Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy + Romance
Length: 496 pages
Author: Joanna Hathaway
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: February 11th 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads
BOOK SUMMARY:
Battles, revolution, and romance collide in Joanna Hathaway’s stunning, World Wars-inspired sequel to Dark of the West
Part war drama, part romance, Storm from the East is the second novel in Joanna Hathaway’s immersive, upmarket YA fantasy series that will appeal to readers of Sabaa Tahir, Marie Rutkoski, and Evelyn Skye.
War has begun, and the days of Athan’s and Aurelia’s secret, summer romance feel a world away. Led by Athan’s father, the revolutionary Safire have launched a secret assault upon the last royal kingdom in the South, hoping to depose the king and seize a powerful foothold on the continent. Athan proves a star pilot among their ranks, struggling to justify the violence his family has unleashed as he fights his way to the capital—where, unbeknownst to him, Aurelia has lived since the war’s onset. Determined to save the kingdom Athan has been ordered to destroy, she partners with a local journalist to inflame anti-Safire sentiment, all while learning this conflict might be far darker and more complex than she ever imagined.
When the two reunite at last, Athan longing to shake the nightmare of combat and Aurelia reeling from the discovery of a long-buried family truth come to light, they’ll find the shadow of war stretches well beyond the battlefield. Each of them longs to rekindle the love they once shared . . . but each has a secret they’re desperate to hide.
TORN.
My heart hurts after this one y’all.
HURTS.
BOOK THREE STAT.
For a middle book, I enjoyed this! I’ve been loving reading these through audio format. Great narrators. Capitvating and makes me want to listen as fast as I can to know what’s going to happen next.
My sweet souls Aurelia and Athan. This is one of those reads where you shout at the book, WHY CAN’T THEY JUST BE HAPPY?!?! I’m begging the last book to give me some hope or I might have committed to a series that will destory my bookish soul.
One of the only things that frustrated me was how it took until over halfway for our main’s to even SEE each other again. I don’t like when an obvious ship is separated for so long. It makes things drag a little between them even if the action is roaring around them.
And wow does the action roar. This war is only amping up and there’s so much to unpack. Betrayals, lost family lines, secrets, hidden identites and it’s amazing. I love how intricate this plot is and that I rarely find myself bored with a scene.
Really great read. Really excited that I get to read the sequel soon because I MUST know what happens next. I love these characters. I know more heart crushing is going to happen, but dang it, someone give me an at least hopeful ending by the time this is all over.
Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy + Romance
- Language: little
- Romance: kisses to a closed door scene
- Violence: often; depictions of war and skirmishes, physical altercations, plane crashes, gun violence
- Trigger/Content Warnings: suicide (a scene near the end), loss of a loved one, plane crashes
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