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badd_panda's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
cosmicrusalka's review
4.0
Mulan meets Raya. For me, that made this a very cozy easy read for being familiar, bit different enough that I needed to know how it ended.
Writing: ★★★★☆ - solid
Narration: ★★★★☆ - good
Characters: ★★★★☆ - familiar and relatable
Story: ★★★★☆ - nothing super unique, but cozy and enjoyable
Writing: ★★★★☆ - solid
Narration: ★★★★☆ - good
Characters: ★★★★☆ - familiar and relatable
Story: ★★★★☆ - nothing super unique, but cozy and enjoyable
amybraunauthor's review
4.0
Perfect for anyone who loves Mulan retellings and dragons! I'm a huge fan of both, so this seemed like the perfect book for me. It was expertly paced and filled with trials for the main character, Rain. She is a brave, strong character who sacrificed so much, and I genuinely wanted to see her succeed in all of her trials. I also found her relationships with Forest, Jasper, and Nuaga to be truly compelling and were my favourite moments.
Though the book was filled with action, the fight scenes weren't as detailed as I would have hoped for. The antagonists were also a little lacklustre, since we didn't spend as much time being afraid of them. Also, while I truly did love the dragon lore and the dragon that did appear, there were not as many as I would have liked. That said, this book was more about a girl finding her identity and the power within herself. At the end of the day, that theme is far more important than dragons.
All in all, I wish I loved the book more, but that could also be because I tend to favour more fantasy novels that are rooted with more fantastical elements. Having nit picked however, I can recommend Stormrise to anyone who loves stories of empowering young women and strong themes of taking pride in being a girl.
Though the book was filled with action, the fight scenes weren't as detailed as I would have hoped for. The antagonists were also a little lacklustre, since we didn't spend as much time being afraid of them. Also, while I truly did love the dragon lore and the dragon that did appear, there were not as many as I would have liked. That said, this book was more about a girl finding her identity and the power within herself. At the end of the day, that theme is far more important than dragons.
All in all, I wish I loved the book more, but that could also be because I tend to favour more fantasy novels that are rooted with more fantastical elements. Having nit picked however, I can recommend Stormrise to anyone who loves stories of empowering young women and strong themes of taking pride in being a girl.
mumunab's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.75
libreroaming's review
3.0
2.5 really. "Mulan with dragons" should be amazing but it was kind of a slog.
bonni24's review
5.0
4.5 stars
A YA retelling of Mulan (+ more emphasis on the role of dragons), this novel provides a much more realistic and mature version of the story. It deals with issues of gender and discrimination, as well as the crude remarks often suffered by females in traditionally male settings.
The story and magic behind dragons had a firm base with rich development throughout the storyline. Perhaps the only sketchy part of dragon magic emerges in the ending when Tan Vey and Rain are suddenly able to breathe dragon fire. Previously, dragon magic was used in more subtle ways, so this seems to be a somewhat sudden development.
Finally, the reason that I took a half star off was because the last 50 pages or so felt a bit rushed. Mostly, the final battle felt incredibly fast. Granted, the dragons did the brunt of the fighting.
A YA retelling of Mulan (+ more emphasis on the role of dragons), this novel provides a much more realistic and mature version of the story. It deals with issues of gender and discrimination, as well as the crude remarks often suffered by females in traditionally male settings.
The story and magic behind dragons had a firm base with rich development throughout the storyline. Perhaps the only sketchy part of dragon magic emerges in the ending when Tan Vey and Rain are suddenly able to breathe dragon fire. Previously, dragon magic was used in more subtle ways, so this seems to be a somewhat sudden development.
Finally, the reason that I took a half star off was because the last 50 pages or so felt a bit rushed. Mostly, the final battle felt incredibly fast. Granted, the dragons did the brunt of the fighting.
someonetookit's review
3.0
Rain is a girl in a mans world. She is a master martial artist but will never have a chance to show her true grit as she is destined for a blander future of marrying and bearing children. So, she decides to impersonate her simpleton brother and enter the army when he is summoned. This novel had a great premise and I was so enthusiastic to jump right in.
The first few chapters set up the family scene with Rain training with her father and thinking about the future of the family. Its your stock standard set up and I was ok with that. She heads to her local purveyor of potions and knickknacks to buy some dragon powder so as she may disguise herself better and halt her monthly cycles and then heads on her merry way, leaving only a note explaining her choice and a fear that her father will come after her. By this point I had a feeling like I had read it before, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it (honestly, I kind of still cant which is endlessly frustrating for me).
Once Rain heads out, she meets up with her group of army buddies and the story starts to unfold. I wanted to absolutely love it but as I said earlier, it felt familiar, but something was kind of off. I expected punchy and action filled and instead it felt a little Tolkien with its ‘people walk through the woods and camp for half the novel’ vibe. By the end I wasn’t underwhelmed exactly but felt like it could have been better
Now this is not to say the writing itself was bad. Boehme writes with such panache that I feel had the underlying story been different, it would have been fantastic. The use of language was a little basic but that can be expected from a Young Adult novel and the relationships between characters, although predictable, were precisely how I thought they would work out to be.
The main character is one of those ones who I kind of wanted to shake and tell her to grow up. She could have been brash and competitive, winning over everyone with vigour and zeal; instead she seemed whiny and about as intimidating as a mewling kitten. Despite her efforts to come across as masculine, she is still extremely feminine in her interactions and I felt a little take back that only a single character managed to work out that she was a girl (I mean men are sometimes oblivious, but I feel they aren’t quite THAT clueless).
The secondary characters were where the writing held its own. The other band of merry adventurers run the gamut from caring to malicious and manipulative. I absolutely loved every conflict that came from the novel because it meant something was finally happening. Alas these scenes were usually short lived and left me wanting more.
Now comes the bad guy who is tormenting everyone. He is referred to a couple of times, but it was ridiculously easy to forget that he was supposed to be the underlying threat to the country because he doesn’t actually show until the final 10-15%. Even then he is there and then suddenly everything is being tied up in a neat little bow. He could have been a big baddie and there could have been epic fight scenes but instead he was there and then just not…
I suppose here is where I should wrap it up. Basically, it wasn’t a bad book – the story had promise, the characters had promise and the whole thing could have been taken so much further. Maybe I had higher expectations knowing this was a highly coveted debut. Maybe I expected more from an author who teaches creative writing for a living. Unfortunately, I finished feeling a little let down. I feel like it would be a great novel for those who are into questing and genderbending tales.
The first few chapters set up the family scene with Rain training with her father and thinking about the future of the family. Its your stock standard set up and I was ok with that. She heads to her local purveyor of potions and knickknacks to buy some dragon powder so as she may disguise herself better and halt her monthly cycles and then heads on her merry way, leaving only a note explaining her choice and a fear that her father will come after her. By this point I had a feeling like I had read it before, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it (honestly, I kind of still cant which is endlessly frustrating for me).
Once Rain heads out, she meets up with her group of army buddies and the story starts to unfold. I wanted to absolutely love it but as I said earlier, it felt familiar, but something was kind of off. I expected punchy and action filled and instead it felt a little Tolkien with its ‘people walk through the woods and camp for half the novel’ vibe. By the end I wasn’t underwhelmed exactly but felt like it could have been better
Now this is not to say the writing itself was bad. Boehme writes with such panache that I feel had the underlying story been different, it would have been fantastic. The use of language was a little basic but that can be expected from a Young Adult novel and the relationships between characters, although predictable, were precisely how I thought they would work out to be.
The main character is one of those ones who I kind of wanted to shake and tell her to grow up. She could have been brash and competitive, winning over everyone with vigour and zeal; instead she seemed whiny and about as intimidating as a mewling kitten. Despite her efforts to come across as masculine, she is still extremely feminine in her interactions and I felt a little take back that only a single character managed to work out that she was a girl (I mean men are sometimes oblivious, but I feel they aren’t quite THAT clueless).
The secondary characters were where the writing held its own. The other band of merry adventurers run the gamut from caring to malicious and manipulative. I absolutely loved every conflict that came from the novel because it meant something was finally happening. Alas these scenes were usually short lived and left me wanting more.
Now comes the bad guy who is tormenting everyone. He is referred to a couple of times, but it was ridiculously easy to forget that he was supposed to be the underlying threat to the country because he doesn’t actually show until the final 10-15%. Even then he is there and then suddenly everything is being tied up in a neat little bow. He could have been a big baddie and there could have been epic fight scenes but instead he was there and then just not…
I suppose here is where I should wrap it up. Basically, it wasn’t a bad book – the story had promise, the characters had promise and the whole thing could have been taken so much further. Maybe I had higher expectations knowing this was a highly coveted debut. Maybe I expected more from an author who teaches creative writing for a living. Unfortunately, I finished feeling a little let down. I feel like it would be a great novel for those who are into questing and genderbending tales.
lisamparkin's review
2.0
This is a tough one. I enjoyed the dragons and the lore surrounding them, but I feel like a lot of ground has already been covered here. The book read like an old school fantasy, and I wished for fresher ideas.
There aren’t many descriptions of landscape or feelings. The book feels like it’s mostly dialogue. I also wasn’t super invested in Rain because she didn’t really face many challenges where I was worried about her success or survival.
This book had a lot of potential, but I just don’t think it got there in the end.
There aren’t many descriptions of landscape or feelings. The book feels like it’s mostly dialogue. I also wasn’t super invested in Rain because she didn’t really face many challenges where I was worried about her success or survival.
This book had a lot of potential, but I just don’t think it got there in the end.
jack_the_reader's review
I got the book as an uncorrected advance reading copy from my library during covid. I have never managed to get past the third chapter, and I do still feel guilty about it. I don't know if it was the protagonist's characterization or the writing style, but from the first page this book gave me the ick, and I've finally decided to give up on reading it.