I wanted to love this so much, and there were parts of it that I latched onto tenaciously, but it just didn’t hold up against the barrage of my curiosity.

I loved the Filipino-inspired pantheon of Goddesses, the magic system drawing upon the environment, and the goal of fighting back against colonialism/imperialism (particularly against weaponized religious conversion). I loved that the main character is bisexual and that she cares fiercely for her found family.

The magic system was bizarre and didn’t seem to follow its own rules. If the Tide-touched needed tongues to sing forth the waves, why does Alon never sing and how can a person with no tongue still perform healing magic? If Lulurin’s magic is controlled by her hair (??) then why are her volatile emotions causing storms and wreaking havoc? It’s not like being angry or having an orgasm affects your hair??

The timeline is also kind of warped, which messes with the pacing. In order to make sense with the construction of the bridge, the acquisition and use of building materials, and the steady buildup of revolution, the story would have had to take place over the course of months but honestly I have no idea how much time passed between the wedding and the ending.

And one of the major betrayals/“twists” is telegraphed pretty much from page one because that character is toxic AF.

I really enjoyed this one, but it isn't without it's flaws.

It started very slowly (sort of). There was a lot going on initially, but it was quite hard to follow with a lot of terminology and words in Tagalog. This made it really hard to get into.

However, once things settled a bit more, it was much easier, although things still weren't explained as clearly as I would have liked, and there were times I was still left feeling confused throughout the book.

That being said, I really enjoyed this well-researched novel inspired by Spanish colonialism and Filipino resistance, based around Filipino folk religion. I love when authors showcase the clashing of old religions with new, and the changes that come as a result.

I would definitely recommend this one and just say to persevere through the rougher parts of this. I look forward to seeing more from this author in the future.

Review 6.5/10✨ The books cover is a 10/10, I love it! It’s what drew me into this title in the first place. The story it’s self I go back and forth on, I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either.

What I liked:
⚡️The MC: Lunurin is peak chaotic bisexual. Her storm powers are out of control and her heart all over the place. I appreciate that she has appropriate emotional responses to the events around her, it made her character feel very human even with goddess powers. She’s both strong and powerful, soft and sensitive.
⚡️The world: while it unfolded somewhat erratically I did enjoy it once set up.
⚡️The anti colonialism themes, chefs kiss, love.
⚡️Marriage of convince trope: the romance was messy messy but I loved Alon and the marriage of convince.

What I didn’t like
⚡️It was a bit confusing to get into at first, it was interesting enough to keep my attention but it took a bit to sort everything out as you were just thrust into the world.
⚡️Cat. Honestly she brings the whole book down. This book has two love interest and Cat is one, although I have no clue why. The MC is infatuated with her and clings to her like family but Cat very very rarely shows a sliver of kindness or selflessness towards her. It just didn’t make sense why the MC cared for her so much when she was so horrible to her in return.
⚡️I felt like the pace would be slow then fast, slow then fast, and the slow parts were hard to get through.

Like I said at the start, I didn’t love it but didn’t hate it either. I don’t think it was quiet the read for me.

Thanks to Netgally and Titan books for a copy of this book! It’s out this month if you want to give it a go!

Saints of Storm and Sorrow is a captivating Filipino inspired fantasy following a bisexual nun who has powers that she can’t control

The magic and world in this were incredible, i had so much fun learning and seeing the different powers explored and how they could work in tandem/be a part of the world. The magic system/powers in this are used to combat the colonisation of her people, and as such also the christianism that is being pushed against them. By having the powers have a god-given sense it really helped to add complexity to the characters as well as the world itself. However i do feel that the magic system was a little unclear at times and i never fully understood what was happening.

From the beginning of the book Cat and Lunurin have been dating for a while, but the book explores the breakdown of their relationship, and Cat’s obsession with religion is used to represent unmoving christian beliefs (i assume). i hated cat, she was such a whiny character to read about and everything she did was so annoying. i get why she’s there and the love that Lunurin has for her is a large part of her growth, but cat treated her horribly and never even tried to accept Lunurin’s identity and help her. It’s literally said that Cat does bad things when she’s angry - like why even bother stay with her?!?? it just really bugged me how they stayed together because they ‘loved each other’ even though cat was manipulative and horrible to Lunurin, and what she did at the end just consolidated that i was right to never like her.

Alon and Lunurin’s relationships begins as a marriage of convenience, but then grows into a real relationship which i did enjoy and was sweet but the lack of communication for a while was definitely annoying.

The amalgamation and moment of climax were well done, the lead up poised the story as one of revenge and whilst we did see the revenge, the characters didn’t lose everything about themselves as is sometimes done. The ending was dramatic and wrapped things up really nicely!

Overall a fun and revenge filled fantasy story with interesting character dynamics and a filipino inspired world commenting on religion and colonisation

Sapphic nuns, get married or executed, save your people or save yourself, bisexual love triangle, TW: abortion

When I get upset I simply scream into a pillow or let down my hair and take long shower. If Lunurin gets upset or unbinds her hair, well a lot of people could die. Lunurin is a stormcaller, a chosen of Anitun Tabu, one of the three primary gods of the Aynilan people. After calling on a catastrophic storm she is sent to hid in a convent where she finds a new family (and a lover). When her nature can no longer be hidden she has to make some very difficult decisions about her love life and the lives of her people.

Saints of Storm and Sorrow deals very directly with colonialism along with the struggle between new and old religion. Some characters I loved to hate, while others I only wanted happiness for. Buba sets up a beautiful world, but like all high fantasy, be prepared for a lot of world building. On that note, a glossary or index of characters would have been EXTREMELY helpful. At times I did feel like the pacing was off and there were a few times I didn't totally understand the character's motivations and intensions. While the storyline was fantastic the writing flow would often make it difficult to stay engrossed in the story. There are a few straight and lesbian sex scenes, but they could be easily skipped for anyone that doesn't like spice.

Overall, the story is unlike anything I have ever read and would recommend it to anyone looking for a high fantasy that is so much better than knights, castles, and dragons.

Tiktok review will be posted June 14 at @jackireadsthings

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for a free ebook of this in exchange for my review!!

I found the concept of this book really interesting as well as the mythology. The magic system was also unlike most others I’ve read about. The story was fast paced, and the characters, while flawed, were engaging to read about.

That said, I did struggle with the pace of the book sometimes. It moved at breakneck speed and honestly I found myself a little lost sometimes. I also feel that the magic system could have been described and gone over in a lot more depth. The characters of course knew how their magic worked, but I got confused a few times as to specifics. Same with the politics. I found all the factions interesting and I wish a little more had gone into explaining all the respective conflicts. Basically, I think if the book had been maybe 100 pages longer, and just a touch more fleshed out it would’ve been much better. Maybe even a 5 star read for me. It is the authors debut novel, as far as I know, and I definitely see the potential for really good things here!

Lastly, I struggled with the love triangle. This isn’t a huge surprise for me because I generally don’t like love triangles. But mostly it was just because one of the characters, Catalina, was just painfully insufferable to read about. I think this was intentional because the book does comment on and criticise her hypocrisy, her constant mood swings and manipulations, however even with those acknowledgements I really struggled with all the parts of the book she was in. There was no positive changes at all, if anything she just got worse, and it was tiring.

Overall, a good debut though. (3.75 stars, rounded up to 4)

A very interesting and immersive tale of sisterhood and doing what's right. Thoroughly enjoyed this tale and it took me a couple of chapters to get used to this world and characters. I also loved that it made me look up certain words and learn something new. The world building was great and the character varied and each unique.

A powerful and controversial novel that delves into the Spanish conquest of the Philippines. With a narrative that bravely tackles difficult and thought-provoking topics, Buba sheds light on the harsh realities faced during this tumultuous period.

Buba does not shy away from the darker aspects of history, including the rape perpetrated by a priests and other atrocities committed under the guise of colonization and religious conversion. Her unflinching portrayal of these events serves as a stark reminder of the complexities and cruelties of human history.

The evocative storytelling brings to life the struggles and resilience of the Filipino people during the Spanish conquest. Through richly developed characters and vivid descriptions, Buba captures the essence of a society under siege and the enduring spirit of those who fought against oppression.

"Saints of Storms and Sorrow" is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a powerful reminder of the importance of remembering and understanding our past. This book is a must-read for those who seek to gain a deeper understanding of history and its far-reaching implications.

This is a wonderful debut based on Filipino lore and combining a brilliant main character with female-centric magic and rituals and real-world politics. Maria Lunurin is, outwardly, a devout nun serving the colonizers of her land. Secretly, however, she is not only in love with a fellow nun but also a chosen of the indigenous goddess Anitun Tabu. Lunurin means to keep things as they are in order to protect her lover, Cat, and Cat's sister, until something happens and she has no choice but to seek help. Alon, heir to one of the most powerful families, has loved Lunurin forever, and it is he that she turns to for help - which not only angers Cat but puts her in danger from Anitun Tabu. I loved the colonizer/colonized setting, as well as the sprinkilng of Tagalog - I lived in California for years and the Filipino population is much larger there than where I live now, and I would hear Tagalog everywhere.

My one main complaint about the book is Cat, the woman Lunurin loves as we start the book. It must be a case of "the heart wants what the heart wants" because there is very little about her character that is redeeming. Lunurin, and she begins to refer to herself as Lunurin instead of Maria, has a transformative character arc where she learns to embrace everything that she is. There is grief and triumph in this book, and I am so thankful that I got to preview it.

Oof, this was a REALLY difficult book for me to get through. I loved the cultural setting. I loved the representation and themes. I loved the kindness in the male MC. But I was annoyed by the female MC and - most of all - I DESPISE characters like cat. I can get that they have a purpose in terms of other character's growth. But when make your MC spend the majority of a book trying to make a toxic relationship work and make your readers endure the endlessly frustrating presence of an incredibly unlikely character for just as long, a story really loses it's enjoyability factor. Which is such a bummer for a story to be so tainted by one character.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I’m not finishing this. DNF. I’m really confused about what’s going on. I’m only giving a review and rating because I don’t want to hurt my feedback ratio and it makes me.

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for an ARC of this book!

This books follows the story of Lunurin. A bisexual goddess-blessed nun that hides her true identity for fear of being lynched by her oppressors. This world is inspired by the Philippines and its history of oppression by the Spanish. The goddess of Storm and Sky demands vengeance for all the destruction that these oppressors have caused. Lunurin tries to suppress the goddess' rage until she can no longer ignore it and accepts it to save her people. She must make people remember the goddess' forgotten name and rid her people of the oppressors who colonize and force their religion and belief. She does this by unleashing her lightning and storm upon the world.

Lunurin is on a journey of self-acceptance. The character arc is amazing as she goes form a self-hating, weak girl to a strong, powerful woman to be feared by all that wrong her kin.

This is an adult fantasy book with bi-representation an BIPOC characters written by a BIPOC author.

The world building is great. You can almost feel and smell the storms Lunurin calls. I found myself looking up oyster farming and learned something new! Also found myself interested in learning about Philippines' colonial history and its oppression by the Spanish.

Characters:
Catalina is an insecure, selfish, treacherous, bigoted, judgemental little gaslighting wench. I felt no sympathy for her. She constantly tries to make Lunurin hate herself. She treats Lunurin horribly and Lunurin seems to think Cat is justified in treating her this way. At least, at first.
Lunurin seems to accept the love she thinks she deserves. At the beginning of the book (and for the biggest part of the book) Lunurin thinks lowly of herself and is riddled with guilt. She does not want to accept her goddess-given gift and vengeance with it. As the story progresses, Lunurin starts to accept herself. As that happens, she starts to realize that Cat's 'love' is not the love that she deserves. She deserves so much more.
In comes Alon. Alon is tall, dark and handsome but more importantly, kind, noble, sweet, sensitive, attentive, supportive, reliable and calming to Lunurin. Basically, he's a huge green flag. He provides her with stable support. He's good to Lunurin and heals her. He is also tide-touched. Which means he can control saltwater. His healing tide soothes her storming rage.

In conclusion, I really really like this book. I would definitely recommend this book if you're a fan of fantasy, character arcs, strong female leads and sweet MMC's. I rate this book 4.5 stars!

This was an interesting book with a good setting and a good premise, but ultimately it didn’t work for me.

The books are set in the Philippines in the 16th century, under Spanish colonial rule. (The author gives them different names, in the same kind of way Guy Gavriel Kay does, but I’m going to ignore that for purposes of this review.) The main character is Maria Lunurin - Lunurin her name from birth, Maria the name she took when she accepted baptism and became a nun. Her mother was a native Filipino woman; her father was a Spanish priest.

Lunurin is an avatar (Priestess? Saint? I’m not sure what the best term here is) of the native goddess of storms, something she has to keep carefully hidden while in the convent unless she wants to be burned as a witch. The goddess she serves is an elemental being of instincts and feelings, and she is *angry*. An idea that comes up frequently in the book is that the storm doesn’t heal, and it doesn’t build, but it can avenge. She is angry over the deaths and indignities her people have suffered at Spanish hands. She is angry that her statue has been renamed “Saint Mary the Drowned” (with a story spun about a Filipino woman who converted and drowned in sorrow when her husband and son wouldn’t renounce their heathen ways) and put into a cathedral. She is angry that her chosen people are burned as witches. And she wants Lunurin to use her power to destroy the Spanish and drive them into the sea.

Unfortunately, a typhoon is a blunt instrument, and Lunurin is unwilling to unleash a once-in-a-thousand-years storm on Manila - it would certainly destroy the Spanish, but it would also destroy her friends and family and many innocents. The goddess doesn’t care - she just wants her vengeance, and Lunurin has to work very, very hard to keep the goddess from working her will.

The other main character is Alon, the son of the chief Filipino official under the Spanish governor. He is in the position of wanting to please his father (who wants power and authority under Spanish rule) and protect his people from Spanish demands, while also preserving his people and their culture. He’s also been in love with Lunurin since they were kids, and himself is an avatar of a different member of the native pantheon, so to say he’s conflicted would be an understatement.

It’s a good set-up, and I’m always a sucker for books that are rooted in cultures I’m unfamiliar with. It didn’t work for me for two reasons. One is that the Spaniards were too villainous. Obviously this is an anti-colonial book, and I don’t want to seem like I’m defending colonialism, but none of the Spaniards in this book had any redeeming features. Colonialism is an evil system, but people are people. A kind Spanish friend to Lunurin, or a monk or nun of genuine faith who wanted to save the Filipino souls but not burn witches or stamp out their culture, would have gone a long way to fixing this. But there’s no one of the sort, and the book feels unbalanced for it. The other problem is that I *hate* it when tension in a story comes from when two people who are on the same side and have good will towards each other refuse to talk to each other. I hate it, hate it, hate it. And there was a lot in here.

Ultimately a decent book, but a flawed one.

DNF at 40%

Honestly I was just bored and frustrated. The world wasn’t so much built as thrown in your face immediately with no proper explanations for the magic, the different God’s, or any of the political structure, yet so much revolves around these things and it left me feeling like I’d started halfway through and missed a beginning.

The plot was moving at a glacial pace. 40% in and I couldn’t begin to tell you what’s happening or being set up or where any of it’s heading.

Cat annoyed me SO MUCH. Every scene with her was grating and I couldn’t see what Lunurin saw in her. It was my frustration with Cat that tipped me over the edge to DNF in the end.

This is probably someone’s book but it’s certainly not mine.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was so excited to read this book since it was announced, and it didn't disappoint! The premise is refreshing and how the author brought it to life was also original.

Our main character is Lunurin, a nun who pretends to be a dutiful devotee in order to survive and hide from her goddess. A goddess who seeks vengeance and will not stop until she gets it. Lunurin protects those in need and helps them find sanctuary through Alon. I think she's a great main heroine. Fierce and loyal, she means to do the right thing and she takes risks to help others. She also has a nice character development. She goes from someone who wants to hide her magic to keep her girlfriend to realizing that she shouldn't have to hide who she is for a person or a relationship. From someone who thinks she's only capable of destruction destroyed to someone seeing that sometimes destruction is needed to set things right.

Our other main character is Alon, someone in a privileged position who uses their privilege for his people, the Aynilans. He heals and protects those in need and his loved ones. He's pining for Lunurin and he's a generally very good guy. Things don't always go his way, and he's forced to do things he doesn't want to, but he makes these tough choices so that others may live. He wasn't always right, but he has good intentions and a keen mind. I loved how he embraced all of Lunurin, her magic, her temper and even her ill-advised feelings for Catalina.

Catalina is Lunurin's girlfriend in the first great part of the book, and I honestly don't understand what Lunurin saw in her. She hates magic and the indigenous beliefs. When her sister got hurt, she mostly cared about how her sister handled it, and not her trauma. She literally has no redeeming quality. While I do understand her role in the story, it did irk me that Lunurin wanted to work things out with her for a good part of the book.

I loved how the author explored religious syncretism and colonization's effects on Indigenous beliefs. It was easy to picture how the indigenous Aynilans lived and were oppressed by the Codicían colonizers in their Palisade. We saw vividly and wirh great detail how the colonizers changed and oppressed the Aynilans, how they forced their language and religion and society norms onto the Aynilans. We also saw how the Aynilans fought back. I really, really, REALLY liked the world-building even though it made me so mad and frustrated for the sake of the Aynilans.

One thing I was confused about was how their magic worked. A stormcaller uses their hair? But they also have two items they can't do without, that are seen as holy, as in nobody else should touch them? I didn't get it. While the societal part of the world-building was executed very well, the magical part was a bit confusing to me. So I decided to just go with the flow.

However, a detail I loved was that at the beginning of every chapter, we saw the name of the character whose pov we'd read. Lunurin's chapters went from Maria Lunurin to Lunurin, indicating Lunurin's character arc and state of self-identity. I found it to be a great detail that resonated with me.

Saints of Storm and Sorrow is an adult fantasy about fighting for your people against oppressors but also fighting for yourself. There are many different kinds of cages in life, some others put us in, and some we put ourselves in in order to blend in. This book is about setting yourself free, and I recommend it to anyone. I'll definitely read more books by this author in the future.

Saints of Storm and Sorrow is a wonderfully lush, evocative, and beautifully raw Filipino-inspired fantasy debut that explores the harsh realities and nuances of assimilation, of faith and its deconstruction, and the role of the Church during the Spanish colonialism in the Phillippines.

Following Lunurin, a stormcaller blessed by her goddess, hiding as a nun with her lover Catalina and Catalina’s sister, Inez, until one day events pushes her to enter into a marriage with her childhood friend, Alon, who has been in love with her for years. Buba weaves together a compelling tale of anger, grief, and ultimately healing as Lunurin soon becomes a symbol of rebellion for the Aynilan people against their colonizers. I really appreciated how Lunurin and Catalina become representative of the different elements of colonialism and assimilation through their mixed-blood heritage and how Buba delicately explores these different intertwining perspectives through their rocky relationship.

While I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the themes examined, I did feel that it was a bit hard to get into the story as the Prologue and first couple of chapters did little to explain the magic system outside of a few mentions of the tide-touched, and it wasn’t until about a third into the book that I managed to get a grasp onto Lunurin’s power and the existence of the different goddesses.

Overall, this was a great debut full of well-written prose, albeit with some small structural issues. All in all, I am definitely looking forward to what Buba will write next.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.

Saints of Storm and Sorrow is a raw and beautiful reflection on colonization, particularly as relates to Filipino culture.

Gabriella Buba did not shy away from harsh topics of race and religion, assimilation and shame.

It is clear that Lunurin, Catalina, and Inez are all representative of various facets of colonization and assimilation. Lunurin is full of rage and anger, tempered by self doubt and self loathing. After ten years in the convent, she is questioning if her ties to her culture are sinful or if they are simply a part of who she is. Catalina is convinced that Lunurin must give up all her ties to her magic and goddess in order to survive. She truly believes in the faith of the convent. Inez, Catalina’s sister, is a victim of the perversions the convent covers up. She is torn between loyalty to her sister and embracing the people who have helped her to survive.

All the major characters in the book are somewhat morally gray. That is, they all have the best of intentions, but very much different approaches. This keeps the plot active and the reader’s heart breaking the whole time.

Somewhere between the beginning and the middle I fell in love with this book. Faced with the fact that there could be no resolution without death and damage, I was terrified of what the next chapters would bring. Still, I couldn’t tear myself away.

This whole book is a win. It’s one that I know I’ll keep thinking about long after I read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance title of this book to read. The opinions in this review are my own.

4.75 stars
🌶🌶
An incredible debut that covers a wide range of difficult topics set in a Filipino-based fantasy world.

Lunurin is a stormcaller who has little control over her power. She is sent away after a particularly destructive incident and raised in a convent where she falls in love with deeply religious Catalina. But there is political unrest during which Lunurin and her friend Alon do what they can to help others. As tensions rise, they both find themselves torn between allegiances.

The story is so gorgeously written and deftly handles serious topics such as colonization, religious overpowerment, abuse, rage, and grief. The first few chapters are dense with world building, but the pace picks up quickly. I loved the bi representation and how gentle Alon was with Lunurin. Check content warnings before diving in!

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

Thank you to Titan for my review copy

I found this book to be okay. There were parts I liked and parts I disliked.

This is definitely an adult book for some of the content mentioned and I do recommend looking at a list of content warnings before picking this up.

The plot was quite a slow one - I was about half way through and still trying to figure out where the plot was going. The slower pacing of the plot did mean that I felt like I was struggling around halfway to two thirds in.

It was clear that there has been a lot of careful research poured into this, with how developed the culture felt to me - especially in the way the main island and how different the cultures are between the Aynilan and Codicían influences on people. It was clear that Codicía was influenced by Spain and I did get heavy Spanish Catholicism vibes from the main Church in the book. However, there were some parts of the worldbuilding that I would have liked to get more development - namely the magic system.

I found the magic system to be lacking a concrete description of the differences between stormcallers, tide-touched, firetenders and how they interact with each other. It's mentioned that tide-touched and stormcallers can help each other with their abilities, but I would have liked more. We get a lot of development of stormcallers because the main character is one, but due to having a double life, it left me wanting more information about stormcallers and their powers and their goddess.

I wish the main relationships had a little bit more substance to them. It starts with an already established relationship between Lunurin and Cat, but I struggled to get any depth to that relationship. I did struggle to discern if they were just close friends or together for the first hundred pages or so. The other relationship we have is Lunurin and Alon. They have a marriage of convenience, but then Alon is also her male love interest.

Cat also felt a little flat to me. She can be distilled down to being jealous of Lunurin and Alon, and her faith in the Church.

There are explicit sex scenes in this book and I found one in particular to be a struggle to get through. The wording in this specific scene felt very clunky and it did fall into using some tropey euphemisms and I kept having to put the book down to give myself a breather as I was laughing so much (Apologies to my friends, who just got messages of the horror on my face at some of the lines.)

Despite all this the book did have promise and I know this is a debut. I will be keeping an eye out for what Buba writes next as this book did have promise and potential, even if the execution was messy at times.

This was a compelling read with a fascinating storyline, but I wish there was another round of edits to clean up some structural issues.

I loved the Filipino culture explored in this, but because I'm not familiar with many Filipino terms I couldn't tell if my ignorance was due to it being a fantasy book term, or an actual Filipino cultural staple. In general, there was a lot of confusion in the first quarter of the book. I was trying to decipher how powers are distributed, what the mutya was, and why Lunurin was being sent away from her family. Most of this important background was glossed over to rush us into the present day. It was a critical need to understand that there are three goddesses, that 13 year olds dive for oysters and some are granted blessings from the goddesses and therefore have abilities. I also was initially confused on what the mutya had to do with using the abilities, and why Lunurin was an outcast.

It took far too much time to explore that Lunurin was unable to control her abilities and killed scores of people at the behest of her goddess. I had a vague idea, but no details. She's just suddenly sent off on a ship to another island where she meets Alon.

However, there was so much to love about this. I loved seeing Lunurin's internal struggle as she tried to reconcile her past as a stormcaller, and her present relative safety as a nun. Her pain trying to stifle her abilities in order to avoid the witch hunting catholics was so well written. On top of her being forced to essentially renounce her heritage, she is in love with another nun, Cat. They are everything to one another, but even that relationship is forbidden by the church. This relationship was incredibly interesting because of Cat's contradictory nature. She is truly devoted to God and her faith is her anchor, and because of this she shuns everything that makes Lunurin unique. Cat cannot accept that her lover would not denounce her abilities, she truly believes that Lunurin could stop having abilities if her faith was strong enough. It was a fantastic glance into the aftereffects of colonization, and the devastation that the Christian religion wreaked on many countries. Religious extremism is a strong theme throughout the book and it shows that religion and colonization go hand in hand to control native populations.

As evidenced by the above, Cat was unbearable. She claimed to love Lunurin, yet she betrayed her over and over again. She tried to make her change her basic nature, and constantly degraded her attempts to keep them all safe. She couldn't see past her own fear and the propoganda being fed to her by the church. It was incredibly difficult to watch Lunurin continue to be infatuated with her when Cat treated her like trash.

Alon was everything you could want in a MMC. He was always there for Lunurin, he never tried to overstep in her relationship with Cat, and he always believed that she could be more than destruction. That being said, there was an odd dynamic shift midway in the story where she became distrustful of Alon and his kindness even though they've been friends for 10 plus years. She has always known him to heal those who come to him, even though it endangers his position. He has water based powers and his people have been hunted down ruthlessly by the colonizers, so every risk he takes to help others is extreme. That being said, it was hard for me to believe that she didn't trust that he was helping her without strings attached. They've been healing and arranging escapes for gifted people on the DL for ages, but she can't trust him? Her anger at him for saving her life by cutting her hair was odd, as well as the anger for his father- she knew what she was getting into and he is nothing like his father?

In general Lunurin comes off as rather fickle. One moment she's incredibly proud of her gift, the next she's cursing the goddess for the destructive nature of it. Her anger comes out of nowhere, and she loses control. She's trying to hide from her goddess, then the next second she's calling a storm and nearly killing the Lakan. She's angry at Alon and others for a situation she created. All he has done is clean up every single one of his messes without complaining.

Overall, this was a fast paced and interesting concept, but I wish the execution was a bit better. I was left with questions for too long, and wanted more from Lunurin. I absolutely loved the dive into colonialism and religion; it was honestly the best part of the book! Such great looks into Christian guilt and corruption between the church and state. I think this will be a huge hit with lots of readers, and can't wait to see their thoughts. :)

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!