINGS: (I tried to list as many CW as I could but there were many and I was heavily triggered from page 1.) HEAVY religious trauma and anti-Catholicism, rape of minor by priest (off-page), abortion, child loss, racism, queerphobia, cultural erasure of indigenous people, colonialism, and more