Mary Weber

"I raise my chin as the buyers stare. Yes. Look. You don't want me. Because, eventually, accidentally, I will destroy you." As a slave in the war-weary kingdom of Faelen, seventeen-year-old Nym isn't merely devoid of rights, her Elemental kind are only born male and always killed at birth--meaning, she shouldn't even exist. Standing on the auction block beneath smoke-drenched mountains, Nym faces her fifteenth sell. But when her hood is removed and her storm-summoning killing curse revealed, Nym is snatched up by a court advisor and given a choice: be trained as the weapon Faelen needs to win the war or be killed. Choosing the former, Nym is unleashed into a world of politics, bizarre parties, and rumors of an evil more sinister than she's being prepared to fight . . . not to mention the trainer whose dark secrets lie behind a mysterious ability to calm every lightning strike she summons. But what if she doesn't want to be the weapon they've all been waiting for? Set in a beautifully eclectic world of suspicion, super abilities, and monsters, Storm Siren is a story of power. And whoever controls that power will win.

Storm Siren

The award-winning novel that started it all. “A riveting tale from start to finish. Between the simmering romance, the rich and inventive fantasy world, and one seriously jaw-dropping finale, readers will clamor for the next book—and I'll be at the front of the line!” —Marissa Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of the Lunar Chronicles In a world at war, a slave girl’s lethal curse could become one kingdom’s weapon of salvation. If the curse—and the girl—can be controlled. “I raise my chin as the buyers stare. Yes. Look. You don’t want me. Because, eventually, accidentally, I will destroy you.” As a slave in the war-weary kingdom of Faelen, seventeen-year-old Nym isn’t merely devoid of rights, her Elemental kind are only born male and always killed at birth—meaning, she shouldn’t even exist. Standing on the auction block beneath smoke-drenched mountains, Nym faces her fifteenth sell. But when her hood is removed and her storm-summoning killing curse revealed, Nym is snatched up by a court advisor and given a choice: be trained as the weapon Faelen needs to win the war or be killed. Choosing the former, Nym is unleashed into a world of politics, bizarre parties, and rumors of an evil more sinister than she’s being prepared to fight . . . not to mention the trainer whose dark secrets lie behind a mysterious ability to calm every lightning strike she summons. But what if she doesn’t want to be the weapon they’ve all been waiting for? Set in a beautifully eclectic world of suspicion, super abilities, and monsters, Storm Siren is a story of power. And whoever controls that power will win. “Intense and intriguing. Fans of high stakes fantasy won't be able to put it down.” —CJ Redwine, New York Times bestselling author of the Ravenspire series “Mary Weber has created a fascinating, twisted world. Storm Siren sucked me in from page one—I couldn’t stop reading! This is a definite must-read, the kind of book that kept me up late into the night turning the pages!” —Lindsay Cummings, author of the Androma Saga “A riveting read! Mary Weber's rich world and heartbreaking heroine had me from page one. You're going to fall in love with this love story.” —Josephine Angelini, internationally bestselling author of the Starcrossed trilogy “Elegant prose and intricate world-building twist into a breathless cyclone of a story that will constantly keep you guessing. More please!” —Shannon Messenger, author of the Sky Fall series

Vicky (A City Girl's Thoughts)

TRIGGER WARNING: Self-harm, sexual assault, abuse, and sexual harassment 

Pros: The world in this story is exquisite. Mary Weber writes an important story about self-acceptance and forgiveness; Nym thinks she's cursed but it's because she had to hide her powers so she's never killed. Elementals have powers that control weather, but because Draewulf (wizard-werewolf) has meddled in politics he convinced a king to kill them many years ago. Nym somehow avoids execution so she wasn't able to learn how to control her powers. Upon her 15th sale (she was auctioned off as a slave, again, for the 15th time) she's bought by Adora, a woman who council's King Sedric regarding military matters. Weber weaves an intrinsically emotional journey as Nym learns to accept herself while Eogan, her coach, teaches her about the true nature of her power. The ending is a curveball; I didn't expect that at all! The politics is as intriguing as it's confusing, so yes, this is another teenager with teen friends who overthrow a corrupt government, but it's NOTHING like The Hunger Games Trilogy - in case you were wondering.

Mary Horton

Michelle Boyea

I truly don’t even know where to start with this book. 

So the negatives
•The ending. Ugh the ending! Why? Just why? Why couldn’t they let her have her happy ever after with him? Is he even still alive? 
•Colin dying. He was such a sweet boy and was her first true friend. And he sacrificed himself for her. Which was wonderful and sweet, but also so depressing. Couldn’t she keep her first true friend?

Not even exaggerating, this ending makes me want to not read the second book. 

But the positives
•Well-written and very engaging. 
•Great to see her take control of her powers and accept who she truly is. And be able to be 100% true to herself

Cat Imb

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson-Fiction. Thank you both!

I want to start by saying that I really liked this book. Lately, I've been reading dark New Adult novels, and this book was like a breath of fresh air. I thoroughly enjoyed it due to the captivating plot and amazing characters.

This book is a great YA Fantasy read. This is what constitutes of a great plot for me:

1. Interesting world
2. Captivating story
3. Plot twists you don't see coming
4. A WTF just happened ending (but in a good way)(in a "I need the second book RIGHT NOW good way)

This book delivers on all these aspects. The world Mary Weber has created almost reminds me Victoria Aveyard's in Red Queen, yet is original. The politics of these kingdoms are intricate and captivating. It is clear that Weber has put much thought into the story line of this novel, because every action and plot twist is warranted and necessary. There are quite a few times, at which I stopped reading, looked up, and said "Holy Canoli." And oh boy, that ending... Speechless... Another Holy Canoli moment.

The characters in this novel were so lovable, and I say this in a very good way. As the book progresses, we get attached to many characters, which makes the reader that much more invested in Weber's story. Nym is an awesome protagonist who is strong willed and passionate. She and Colin make a great pair, and I loved their interactions. Colin made me chuckle and shake my head as I was reading, and I'm sure I looked completely ridiculous on the public transportation buses.

All in all, a great, entertaining, novel that Mary Weber has written, and I cannot wait until I read the second one!

​Random reaction to this book: I want white hair!

Jessica Nottingham

Consider my choice to read this book a massive case of cover lust. In fact, it was the second book in this series, Siren's Fury that caught my eye. These books are honestly gorgeous. When I found out that these stories dealt with elementals, my heart soared. I love Fantasy, and elemental magic is one of my favorite concepts. I couldn't wait to dive straight in.
 
Things start with a bang, quite literally, as Nym and her powers are introduced. I was drawn in by Nym's uniqueness. As an elemental, she should have been killed at birth. As a woman, she shouldn't even be an elemental. I loved this idea. To be caught up in a world where you don't really belong, and constantly wondering who will try to use you next. Or worse yet, who you might be forced to kill.
 
Anyone who follows my reviews know that I'm big on both characters and world-building. Those are the two cornerstones of Fantasy. In this case, the characters were spot on. I didn't always agree with Nym's choices, but I liked her well enough. Colin and Breck were actually my favorite characters, despite their more supporting roles. Eogan, well, I could have done without him. The problem with love triangles is, they need three people. For some reason, one always has to be a bad boy. Eogan fills that space, but it doesn't mean I enjoyed his character.
 
Now here's where the book started to lose me. First of all, I'm not a love triangle fan. Never have been, likely never will be. This is also the point in the book where I found out that Nym didn't want to step up to her powers. She doesn't want to kill. Anyone. Not even the people who want to kill her. The fact that she had the ability to save so many people, and chose not to? I wasn't a fan. As I reached the second half of this book, I also realized that a lot of my burning questions wouldn't be answered. No world-building was really done. I had no idea why elementals existed, nor did I learn a lot about any of the other magical races. It seemed that all of the focus was on the romance aspect.
 
So, did I love this book? Not quite. I did enjoy a fair bit of it though, and definitely liked it enough to continue on to the second in the series. My only hope is that I'll finally have some of my questions answered. That, and perhaps Nym will finally become the courageous character I know she has the ability to be. A bibliophile can hope.

Ashlie Reifer

Liz Griffin

I’m glad I read To Best the Boys before reading this... because I might not have read TBTB if I’d read this first, and I would have missed out on the author’s vastly improved skill as a writer and worldbuilder. This read was so-so from multiple angles.

Storm Siren

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