Trigger Warnings: This series has a heavy emphasis on sexual abuse against women. Girls of Storm and Shadow mostly deal with flashbacks of events from the first book, but there are also scenes of trauma.
Synopsis: In this mesmerizing sequel to the New York Times bestselling Girls of Paper and Fire, Lei and Wren have escaped their oppressive lives in the Hidden Palace, but soon learn that freedom comes with a terrible cost.
Lei, the naive country girl who became a royal courtesan, is now known as the Moonchosen, the commoner who managed to do what no one else could. But slaying the cruel Demon King wasn't the end of the plan---it's just the beginning. Now Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans. The journey is made even more treacherous thanks to a heavy bounty on Lei's head, as well as insidious doubts that threaten to tear Lei and Wren apart from within.
Meanwhile, an evil plot to eliminate the rebel uprising is taking shape, fueled by dark magic and vengeance. Will Lei succeed in her quest to overthrow the monarchy and protect her love for Wren, or will she fall victim to the sinister magic that seeks to destroy her.
Review: I loved Girls of Paper and Fire when I read it, and I was eagerly anticipating the sequel to come out. I didn't love Girls of Storm and Shadow as much as the first book, but I still enjoyed it a lot. I love seeing Lei interact with characters and figure out how she feels about her situation. Girls of Storm and Shadow takes Lei out of the palace and she traverses countries she had never seen before. We also see Lei struggle with trauma and she tries to figure out how to cope with being a former paper girl. Getting to see Lei interact freely with Wren was refreshing. They had to hide their relationship in the first book, but they could be more openly together in Girls of Storm and Shadow. I know Wren frustrated some people in this book, and she definitely frustrated me too. It didn't make me enjoy the story less, but I do have very specific things I want out of the last book. I may or may not be disappointed in the conclusion of this series, but we'll have to see.
The plot in Girls of Storm and Shadow was more political than in the first book. The entire story revolves around Wren, Lei, and their crew as they go from nation to nation and try to recruit allies. Some people might find this boring, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I liked seeing how Wren's family connections and Lei's legacy complimented each other as they found allies. One thing I was worried about was that Lei and Wren would spend the entire book thinking the king was actually dead. Thankfully, word got to them pretty quickly that the king was still alive, so we got to see how this realization affected how they approached some allies.
Interesting, politically heavy story, but I'm concerned about how the last book is going to go.
4 howls
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