Scan barcode
A review by popthebutterfly
Stormrise by Jillian Boehme
4.0
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher! Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Author: Jillian Boehme
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Publication Date: September 24, 2019
Recommended Age: 16+ (cursing, slight fire, blood, violence)
Genre: YA fantasy
Publisher: TorTeen
Synopsis: If Rain weren’t a girl, she would be respected as a Neshu combat master. Instead, her gender dooms her to a colorless future. When an army of nomads invades her kingdom, and a draft forces every household to send one man to fight, Rain takes her chance to seize the life she wants.
Knowing she’ll be killed if she’s discovered, Rain purchases powder made from dragon magic that enables her to disguise herself as a boy. Then she hurries to the war camps, where she excels in her training—and wrestles with the voice that has taken shape inside her head. The voice of a dragon she never truly believed existed.
As war looms and Rain is enlisted into an elite, secret unit tasked with rescuing the High King, she begins to realize this dragon tincture may hold the key to her kingdom’s victory. For the dragons that once guarded her land have slumbered for centuries . . . and someone must awaken them to fight once more.
Review: I really liked this book for the most part. I felt the writing was pretty good, the characters were very well developed, and the worldbuilding was well done. I liked that this book was a retelling of Mulan and I loved the female empowerment message behind it.
However, there were some things I didn't particularly like or understand about this book. The use of the word "simpleton" to describe Storm made me feel uncomfortable. I get it was a word used in a previous time period but it just always made me uncomfortable. I thought the book had some awkward time jumps too. They weren't separated from the previous passage, making the read confusing. And I thought the addition of the dragons confused the story for me. I didn't get their overall purpose when it seemed that it could have been a straight Mulan retelling and be fine as just that.
Verdict: If ye love dragons then ye will love this book!
Author: Jillian Boehme
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Publication Date: September 24, 2019
Recommended Age: 16+ (cursing, slight fire, blood, violence)
Genre: YA fantasy
Publisher: TorTeen
Synopsis: If Rain weren’t a girl, she would be respected as a Neshu combat master. Instead, her gender dooms her to a colorless future. When an army of nomads invades her kingdom, and a draft forces every household to send one man to fight, Rain takes her chance to seize the life she wants.
Knowing she’ll be killed if she’s discovered, Rain purchases powder made from dragon magic that enables her to disguise herself as a boy. Then she hurries to the war camps, where she excels in her training—and wrestles with the voice that has taken shape inside her head. The voice of a dragon she never truly believed existed.
As war looms and Rain is enlisted into an elite, secret unit tasked with rescuing the High King, she begins to realize this dragon tincture may hold the key to her kingdom’s victory. For the dragons that once guarded her land have slumbered for centuries . . . and someone must awaken them to fight once more.
Review: I really liked this book for the most part. I felt the writing was pretty good, the characters were very well developed, and the worldbuilding was well done. I liked that this book was a retelling of Mulan and I loved the female empowerment message behind it.
However, there were some things I didn't particularly like or understand about this book. The use of the word "simpleton" to describe Storm made me feel uncomfortable. I get it was a word used in a previous time period but it just always made me uncomfortable. I thought the book had some awkward time jumps too. They weren't separated from the previous passage, making the read confusing. And I thought the addition of the dragons confused the story for me. I didn't get their overall purpose when it seemed that it could have been a straight Mulan retelling and be fine as just that.
Verdict: If ye love dragons then ye will love this book!