alisun 's review for:

We Unleash the Merciless Storm by Tehlor Kay Mejia

4.0

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This book is the sequel to We Set the Dark on Fire. I liked it well enough but not as much as the first book -- likely because there's less of a fantasy/dystopic feel to the book. This book follows Carmen after she is rescued by La Voz and returned to the camp. We learn that Carmen Santos has been an uncover spy for La Voz the whole time she was at the Medio School for Girls and the Segundo for Mateo Garcia. This helps explain her constant bullying of Dani -- like Dani, Carmen was also an outsider at the school. Carmen is challenged by La Voz leadership and accused of dangering the movement by falling in love with "an asset" (Dani). There are questions about Dani's loyalty to the movement and conversations to kill Dani rather than risk her divulging La Voz secrets. Carmen escapes, returns to the capital, rescues Dani (or rather, implicates Dani and then rescues her) and the two basically save la Voz (won't give away the end).

While I didn't love the book as much as book #1, there were a lot of things I did like about it. First, I think the author digs into some interesting themes about dedication to a cause whether that be being a dutiful daughter because of all your parents sacrificed (Dani) or being a revolutionary (Carmen). This also animates questions about loyalty and dogma. I also loved the challenging of the revolutionary troupe and what it means when the movement grows and changes.

The queer love story was a highlight of the book for me. There are some sweet scenes on the journey back to the La Voz camp between Dani and Carmen. I would have liked to understand the role of queerness in the revolution. I feel like that was definitely alluded to but underdeveloped. I wanted more of that intersection.