Storm Siren (The Storm Siren Trilogy, #1)

by Mary Weber

"There are few things more exciting to discover than a debut novel packed with powerful storytelling and beautiful language. Storm Siren is one of those rarities. I'll read anything Mary Weber writes. More, please!" -JAY ASHER, New York Times bestselling author of Thirteen Reasons Why "Storm Siren is 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 "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. "Readers who enjoyed Marissa Meyer's Cinder series will enjoy this fast-paced fantasy which combines an intriguing story line with as many twists and turns as a chapter of Game of Thrones!" -Dodie Owens, Editor, School Library Journal Teen "Weber builds a fascinating and believable fantasy world. Inventive and entertaining." -Kirkus Reviews "[F]antasy readers will feel at home in Weber's first novel ...a detailed backdrop and large cast bring vividness to the story."
-Publishers Weekly "Readers will easily find themselves captivated. The breathtaking surprise ending is nothing short of horrific, promising even more dark and bizarre adventures to come in the Storm Siren trilogy." -RT Book Reviews, 4 stars

• ISBN10: 1401690343
• ISBN13: 9781401690342
• Publish Date: 19 August 2014
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 15 October 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Rutledge Hill Press,U.S.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[ladygrey]

I shouldnt have waited until the end to write my thoughts. Storm Siren was good characters. Not great that I especially enjoy or want to spend more time with, but well developed. The prose is well done except so much of it is floweringly descriptive that I stopped noticing because it got distracting. Also, maybe I was tired but I got lost in a good bit of the action and over-zealous descriptions in it.  I’d say I’m over the “she’s the most powerful of us all” trope except I pretty well knew what I was getting myself into from the start. 

(show spoiler)[But that ending! What a horrible, terrible, way to end it. I was thinking that it threw all the bad guys and elements of the book in when I thought it’d leave some for the next books. But then it has not only a cliffhanger ending, but an awful one that makes you not want to read the next book but also morbidly curious how she’s going to undo this. ] (hide spoiler)

[Angie]

I am torn about Storm Siren! For the most part, I was bored and at times annoyed or frustrated. But that final page! OMG! It was fantastic! I want to know what comes next, but then again, I don't want to be bored or frustrated if the sequel is more of the same. I don't think it will be, but I don't know. But seriously, that last page...I did not see that one coming!

Storm Siren started off well enough. Nym is definitely a Negative Nancy, which took some getting use to, but I found that I actually liked her that way. It wouldn't make sense for her to be all happy and optimistic, since she's a slave and has been sold fifteen times! She's also killed people with her Elemental ability that she can't control. And there's all of the terrible stuff she's gone through as a slave, including getting her hand broken, leaving her crippled. She doesn't have much to smile about, and I actually admired her being able to backtalk those who choose to talk down to her because of her position. She'll probably rub a lot of readers the wrong way, but I liked her.

As for what frustrated me about Storm Siren, I'm one of those readers who once they notice an inconsistency can't let it go! After Nym is purchased and brought to the castle, they dye her hair so no one knows that she's an Elemental. She'd probably be killed otherwise, even though she's the only female. But her owner also sends her out to practice controlling storms. Wouldn't someone notice odd changes in the weather every single day? Especially when she's calling down lightning and blowing up trees! And an avalanche! I'm sure the castle has no close neighbors, but any neighbors probably wouldn't notice her hair. So the hair dye is to keep her hidden from the people in the castle, who are close enough to notice all of these crazy storms! But no one ever notices! Most of the book is about Nym learning to control her power, so I was quite distracted thinking about this.

In the end, I kind of like Storm Siren. I loved the premise of this only female Elemental being used as a weapon in war, and things do get quite exciting near the end. But nothing happens for most of the book, which left me bored on top of my frustration at the above mentioned oversight. I did predict one of the twists at the end, but it's one of my favorite type of twists: when something believed to be just a story or legend turns out to be true! But then that last page...no freaking way! I honestly did not expect that and really want to know what happens!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[tweetybugshouse]

Storm Siren is an impressive fantasy debut by Mary Weber. Her writing is thoughtful and at times even stunning, and her words have woven a powerful and inspiring story that promises to stick with me. I hope you decide to give this a chance; that way we can agonize over the conclusion together until the second book releases. This book does not hold back any punches in regards to ripping your heart out by killing off characters and it totally guts you with ending that makes you want to jump right into book two which i am totally doing, dinner not getting cooked tonight lol. Awesome start to a series that i will highly recommend as a must read now.

[KitsuneBae]

This review first appeared on Thoughts and Pens.

Well, the first word that came out from my mouth after reading Storm Siren was WOW! I must admit that I only picked it up because the synopsis has similarities with the Winner’s Curse. I mean, the MCs were both slaves and were sold to people who are connected to the army. While I am not really WOWed by the Winner’s Curse , I still liked it and am hoping that book 2 will improve. But Storm Siren was really different. Its fast paced plot as well the beautiful writing captivated me from the start. Not to mention that the main character was somewhat reminiscent of X-men’s Storm and Frozen’s Queen Elsa. Yeah, you’ve read that right. The main charater, Nymia/Nym, is an Elemental who has white hair and can summon storm, ice and lightning. The only absent characteristic is the all-white eyes which is one of Storm’s trademark when she unleashes her power. So the similarity with Elsa was, aside from creating ice, Nym is also unstable, insecure and very scared to use her powers because she’s afraid of hurting or worse, killing people (which she accidentally did countless of times).

While the similarities that I’ve mentioned above should put me off, I wasn’t because the Storm Siren was different in a way that it painfully explored Nym’s past and present ordeal concerning her uncontrollable powers. I liked that her character development progressed in a realistic way and that her being the only heroine who can save the Kingdom of Faelen has a believable foundation to back the story.

The other characters were also interesting and I didn’t have a hard time getting attached to them. They were unique in their own ways and I just wished that… I couldn’t say it for fear of spoiling you. Sighs.

The world building and the magical system were also big pluses for this book. Kudos to the author for bringing me to Nym’s world without drowning me with annoying info dumps. Mary Weber introduced me to the culture of Faelen easily and the story flowed nicely.

Storm Siren’s romance was also praiseworthy because it didn’t bog down the whole story and remained on the sidelines. The advancement was convincing even if it was predictable as to whom Nymia will end up with. And thankfully, no love triangles or any geometric love for that matter even if the author has a lot of opportunities to do so.

But I think that the strongest point of Storm Siren is its plot. The story really blew me away and I was literally holding my breath when revelations after revelations came. I was like, “What? OMG! NOOO! Damn, Mary Weber, you didn’t just do that! How could you???!” As if the revelations weren’t enough, the events really turned crazy as Mary Weber played bookish god.

The only reason that stopped me from giving this book a five was that one glaring plot hole. Read the spoiler at your own risk.
(show spoiler)[
Eogan, the love interest was the villain’s twin and because he wanted to start a new life, he made people believe that he is already dead and became one of Faelen’s people. Apparently, no one ever recognized him when he looked so much like his evil twin. And it’s not as if the evil twin is hiding or somewhat but I think it was really stupid for the Faelen people to not recognize that the handsome trainer is no other than the twin of one of their greatest foe.
] (hide spoiler)

To conclude, requesting Storm Siren from Netgalley has been a wise decision. It’s a 270 pager that managed to tell a story of a slave complete with twists and turns, and a heart wrenching romance.

*** An e-ARC was freely provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much, Thomas Nelson and Harper Collins!***

[Vicki]

DNF at 48% on 6/22/2018.

I really wanted to like this book...the cover is gorgeous and the premise was so interesting. I just couldn't get into it. I couldn't connect with any of the characters. Even though this was told from Nym's POV, I still didn't feel that I knew her or understood her. I wanted to care but I just didn't. The book just kinda fell flat for me.