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avatas's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Ableism
abigailfair's review
4.0
A Mulan retelling for those who wished Mushu were a huge fire-breathing dragon instead of comic relief. It infuses reason and heart into the tale and provides several emotional twists.
rosejoy's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
jfwhite23's review
4.0
I read an advanced reader copy. This is basically a re-telling of the legend of Mulan only it takes place in a different world rather than China. The basic premise is the same. Overall I thought it was well written and the story really draws you in. I would have liked a little more backstory for some of the characters to understand their motivation but not having it didn't detract from the story. Also, there is one point when Rain's character does a complete 180 from what she has built up to be which really annoyed me but she turns it around and it all turns out well in the end.
fallenprincess's review
4.0
This is a Mulan-esque tale with prominent dragons and wars.
Rain is a great fighter. She is a rowdy, courageous young woman who feels limited in the roles that society will allow her to play.
Her kingdom is now going to war and her brother is getting conscripted. He is scared and Rain can clearly see that he will not make it back.
She then decides to go to a witch for some potions that would allow her not to get her period.
The witch warns her that that will link her to the spirit of the dragon the potion was made out of.
Rain accepts and she starts getting dreams. The dragons are summoning her and asking her to come to them.
I really liked this rather short fantasy. I found Rain and her adventures fun and interesting. It didn't do anything extraordinary, but I really enjoyed it from start to finish. The story never dragged and never made me eyeroll.
I consider it to be underrated. I recommend it
Rain is a great fighter. She is a rowdy, courageous young woman who feels limited in the roles that society will allow her to play.
Her kingdom is now going to war and her brother is getting conscripted. He is scared and Rain can clearly see that he will not make it back.
She then decides to go to a witch for some potions that would allow her not to get her period.
The witch warns her that that will link her to the spirit of the dragon the potion was made out of.
Rain accepts and she starts getting dreams. The dragons are summoning her and asking her to come to them.
I really liked this rather short fantasy. I found Rain and her adventures fun and interesting. It didn't do anything extraordinary, but I really enjoyed it from start to finish. The story never dragged and never made me eyeroll.
I consider it to be underrated. I recommend it
sometimesleelynnreads's review
3.0
See full review and post on my blog Sometimes Leelynn Reads
Okay, fam. You know that I’m not going to pass up the opportunity to read a book about dragons, okay?
Seriously, though. Give me all the dragons, okay? Because I think that Boeheme did an amazing job with this novel, and I’m kind of bummed that it’s over? I mean… imagine having a dragon that can speak to you in your mind, and having the magic of a dragon physically alter your appearance. It sounds like my kind of book, and I absolutely adore why Rain did what she did.
But let me back up a bit.
Rain and Storm are twins, and since they both got sick when they were babies, and the doctor ended up giving the cure to Rain instead of Storm, she was the one that ended up getting better. Her brother didn’t end up recovering fully, and it seems like he has a learning disability from it. While his body is correct in age, his mind and his mannerisms are of a younger boy. I don’t know what they call it in his book, but from my experience, it would seem like he has a learning or developmental disability, but it came about from this illness. Rain and her father train her to be a Neshu warrior, and she is a freaking bad ass. The only thing is, as a female, she isn’t allowed to be one because patriarchy, am I right?
So she pulls a Mulan on us, gets some medicine from this sort of shady lady that gives her dragon powder to stop her monthly bleeding so she can disguise herself as her brother Storm and take his place in the war because we all know he is not made for battle. What makes it worse is that their father was going to go with him to make sure nothing bad happened to him, which meant that both men in the family would be gone.
And of course, my girl Rain does an awesome job in warrior camp, and not only does she end up bonding with her fellow soldiers in training, but I think she may have eyes for both her tent-mate Forest and her Commander? I don’t know, man, but I’m curious to see what you guys think about a dragon talking to you in your head asking to be released, you know?
This book got crazy! It was definitely a wild ride, and I think some of my dragon loving friends would like this story.
Okay, fam. You know that I’m not going to pass up the opportunity to read a book about dragons, okay?
Seriously, though. Give me all the dragons, okay? Because I think that Boeheme did an amazing job with this novel, and I’m kind of bummed that it’s over? I mean… imagine having a dragon that can speak to you in your mind, and having the magic of a dragon physically alter your appearance. It sounds like my kind of book, and I absolutely adore why Rain did what she did.
But let me back up a bit.
Rain and Storm are twins, and since they both got sick when they were babies, and the doctor ended up giving the cure to Rain instead of Storm, she was the one that ended up getting better. Her brother didn’t end up recovering fully, and it seems like he has a learning disability from it. While his body is correct in age, his mind and his mannerisms are of a younger boy. I don’t know what they call it in his book, but from my experience, it would seem like he has a learning or developmental disability, but it came about from this illness. Rain and her father train her to be a Neshu warrior, and she is a freaking bad ass. The only thing is, as a female, she isn’t allowed to be one because patriarchy, am I right?
So she pulls a Mulan on us, gets some medicine from this sort of shady lady that gives her dragon powder to stop her monthly bleeding so she can disguise herself as her brother Storm and take his place in the war because we all know he is not made for battle. What makes it worse is that their father was going to go with him to make sure nothing bad happened to him, which meant that both men in the family would be gone.
And of course, my girl Rain does an awesome job in warrior camp, and not only does she end up bonding with her fellow soldiers in training, but I think she may have eyes for both her tent-mate Forest and her Commander? I don’t know, man, but I’m curious to see what you guys think about a dragon talking to you in your head asking to be released, you know?
This book got crazy! It was definitely a wild ride, and I think some of my dragon loving friends would like this story.
bookwormdanreviews's review
5.0
This book captivated me from the very first page and didn’t let go until the very end! This book had everything! Action, adventure, Magic, dragons, romance. I can’t say enough good things about this book! Please check it out!
alexandra_92's review
5.0
I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Review and blog tour can be found on *Milky Way of Books*
A book with dragons?
Check.
Mulan inspired? Yup check.
Also forbidden romance? Triple check!
Stormrise caught me from the moment the cover was revealed. It caught the ferocity of the dragons and the ferocity, combined with bravery, a girl takes as war looms closer and closer.
Rain and her twin brother Storm live in a village where, tales of old dragon magic make people fearsome and others, trying to exploit them. There's old lore about the time of the dragons but there are none alive. Training to become a Neshu fighter, despite not being allowed to be one due to her gender, Rain doesn't have time for marriage proposals.
Knowing that her brother won't make it, she disguises herself as a boy by also taking a mix of dragon powder in order to sound like one. And from there training begins friends and alliances.
The book was more a military YA fantasy than a dragon-centered one. I enjoyed seeing Rain become stronger and discovering her potential along with the lore of the old dragons. I also loved the romance and how sweet it was with its moments and stumbles.
A stand-alone YA fantasy worth the read!
A book with dragons?
Check.
Mulan inspired? Yup check.
Also forbidden romance? Triple check!
Stormrise caught me from the moment the cover was revealed. It caught the ferocity of the dragons and the ferocity, combined with bravery, a girl takes as war looms closer and closer.
Rain and her twin brother Storm live in a village where, tales of old dragon magic make people fearsome and others, trying to exploit them. There's old lore about the time of the dragons but there are none alive. Training to become a Neshu fighter, despite not being allowed to be one due to her gender, Rain doesn't have time for marriage proposals.
Knowing that her brother won't make it, she disguises herself as a boy by also taking a mix of dragon powder in order to sound like one. And from there training begins friends and alliances.
The book was more a military YA fantasy than a dragon-centered one. I enjoyed seeing Rain become stronger and discovering her potential along with the lore of the old dragons. I also loved the romance and how sweet it was with its moments and stumbles.
A stand-alone YA fantasy worth the read!
rachel_menard's review
3.0
I adore Jillian (aka the Authoress). She is an inspiration to the writing community, and I know how long and hard she's worked to get her books published. I was so excited to see her debut, Stormrise, finally making shelves.
This is a good Mulan retelling. You can tell Jillian has been writing for a long time. Her line by line writing is flawless, it has good flow, and her dialogue is quick and crisp and sincere. I just wanted more from this.
Personally, I like my re-tellings to have some uniqueness to them. Especially the ones that are popular re-tellings, like Mulan or Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast. This had so many events directly copied from Mulan, that I had "I'll Make a Man out of You," running through my head. So, if unlike me, you like your re-tellings to be more like the original, then I think you will enjoy this aspect of it.
The thing that did make this different was the inclusion of the dragons, but here, I also wanted more. In the country of Elonda, they used to worship the dragons, but that lore has since been lost and reduced to mythology. That being the case, what do they worship now? What is their religion? Their rules for morality and tradition? How did dragon lore fade from existence?
Rain is skilled in the art of Neshu, some form of martial arts, and I also wanted some more description here. She frequently takes the first or second stance, but I didn't know what that looked like. Were her arms raised? Her legs spread? I kept thinking it would have been cool if they had dragon-based names, like the Dragontail stance, or the Firebreather.
Rain is a likable character. She's smart and determined, and self-sacrificing, but many of her decisions in this book didn't feel earned. She changes her gender and signs up for the army because her brother, Storm, is incapable fighting. He is brain damaged from a fever as a child.
Before making this life-altering decision, Rain doesn't give it much thought. Considering she could be killed if discovered, I needed more to cheer on her quest. Much of the intro is spent building the relationship between Rain and her sister Willow. I would have preferred to see more with Storm. If he had run into some soldiers who teased him and assaulted him, and Rain stepped in to save him, I could have seen why she would be so driven to take his place.
We also don't see the offending army until much later in the book. They are talked about as being cruel and vicious, but a scene of them attacking a village or even a survivor appearing, bloodied and hysterical talking about their violence, would have helped me urge Rain on her quest to defeat them.
This is one of those books where I can see how it amazing it could be with just a little bit more. I think, as she is such a skilled writer, Jillian's next book will definitely reach that level.
This is a good Mulan retelling. You can tell Jillian has been writing for a long time. Her line by line writing is flawless, it has good flow, and her dialogue is quick and crisp and sincere. I just wanted more from this.
Personally, I like my re-tellings to have some uniqueness to them. Especially the ones that are popular re-tellings, like Mulan or Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast. This had so many events directly copied from Mulan, that I had "I'll Make a Man out of You," running through my head. So, if unlike me, you like your re-tellings to be more like the original, then I think you will enjoy this aspect of it.
The thing that did make this different was the inclusion of the dragons, but here, I also wanted more. In the country of Elonda, they used to worship the dragons, but that lore has since been lost and reduced to mythology. That being the case, what do they worship now? What is their religion? Their rules for morality and tradition? How did dragon lore fade from existence?
Rain is skilled in the art of Neshu, some form of martial arts, and I also wanted some more description here. She frequently takes the first or second stance, but I didn't know what that looked like. Were her arms raised? Her legs spread? I kept thinking it would have been cool if they had dragon-based names, like the Dragontail stance, or the Firebreather.
Rain is a likable character. She's smart and determined, and self-sacrificing, but many of her decisions in this book didn't feel earned. She changes her gender and signs up for the army because her brother, Storm, is incapable fighting. He is brain damaged from a fever as a child.
Before making this life-altering decision, Rain doesn't give it much thought. Considering she could be killed if discovered, I needed more to cheer on her quest. Much of the intro is spent building the relationship between Rain and her sister Willow. I would have preferred to see more with Storm. If he had run into some soldiers who teased him and assaulted him, and Rain stepped in to save him, I could have seen why she would be so driven to take his place.
We also don't see the offending army until much later in the book. They are talked about as being cruel and vicious, but a scene of them attacking a village or even a survivor appearing, bloodied and hysterical talking about their violence, would have helped me urge Rain on her quest to defeat them.
This is one of those books where I can see how it amazing it could be with just a little bit more. I think, as she is such a skilled writer, Jillian's next book will definitely reach that level.