Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the ARC and exchange for an honest review!

K. Ibura’s “Tempest” is a contemporary YA fantasy that explores elemental magic in a rich New Orleans setting. With a strong protagonist, intriguing lore, and an undercurrent of mystery, the book offers an exciting start to what feels like a larger story.

The story follows Veronique, a girl raised by her mawmaw in a secluded rural environment after her parents’ tragic deaths during Hurricane Katrina. Veronique possesses a secret—she can control the wind. She’s spent her life hiding her powers, but when she saves a drowning boy, her abilities are exposed, forcing her to move to New Orleans to live with her aunt, uncle, and cousins. Adjusting to city life, new friendships, and high school is overwhelming enough, but Veronique soon learns about the Vaunted—a secretive group of elemental magic users who seek to "recruit" people like her.

Ibura masterfully brings New Orleans to life, making it feel like a character of its own. The atmospheric setting enhances the novel’s contemporary fantasy elements, grounding the magic in a world that feels authentic and lived-in. The relationships Veronique develops, particularly with her reckless but loving cousin Zaza and the mysterious Kez, add depth to the story. However, the romance with Tyree feels rushed and artificial, especially given how abruptly his attitude shifts when he learns about Veronique’s abilities. His reaction feels inconsistent with his previous devotion, making it one of the book’s weaker points.

While the buildup to the Vaunted is suspenseful, their actual confrontation is disappointingly brief. Given how much the book builds them up as a looming threat, their resolution feels anticlimactic, and the ending overall is too neatly wrapped up without giving the story the depth it deserves. The final chapters move at breakneck speed, introducing major events and resolving conflicts too quickly, leaving some character arcs—like Kez’s unresolved past—feeling underdeveloped.

Despite these pacing issues, “Tempest” remains an engaging read with an intriguing magic system and a protagonist readers can root for. If a sequel is on the horizon, it has the potential to expand on the Vaunted’s role, Veronique’s relationship with her mother, and the stakes of her powers. While not without its flaws, “Tempest” is a compelling blend of contemporary and fantasy, perfect for readers looking for a fresh take on elemental magic and a vividly rendered setting.

This book offers an exciting blend of fantasy and real-world setting, with New Orleans serving as a vibrant and atmospheric backdrop. The story follows Veronique, a girl with the power to control the wind, who has been raised in secrecy by her mawmaw to protect her from those who might exploit her abilities. When she saves a drowning boy, her hidden power is exposed, setting off a chain of events that leads her to uncover a mysterious organization known as the Vaunted—people like her who control different elements.

Veronique is an engaging protagonist, constantly thrown into situations she isn’t prepared for but learning to adapt and push forward. She also has a strong sense of loyalty and a desire to help others, even when it comes at a personal cost. Her relationships with her new family, the people she meets in New Orleans, and Kez—a boy with his own painful past—add depth to her journey. The lore around elemental powers was fascinating and left me wanting to learn more.

While the book had a solid foundation, some aspects could have been stronger. The pacing in the final chapters felt rushed, especially given how well the story was developed in the beginning. The Vaunted, who had been built up as a major threat, were introduced and resolved too quickly, making their presence feel less impactful than expected. Similarly, Veronique’s relationship with Tyree took an abrupt turn—his reaction to discovering her powers felt overly dramatic considering how invested he had been in her before. It made sense that he would need time to process, but the shift in his character was jarring.

Despite these issues, the book was an enjoyable read with compelling characters and an intriguing world. If there’s a sequel, I’d love to see more development around the Vaunted and Kez’s unresolved storyline. Overall, it’s a strong book that just needed a little more time to flesh out its ending.

This book follows Veronique, who was raised by her mawmaw, after her parents passed away during Hurricane Katrina and she was found in a raft tied in the attic. Her mawmaw raised her to hide her secret, so that no one could harm her. What is her secret? Veronique has the ability to control the winds. One night, Veronique is out wandering in the dark, and discovers a young boy drowning, she ends up having to use her powers in order to save his life. She makes the boy promise not to tell anyone, however, the next day the boy and his father are at her house thanking her and curious as to how she was able to save him. In order to protect her, her mawmaw sends Veronique to live with her aunt Eve, uncle, and two cousins in New Orleans. Veronique is devastated as she is leaving the only person she has ever known behind, but quickly starts to adjust to a life with friends, family, and now she is going to school for the first time. Her Uncle, has a young man, named Kez working for him, who constantly is giving weird vibes to V. Eventually Kez confronts her, knowing that her mother was involved somehow with his brother's disappearance. They both end up learning about a secret organization called the Vaunted, which is a group of people like V with powers to control an element. The Vaunted "recruits" those with powers, and now V knows what her mawmaw was really protecting her from.

This book was good, but it could have been great. The setting in Louisiana was excellent (I may be biased as I was born in New Orleans). I thought the idea of people controlling the elements was interesting, that it was a rare trait for people to have, and I liked that it was set in the real world and not a made up world. The story was honestly great up until she had the confrontation with one of the Vaunted (who we couldn't see), and she ended up hitching a ride with Tyree, her love interest. When she finally exposed her abilities to Tyree, he freaked the hell out and wanted nothing to really do with her after that - acting like she was lying to him the whole time, being weird about touching her after finding out, and acting like her powers could have ended his life - that was insane because that boy was so down bad for her, I get having the character being shocked learning that your girl has superpower, but not being supportive after the way he had been the whole rest of the book was really bad writing in my opinion. The second thing I didn't like about this book was the last few chapters - the build up of the beginning of the book was so excellently done that I thought this would be a 4-4.5 star book, but the stuff with the Vaunted happened in a millisecond it was like we blinked, we met them, and then it was over. You had been building up to the big bad and to just have it be over so quickly is honestly a waste of a book, this could have been so interesting. I'm confused if this is a standalone or not because we really didn't get a conclusion with Kez, the whole reunion with her mother and time they spent after surviving the vaunted was literally like a paragraph, and now they are just reunited with the Aunt and that is how the book ends. I guess we will see if there is another story or what, but honestly it needed an epilogue or something because the ending was trash.

DNF at 18%. Stopping this at a fifth of the way in because I can already tell that this is not going to be for me, and I know continuing will only worse my feelings toward it. Now, the story itself and the concept sound wonderful, but the writing, poor worldbuilding, and rushed story were a little to much for me to ignore. Hopefully this works for younger teens more than myself, that being its intended audience. I will look out for more from this author down the line, but right now I'm a disappointed and not wanting to be further let down.

Wow! First, I love any and everything about New Orleans, so learning that this was the setting for majority of the book had me hype! V had such an I interesting life that thrusted her in to situations she was rarely prepared for. But she adapted and kept it moving. But not only that, she was constantly looking out for others even when it didn’t benefit her. I loved the idea of her having powers that coincided with the planet’s elements. A really cool take on a fantasy vibe. I will say I wish the ending didn’t feel as rushed. I needed to know more about Aster and the others. How they came to find each other, why it took V’s mom SO long to leave/find her. And poor Kez. Like is there a part 2 coming. I need for him to find his brother! But overall solid book!

K. Ibura’s Tempest is a dazzling work of speculative fiction that masterfully blends lyrical prose with themes of transformation, resilience, and self-discovery. Set in a richly imagined world teeming with magic and danger, the story follows a protagonist grappling with their identity while navigating a tumultuous journey of survival and empowerment. Ibura’s vivid world-building and complex characters make this an immersive and thought-provoking read. A must for fans of stories that challenge and inspire.

I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I enjoyed Veronique, who was this shy sweet girl with the secret. However, I wish there was more knowledge on the Vaunted and the stakes or that it came earlier. They were meant to be this looking, dangerous presence, but the one time she interacts with them she takes them down? I also feel that this book had potential to be a bit longer to expand on familial and platonic relationships with the people she meets in New Orleans or Veronique’s romantic interests, who both had a sense of suddenness. Based on the ending, it’s clear that this is meant to be part one of multiple, so I’m curious to see where the story goes.

This was a beautifully done fantasy novel, it had that magical element that I was hoping for and was engaged with what was happening. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and how everything worked together to tell the story. K. Ibura wrote this perfectly and am excited for more.