This is a fast-paced, YA romantasy filled with dangerous magic, forbidden love, and a deadly competition for the throne. Blaze, a Rain Singer born into a powerful fire-wielding family, has spent 17 years in hiding after her storm-summoning birth nearly destroyed the empire. Now, she’s thrust into the spotlight, where she must battle for her place in a world that fears her.

This book delivers everything you’d want from the genre: a high-stakes tournament, swoony love interests, a found family vibe, and great banter.

While the characters and tropes feel familiar, the execution is strong, the pacing tight, and the writing emotional and engaging. A fun, compelling start to a trilogy that reminded me just how enjoyable YA can be.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

4 stars

This was a solid start to a YA fantasy trilogy! If you're a fan of Red Queen and Shadow and Bone, you'll definitely notice the comparisons, but it doesn’t feel like a copy-paste of those stories. It definitely has those familiar YA fantasy tropes, but delivers them in a way that still feels fun and engaging. The world building was seamless, with an interesting elemental magic system that avoided heavy info-dumping.

I was pleasantly surprised by the pacing. It held steady throughout, keeping me invested. Around the 50% mark, I’ll admit I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy the romance plot, but what the author did in the latter half completely changed my mind.

Now, the last 30% was when I knew I was definitely going to pick up book 2!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with this e-ARC!

First, I’d like to thank NetGalley, Lauryn Hamilton Murray, and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for the opportunity to read Heir of Storms in exchange for my honest review.

WOW—just wow! I absolutely loved this book! From the richly imagined magic system to the incredible world-building and unforgettable characters, Heir of Storms completely swept me away. I didn’t see that ending coming, and it left me reeling in the best way.

Blaze’s journey was such a powerful one—watching her grow from a sheltered, isolated girl into someone who finds inner strength, real friendships, and purpose was so rewarding. Her grandmother’s words, "Remember who you are," resonated throughout the story and perfectly encapsulated Blaze’s transformation. That theme carried the emotional weight of the story beautifully.

I 100% recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy—it’s gripping, magical, and filled with heart!

Oh. My. God. Literally I am obsessed with this book. I know it’s only April, but so far this is probably my favorite or for sure top books of the year, I just know it. Lauryn wove together a beautiful magic system, the world building was perfect, and the characters were well developed. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen I was surprised. I can’t wait for a second book in this series and knowing this is her debut book????? Are you KIDDING ME. Lauryn has an incredibly bright future ahead and I’m a fan for sure.

This was a great book for world building. Lots of characters to follow and fall in love with. Emotional. Ya romantasy. Good read.

very well written romantasy with some awesome ideas. the characters were epically done and the twists were quite subtle, often hidden behind other options. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

This was an absolutely lovely debute novel that I think the author should be incredibly proud of! The world building was wonderful with a plot that unfolded at a steady pace. Perfect to keep you invested in Blaze's story without it becoming overwhelming. The elemental system while familiar was presented in a way that still felt new with maybe a bit of nostalgia. Overall this was most definitely a page turner and I look forwards to when future books come out!

4 Stars ⭐️

Heir of Storms was such a pleasant surprise!! I flew through it and found myself really drawn into the world and Blaze’s journey.

Blaze is a Rain Singer, born into a fire-wielding family—which, as you can imagine, creates a lot of tension. Especially since her powers triggered a massive storm that left thousands dead, turning her into a sort of living curse. Her character arc—from misunderstood outcast to someone slowly stepping into her power—was probably my favorite part.

The elemental magic system is familiar (fire, water, air, earth, light), but still fun. The world building had just enough detail to keep me intrigued without being overwhelming. I do think there’s potential for things to grow in complexity as the series continues.

For a debut novel, the writing flows nicely, the pacing kept me turning pages, and the setup for future books is super intriguing. This gave Throne of Glass x Red Queen x Powerless vibes!! Think magic competitions, ancient legacies, palace drama, and a determined FMC. I’ll definitely be picking up book two when it comes out.

<i> Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with this e-ARC! <i>

Heir of Storms was not for me. I still want to start with some of the positives as I do think there is an audience for this book.
If you liked Powerless by Lauren Roberts you’ll probably like this. This story follows a girl who has undeservedly earned a reputation as a murderer as she discovers who she is and what the world may need from her. The magic systems is based on the typical elements (fire, water, earth, air) as well as light. There is some (minimal) political intrigue, and though the world is small in this installment it has potential to be a complex and interesting world in the future books. People who are just hungry for the next romantasy and enjoy a more formulaic book may enjoy this. I also think it is important to note that this is a debut author, so some of my gripes to come may be remedied in future books as writing is hard and can take time to craft.
So why the low rating?
1. It was painfully repetitive. I understand this book is YA, but YA readers do not need to be reminded about the world a million times. They are intelligent and need to hone their reading skills. For example, the prologue is pointless. Everything we learn in the prologue is explained in the first chapter. This book is in first person, and if the prologue was in third person to show us the world’s reaction to what happened, it would have been really interesting. Instead it felt like the author didn’t trust the reader to understand what was happening.
2. This may not be a deal breaker for many, but I couldn’t get over the naming conventions. Our main character and her brother are from the Fire wielding family and their names are Blaze and Flint. Everyone is named like this. It isn’t a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but I found it incredibly distracting.
3. It was predictable. This may be a pro for a lot of people, but I want to be on the edge of my seat. From pretty early on I was able to guess who the bad guy was, who the love interest was, and what the events of the book would be.
4. Somethings just didn’t make sense. Without spoilers are times at the party in the beginning people (Ember) should not be where they are. There is also a plot point with emotions that feels unlikely to me.
5. I’m so over girl hate in books. Yes, to be fair, Blaze (the MFC) does interact with other girls just fine, but there are two that share animosity with her for seemingly no reason. One of these characters is from the water group, and she is referred to as “fish bitch” more than once. It didn’t add anything to the story and felt very early 2000s. With this, we are told calling this group “fish” is derogatory, yet it is done constantly and that just felt…icky.
6. Blaze pretends to make decisions, but really she just does what she is told the whole book. She isn’t moving through the story or changing events. Everything is just happening by to her. I’m not a fan of that.
7. This was such a small part of the book, but at one point Blaze equates being disabled with being damaged. it isn’t something that is ever addressed or that she learns from. This is very harmful to the disability community, even just in passing.

Thank you netgally for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to @netgalley and Roaring Book Press @macmillanusa OMG!!!!! I absolutely loved this book🔥❤️🔥. This book included magic, love, and competition. Those three things alone made this book a page-turner. I had trouble putting it down. It stuck with me so much that I even dreamed about it😂.

This book was about a teenager named Blaze that is a Rain Singer. She literally can make it rain😁 which she did when she was born. It rained so much on the day of her birth that she actually flooded the kingdom. This caused great chaos and caused her to be an outcast because so many people perished. She was hidden away after that day and since that day she hasn't been able to make it rain the same way. Blaze and her brother, Flint, are eventually invited to the Golden Palace to compete to be future rulers. This is where the story gets really exciting. She discovers her powers and tries to change the opinion of others about her and her gift.

This book includes fighting and a few curse words here and there, so I would definitely suggest no one under 15 read this book. The author did an excellent job with world building and giving great detail with the main characters. This author has an easy to read style that flows beautifully. Of course, I had to give this amazing book 5⭐️. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

#netgalley #HeirOfStorms#roaringbookpress #macmillanus #laurynhamiltonmurray #arcreview #bookstagram

Heir of Storms is a beautifully written fantasy with immersive worldbuilding and layered character development that left me immediately craving book two.

The story follows Blaze, born into a family of fire-wielders but gifted with the rare and feared power of a Rain Singer. Her birth sparked a devastating storm that killed thousands, leading to her being hidden from society. Her powers vanished—until years later, when she’s chosen as one of the royal heirs vying for a crown. Alongside her twin brother, Blaze is brought to the Golden Palace, where she begins training and unraveling the truth behind her past… and her powers.

The worldbuilding is rich and well thought out, blending elemental magic, high-stakes trials, and ancient prophecies. If you love fantasy with court politics, deadly competitions, and mysterious legacies, this book hits all the right notes. It definitely gives Throne of Glass, Red Queen, and Lightlark vibes in the best way.

Blaze’s arc was my favorite part—misunderstood, bullied, and haunted by her reputation, she slowly grows into her strength and confidence. Watching her prove herself, both to others and to herself, was so satisfying. She’s passionate, brave, and easy to root for.

This book is clearly setting up a much larger story, and Heir of Storms is just the beginning. I’m really looking forward to what’s next in this series—especially with all the secrets still left to uncover.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! ⚡🔥🌧️

Predictable, boring story with laughably named characters. I can't take a book seriously when everyone is named Blaze, Flint, Fox.

3.5 stars - I enjoyed the start of this new series. My initial reaction was that this was a bit longer than it needed to be, the pacing was a bit off. That said I thought the plot and premise was well done and the world development was unique. It did feel a bit hunger games-ish with the sponsors and the trials but still kept me turning pages. I really enjoyed the relationship between flint and blaze and liked her interactions with Fox but looking for a bit more in book 2!

Thanks for the opportunity to read early

Extremely well done YA book. It didn't feel too young and childish. It handled grief and the loss of a loved one really well.

Our FMC has powers, but they are dormant and come back to her as she finds her way out of her shell.

I was a bit hesitant about another book with trails, but this was well done. We didn't spend so much time in them that they became tedious.

The magic system was really well planned out. Fox's was my favorite.

I definitely look forward to the next book!

Review left on goodreads as well

3.75*

If you've been in the fantasy book space in the 2010s, then you have read this book, lol.

Heir of Storms is a fun, quick read about a sheltered, reluctant heroine chosen by the gods to compete in a (relatively) deadly trial for the throne of one of the four elemental courts. The plot was very predictable (I kept a fun little list of potential plot points and whaddaya know, almost all of them occurred in this book), and the world building isn't anything new either. But wow, was it fun to read something that knew it wasn't serious (you can't convince me this is a serious book when your fire character is intellectually named "Flint" and your water character, "River" and "Fjord").

The characters fell a bit flat for me, and I didn't feel anything more than the average human desire for the good, agreeable main characters to stay alive, but they were fun to read about. Most side characters fell into cookie cutter archetypes and I hope that they get developed further down the line (especially Flint... I felt like we could have seen more of him considering he's literally our mc's TWIN BROTHER).

I feel like this book was for the author to laydown the groundworks needed for the next couple of books to be absolute bangers, as there does seem to be something interesting and unique cooking in the background. The book also read like it was trying to check off "things that will make your book a #1 NYT bestseller, probably" but never really wanted to commit to those tropes, which makes me think the author might have something very cool up their sleeves.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian for this ARC; all thoughts are my own :D

Heir of Storms was a fun start to a new fantasy series. The beginning dragged a bit for me, and it took a little while to really get invested in the story. Some of the plot twists were pretty easy to see coming, but there was one surprise that I genuinely didn’t expect and really enjoyed.

I thought the author did a great job with the world-building—it felt natural and not like a giant info dump, which I appreciated. That said, I’m hoping the next books dive a little deeper into backstory, because there are still a few things I’m confused about, especially when it comes to some of the characters’ motivations.

I’ll definitely pick up the next one because I’m curious to see where the story goes.

Rating: 3.5 stars.

I was so excited to find out that I had received an ARC of Heir of Storms by Lauryn Hamilton Murray, which was pitched as “Red Queen Meets Shadow and Bone,” because I was a huge fan of both of these books. I have to say, Heir of Storms definitely met my high expectations and even exceeded them! The premise of the novel is so unique and interesting. It centers around Blaze, a young woman who was born as a Rain Singer despite hailing from a very powerful fire wielding family. When Blaze is born, there is a devastating storm that kills thousands of people and results in people being very fearful of her and isolating her as she grows up. The story gets very interesting when Blaze and her brother Flint, along with others from powerful families, take part in a deadly high stakes competition to determine if they will be future rulers of the empire that rules over all of them. I loved the characters in this book and felt personally connected to Blaze as I was reading. She goes through so many different journies throughout the story. I also am a big fan of the romance in this book as it didn’t feel forced and I love how it slowly develops throughout the book. I am really looking forward to reading the sequel of this because I loved this book so much. I think a lot of people will really enjoy this one, especially if you love fantasy books with high stakes competitions and a touch of romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Heir of Storms is the debut of Lauryn Hamilton Murray, the story has a compelling blend of elemental magic, intense trials, and a richly crafted world. Set in an empire where power is earned through the brutal Choosing Rite, the story follows Blaze, the last Rain Singer, as she navigates a path fraught with danger, self-discovery, and forbidden romance.

Murray's world-building is meticulous, introducing readers to a society governed by elemental courts and a magic system where emotions fuel power. The trials, central to the Choosing Rite, test not only physical prowess but also mental resilience and emotional growth, adding depth to the narrative. My favorite part of reading this book was Blaze's evolution from a reluctant participant to a determined contender was both empowering and relatable. Her internal struggle with her identity and powers resonates deeply, highlighting themes of self-acceptance and the strength found in embracing one's true self.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for honest review.

5 stars! Oh. My. Gosh! Could not put this book down. Started and finished this book in one sitting and adored every second!

In this debut YA Romantasy novel, we're swept into a world of magic where those with power are the Etheri and those without are the Fidra. Our main character is Blaze, who was born into a family of fire wielders as a water wielder. But not just any water wielder, a Rain Singer. As soon as Blaze was born, her powers summoned a massive storm that killed thousands and she's been kept hidden ever since.

The magic system picks new leaders for each realm after an eclipse comes and marks 4 potential heirs to each realm. Each of the 4 contestants must travel to the Emperor's palace to compete against each other to claim their throne.

Blaze was shocked to be picked, thinking her magic had left her shortly after birth, but travels with her brother (an heir to the Fire realm) to the competition. Once arriving, Blaze must find herself, her magic and her will to fight. She also discovers history that had been hidden and must work with one of the Emperor's sons to try and right past wrongs.

Speaking of the Emperor's sons, we meet them both. One is his heir by birthright, the other is the son of his beloved mistress, who's been named Earth Cleaver after he split their world into two. These two brothers have never gotten along and at first glance it appears both are vying for Blaze's heart.

Overall, I ADORED every second of this book, I cannot wait for book 2 and I'm so excited that this one is speculated to be a Fairyloot pick for a summer box!

Thank you so much for this ARC.

Overall I'm sitting around a 4 star rating for this. The writing was built to draw you in and I was constantly trying to sneak a page whenever I could. The characters were complicated and grey which I loved, and the overarching world was pretty interesting, I think I just wanted it to feel a little less chosen one.
This book felt similar to Avatar the last Airbender mixed with a gauntlet book. The plot felt predictable at times but many of my predictions turned out to be wrong or they were twisted in some way which was fun. Overall, I highly recommend reading this when it comes out.