This sequel to The Brilliant Death completes the story of Cielo and Teo in their quest to bring magic peace to their land and define their love by their own terms.
If you haven’t read the first book in this series, I would recommend doing so prior to reading this novel. If it’s been a while, you may also want a refresher. The Storm of Life dives right in and throughout the book very little background is given, so if you don’t understand the backstory you will miss a lot of the intrigue and subtilty throughout this book. The same gender fluid state is also present in this book and it will make little to no sense if you haven’t read the first book to understand why Cielo and Teo change genders and the emotional backstories behind why they choose the genders they do, when they do.
Language throughout this book is very simple. Any phrases in a foreign language are quickly discernable either by direct explanation or context. It has a nice flow to it and the story does keep moving forward and doesn’t seem to stagnate. The same cast of characters are back, but this book does expand out farther in cast than the first, which makes it a more well-rounded cast. That being said, the focus really still is on the interplay between Cielo and Teo.
The underlying theme of this book is war, but it really reads far more like a romance then a fantasy novel. Magic almost seems to be added in just a given that always exists. At times, the relationship between Cielo and Teo does seem co-dependent and depictions of a strong female character in Teo do, at times, fall flat as she seems to be so dependent on her love and relationship with Cielo. In the end, the story rounds out nicely and concerns I had over co-dependency did seem to resolve, but more through an abdication of superiority in Cielo’s male form then from a straight even footing of characters.
Overall, it’s still a good book. I think the first in the series was a better overall novel, but this one was still enjoyable and provided a nice round out of the story started in the first.
Review of an Advance Reader’s Copy
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Viking Books for Young Readers
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 7 mild obscenities; 3 derogatory names; 1 scatological word; 2 anatomical terms.
Violence/Gore: Multiple references to previous murders/deaths; multiple instances of pushing, kicking, and punching with wounds both bloody and non-bloody; multiple instances of being held at knifepoint; knife is plunged into own gut at behest of magic command; throat is slit; depictions of pools of blood on floor; character shot in stomach; attempted kidnapping; avalanche purposefully triggered to bury army; warriors magically turned into snowflakes; multiple multi-page scenes of graphic, brutal murder with copious amounts of blood (very violent imagery); numerous verbal threats; people turned magically into objects; suicide by hanging; man drowns.
Sex/Nudity: Multiple instances of nudity (both genders) without detail; couple is naked together without detail (both same and opposite genders); two instances of sex between adults without detail; numerous instances of kissing and hugging between same and opposite genders; kissing with groping of other parts of body including genitalia with moderate detail; two multiple page sex scenes with moderate detail between same and opposite genders; multiple sexual references/innuendo.
Mature Subject Matter:
Gender conflict; death; suicide; war; separation; abandonment; gender identity issues; homosexuality; ethics; murder.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Adult characters drink unknown type of alcohol.
