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novella42's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book was way more enjoyable than I thought it would be, and did a good job of convincing me to care about a rich girl developing her ethics and sense of justice. Especially considering all that Grace had to answer for in the first book, I thought it was ambitious of Polk to tackle her as a protagonist. And it was ambitious, but for all the right reasons, and written with the same poise and determination that Grace shows through the whole story. I was a little stunned by just how many threads came together by the end, and how hard Polk worked to earn the changes in these characters. Some things weren't quite earned, but at the scale of this book I can forgive that, especially since I enjoyed it so much.
I enjoyed the queer romance and could've used more of it and less political intrigue, but what's on the page is still fun. Grace and Ava have good chemistry together, and it was fun to imagine them together.
Huge props for the graceful and respectful depiction of disability, specifically an ambulatory wheelchair user. In most cases the tension around the disability came from the inaccessible environment and the worry of caretakers. The character in question still had agency, motives, skills, and a role to play in the story that wasn't really focused on the disability. As a lifelong ambulatory wheelchair user myself, this was very refreshing!
I enjoyed the queer romance and could've used more of it and less political intrigue, but what's on the page is still fun. Grace and Ava have good chemistry together, and it was fun to imagine them together.
Huge props for the graceful and respectful depiction of disability, specifically an ambulatory wheelchair user. In most cases the tension around the disability came from the inaccessible environment and the worry of caretakers. The character in question still had agency, motives, skills, and a role to play in the story that wasn't really focused on the disability. As a lifelong ambulatory wheelchair user myself, this was very refreshing!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, War, Death, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Confinement, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Violence, Grief, War, Colonisation, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Genocide, and Torture
Minor: Cancer, Torture, and Terminal illness
librarianmage's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Body horror
Moderate: Death, Blood, Genocide, and Violence
Minor: Torture, War, and Cancer
romiress's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Did I like this? It's hard to say. I liked the mystery, and the idea of it, but in reality I didn't really like the book. The writing kind of lost me along the way, and I'm not sure I'll bother going for book three.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Genocide and Murder
Minor: Cancer and Torture
therainbowshelf's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It was great getting a story focused on Grace! The political intrigue, romance, and world building were a lot of fun, and the flow of action was excellent. I did wish Miles and Tristan had been fleshed out a bit more, though. They felt like flat side characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Xenophobia
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Blood, and Mental illness
Minor: War
Murder attemptallisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
In the stunning, whirling politics of this series, we get to see a revolution in motion. In this one, the first cracks are showing in an old system, and both politicians and protestors scramble to react. Here, we follow Dame Grace Hensley, now the Chancellor, who only answers to the Queen. Overworked and trying to balance the demands of many factions, she reacts with poise and laser-sharp insight. Also, thanks to her brother Miles, she is trying to find a new, moral path for herself. The story addresses generational suffering and wealth as Grace tries to understand her own privileges. It also covers the debate between gradual vs immediate change in terms of civil rights policy.
Grace was an excellent, imperfect heroine. In certain aspects, she has seen the error of her ways, and in others, she clings to the familiar establishment that granted her and her family all their power and influence. She also gets a light, lovely sapphic romance with a determined reporter that weaves through the high stakes of the politics-- a luminous, hopeful ribbon in the chaos.
It's also a delightful gaslamp fantasy. I felt more immersed in this one than even the first. It was nice to feel fully prepared to approach the magic system and legal components without a gradual release of information to clue me in. I love the descriptions of fashion and also, oddly for me, modes of transportation. The first book gifted us with bicycle traffic, and this one upped the ante with transport via luxurious sled (snow goggles optional but recommended).
Grace was an excellent, imperfect heroine. In certain aspects, she has seen the error of her ways, and in others, she clings to the familiar establishment that granted her and her family all their power and influence. She also gets a light, lovely sapphic romance with a determined reporter that weaves through the high stakes of the politics-- a luminous, hopeful ribbon in the chaos.
It's also a delightful gaslamp fantasy. I felt more immersed in this one than even the first. It was nice to feel fully prepared to approach the magic system and legal components without a gradual release of information to clue me in. I love the descriptions of fashion and also, oddly for me, modes of transportation. The first book gifted us with bicycle traffic, and this one upped the ante with transport via luxurious sled (snow goggles optional but recommended).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content, Torture, and War
ehmannky's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I think I liked Stormsong more than I liked Witchmark, which is saying quite a bit since I loved the first book in this installment quite a lot. I liked the departure from Miles to Grace, as I felt that it's a great way to acknowledge that Miles' emotional arc and growth is for the most part at an end in terms of the story and Grace needed the space to grow. It was super fun to see him and Tristan still there, being cute and still being active in the story (also, yay! Grace and Tristan are friends now). I liked Grace a lot. I liked how she reckoned with her privilege, and her growing awareness that while she did not cause the sins of her fathers, she is responsible for rectifying the ongoing wrong. And this is explicitly said in the text to Grace's face and she accepts it. It's wonderful to see.
Also, Grace and Avia's relationship is so beautiful. I love that Grace wants her for the same reason she wants to build a better family with Tristan and Miles--because she loves them and they make her a better person. It's just an all around gorgeous read.
Also, Grace and Avia's relationship is so beautiful. I love that Grace wants her for the same reason she wants to build a better family with Tristan and Miles--because she loves them and they make her a better person. It's just an all around gorgeous read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Death
Minor: Torture and Medical content
purplatypus's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death
Minor: Torture and Forced institutionalization
wardenred's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sometimes secrets won't be contained, no matter how hard you try.
I absolutely loved Witchmark, the first installment in this series. I loved it so much that at one point I almost flung it across the room because it made me that emotional. So the moment I knew there was going to be a sequel, I cleared an honorary position on my TBR for it, then proceeded to delay actually reading it for months because I was scared it wouldn't live up to the sky-high expectations.
In some parts, it didn't. In some parts, it totally did. Everything the first book mostly hinted it, the second book delivered in spades. The first book ended in a pretty conventional space, by fantasy standards: "The system is rotten and awful, so we're gonna destroy it." Stormsong delves deep in the nitty-gritty of the aftermath. Okay, the old system is destroyed; what now? How exactly are we going to build something new? Which parts of the old do we preserve? Who is the one paying the price for this big noble change we've wrought? There's also a lot of political intrigue here, deliciously compiled and well-thought-out. The political aspects of this magic-driven society were really interesting for me as I read Witchmark, and I'm happy with this chance to learn so much more about how it functions.
Why wasn't this a 5-star read for me, then? Weeeeell... I really had trouble connecting with Grace, the narrator, until about mid-book. To tell the truth, she was one of my least favorite characters back in Witchmark, and getting to see the world through her eyes didn't really help me like her that much. However, gradually she became if not likeable than compelling enough to me, and by the second part of the book I got invested in following her journey. I still rejoiced every time I saw Miles, the MC of the first book, on the page. There was too little Miles for my liking! I mean, I get it, it's right there in the summary: his protagonist days are over, and he's now firmly in the secondary character part. These transitions are always hard to pull off. Maybe it wasn't pulled off just right, or maybe it's just because I didn't click with Grace. I'm actually inclined to think it was the latter.
Otherwise, the political intrigue, once again, was *chef's kiss*, the writing was beautiful and poetic, and the romance was well-done, if a little rushed at parts. A good read, and I hope I'll get more chances to visit this complex world!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Torture
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
After any great and dramatic heroic gesture comes the aftermath, the fallout, the nitty gritty of picking up the pieces of a shattered world, sorting through the detritus of a broken system. Stormsong sits in that discomfort, finding just how much has broken.
The events of Witchmark revealed the rot which underlay their comforts and conveniences, and Stormsong sees them reckon with the messy nature of moving towards justice. Shifting MCs from the first book allows for focus on a different angle. Where Witchmark began as a mystery story then became embroiled in politics, Stormsong starts with the practical and political consequences of the events in the first book, then rapidly transforms into a mystery... of how to deal with those events and also solve a murder. The story was engaging, the characters were great, and the romance was a tender mix of implicit and overt that really worked for me. It's sweet without being cloying. I thought it was going to be more of a political thriller than a detective story, and for the first third it is, but then it turns and becomes this excellent mix of both in a way that reveals there were mystery elements all along.
This story is deeply concerned with the multifaceted ramifications of what it means to not just stop current atrocities but to bring a reckoning; to break what must be broken and build anew. There was a scene with some political machinations that I was really excited about (and it remains a fantastic scene), but there's an event later on which re-contextualizes it. It's not that the narrator is unreliable, exactly, but she definitely has a perspective that makes her less aware of certain issues, especially early on. However the author definitely was aware, and there are events later in the book which challenge her understanding of certain events. It was a really good portrayal of someone partway through restructuring their worldview, then needing to adjust even more.
As for my usual check whenever I read book two of a trilogy, this is a great entry. It establishes characters well enough to make sense just within this story in case someone missed the first one, but does it in several clever ways to make the plot recaps feel natural. Grace is consistent with her characterization from the first book (where she wasn’t the MC), but her perspective in this book feels pretty complete, and her voice is distinct from Miles, the previous MC. Some events left over from the previous book are settled, there’s a full storyline that fits just within this book, and also there’s a pretty major element left to be handled in the final book. Overall this is a great book and an excellent midpoint to the trilogy.
The events of Witchmark revealed the rot which underlay their comforts and conveniences, and Stormsong sees them reckon with the messy nature of moving towards justice. Shifting MCs from the first book allows for focus on a different angle. Where Witchmark began as a mystery story then became embroiled in politics, Stormsong starts with the practical and political consequences of the events in the first book, then rapidly transforms into a mystery... of how to deal with those events and also solve a murder. The story was engaging, the characters were great, and the romance was a tender mix of implicit and overt that really worked for me. It's sweet without being cloying. I thought it was going to be more of a political thriller than a detective story, and for the first third it is, but then it turns and becomes this excellent mix of both in a way that reveals there were mystery elements all along.
This story is deeply concerned with the multifaceted ramifications of what it means to not just stop current atrocities but to bring a reckoning; to break what must be broken and build anew. There was a scene with some political machinations that I was really excited about (and it remains a fantastic scene), but there's an event later on which re-contextualizes it. It's not that the narrator is unreliable, exactly, but she definitely has a perspective that makes her less aware of certain issues, especially early on. However the author definitely was aware, and there are events later in the book which challenge her understanding of certain events. It was a really good portrayal of someone partway through restructuring their worldview, then needing to adjust even more.
As for my usual check whenever I read book two of a trilogy, this is a great entry. It establishes characters well enough to make sense just within this story in case someone missed the first one, but does it in several clever ways to make the plot recaps feel natural. Grace is consistent with her characterization from the first book (where she wasn’t the MC), but her perspective in this book feels pretty complete, and her voice is distinct from Miles, the previous MC. Some events left over from the previous book are settled, there’s a full storyline that fits just within this book, and also there’s a pretty major element left to be handled in the final book. Overall this is a great book and an excellent midpoint to the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Torture
CW for murder, discussion of torture, imprisonment.
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