Ok I TOTALLY loved this! Heir of Storms took many of my favorite tropes and did them really well. High stakes trials, princely brothers, corrupt politics, the slowest burn romance, delightful banter, and an FMC who digs deep to find out she’s strong. Blaze seemed more emotionally mature than many other young FMCs which is refreshing. The magic system is unique too. So much happened in the last few chapters I had to lift my jaw off the floor. I will be all over the rest of this series.

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing for the ARC!

I have wanted a good story that involves storm magic for years and sadly, I am still going to be looking. I hated this one and the only reason I kept reading was that it was a quick read. The plot largely happened because the plot needed to happen – as in, the only reason the events were happening was so other events could take place and not because they made sense. I did skip about 20% of the middle but it didn’t seem like I missed much. Sad but oh well.

4.5⭐️ rounded up
I devoured this book. Parts of it were a bit predictable to me but reading it was cozy and a nice visit to YA trials fantasy. Blaze is a relatable FMC as she grows throughout the book.
It was a great introduction to this world and the characters - it has me hooked for the next installment of the trilogy!
Key tropes: trials, chosen one, elemental magic, female rage, court intrigue, and deception.
Thank you NetGalley for the electronic copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

If you love elemental magic, trials, and prophecies, then this is the one for you! This has a love triangle done so well I was legitimately heartbroken, I had to put it down to collect myself. It was fast-paced from the very beginning. There is a completely different take on “powerless” FMCs that I hadn’t seen before. I absolutely devoured this. I loved seeing Blaze find her confidence and voice. Her growth throughout this book felt very authentic. I personally would like to see more growth in her conflicts with Ember and Marion in the future. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the ARC!

Lauryn Hamilton Murray crafts a richly imagined world with elemental magic and political tension, but her story telling of Blaze’s journey tops it off.

The romance is intense without overshadowing the plot, and the love triangle is surprisingly well-executed. Normally I’m not a fan of love triangles, but this one wasn’t too intense and didn’t get in the way of the plot.

For those who love fantasy and love the deep worlds created, this book is amazing.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for the eARC of Heir of Storms.

This book follows Blaze, the most loathed person in her realm due to a deadly storm she conjured on the day of her birth, killing thousands of people. She is called many names both intriguing - Storm Weaver, Rain Singer - and insulting - Freak, Changeling, Murderer. She lives in isolation for 17 years before being chosen as an Heir in the trials to win a crown for her realm.

The characters in this story were interesting with a strong sense of found family. By far, Fox was the most interesting character in this story, without him, the story would’ve suffered. I did not like how obedient Blaze was throughout the story, allowing her brother to fill her plate at meals, and waiting for someone to aid her when in trouble. She had a wishy-washy personality and her growth was not consistent throughout the story. For a lot of the issues she faced, it seemed if she put her mind to it and remembered what people said to her, she’d miraculously succeed in her endeavor.

The story was medium paced throughout.

The trials in this story seemed a bit simplistic and the resolutions to problems reminded me more of a middle-school level read than a YA book.

This book has no spice, only steam, with good tension between Blaze and Fox.

I did not understand isolating Blaze for her entire life, without introducing her to the court or training her to control her powers or even teaching her about what she was. But then, once she has a glowing Heir mark, she’s sent to the Palace without much fanfare and without any protection or preparation. Blaze’s Grandmother, having seen all three of her daughters in these trials, did nothing to prepare Blaze other than telling her to be grateful and graceful? It makes no sense.

Overall, this was a good read. I would read the next book in the trilogy.

⭐️: 4.25/5
🌶️: 🚪
Format: 📱 arc

This was SO COOL. Hunger Games meets A Fate Forged in Fire, this book features a land of elemental magic where four heirs for each elemental court compete for their crowns, ultimately leading to a core court of one Etheri per element plus the Emperor. Heir of Storms did a fantastic job of marrying emotional depth of character in Blaze with political intrigue in a scheming court, and the result is a unique world that had me wanting to read more.

What I loved about the characters was that when you got to know one of them, you got to go deep. And unlike other "outcast" heroes, Blaze had solid people by her side, showing that no one is truly alone.

There were also twists! While I was able to read the foreshadowing for some of them, others took me by surprise, which is always a positive thing. Looking back, I could see where they came from, but in the moment, I truly felt like I was reeling. I liked that Murray gave me a mix so there were times when I felt I had a strong grip on what was happening (or going to happen), but that confidence faltered quickly when another twist would take me.

Overall, I was gripped until the end, and while the ending felt a little bit rushed, it does make me want to hold on for the next in the series so I can continue to follow Blaze (AND FOX, HELLO!).

-First of all: Is anything about the magic system and trial completely unique? No. Were they written so well that they felt new and intriguing? Yes!
-Slow burn and underlying tension? Yes. But not in an in-your-face, overshadows-the plot kind of way.
-Boring? Not at all! Kept my attention from beginning to end.
-Plot twists? Yes
-Solid 4.75⭐️ and highly recommend this book!

4.25/5 stars

This book surprised me as I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would, and I think that's due to its cheer worthy heroine and a fascinating imagined world.

At its basic level, it's a story about gaining self-confidence when you feel that you've let everyone down and become a shell of what you should be. While Blaze is not sure that she wants to be the powerful Rain Singer she became at birth, she also feels that she might be missing some essential pieces of herself by not being able to maximize her gift to its fullest. She's a clever and courageous young woman who's just trying to figure it all out.

The love triangle is well done and even though it's basically resolved in this first book, we're left with mostly positive feelings toward both men (well...mostly positive). I liked both of them for different reasons and felt that they truly cared for Blaze as a person. While one was not quite what we thought he was, he's human and did not end up as an evil villain as some members of triangles often do.

As the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, I'm looking forward to the next adventure in the trilogy.

Well done.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group / Roaring Brook Press for providing the free early arc of Heir of Storms for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Heir of Storms was a fun and fast paced story full of self discovery and personal growth.
This magical world has an interesting back story to it that I think we are just beginning to crack the lid on. The plot keeps you engaged while trying to fit all the pieces together to reveal the bigger picture.
The reader gets romance, mystery, prophecy, hidden agendas, trials, betrayal and the start to a thrilling saga.
Blaze, our main character, was kind yet a bit naive so we really get to watch her blossom. The love interests keep things twisty with Hal bringing the charm and Fox stirring the pot. Not to leave out the incredible supporting cast of characters that really round out the story.
I very much enjoyed this read and look forward to seeing where this goes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I adored this story!!! Blaze our FMC is born to a house of flames with the powers of water. Her birth causing an outburst of elemental magic that changed everything. From that point on she believed herself empty having used up her magic never to be seen again, or did she?

Blaze and her twin brother Flint are chosen as heirs right after their 17th name day. In this kingdom crowns are not passed down but earned in deadly trials between 4 heirs from each elemental territory. There are twists and turns around every corner (some I did predict but others I never saw coming!)

This book captivated me from the very beginning. Full of action and mystery. The main characters are amazing but the side characters are where my heart is. Fox, Elva, Kai, Ealith, Ren, Spinner, and so many more give this story so much extra depth and I enjoyed all of the emotions they provoked from me.

Prophecies
Mystery
Trials
Elemental Magic
Rivals to Friends?

You will not regret this one it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year I devoured this story!!!

In a world where royalty is earned and not inherited, every couple of decades a new group of the younger generation are selected to train and compete to see who will be the new kings and queens throughout the land. The only exception is that of the Emperor which has been passed to the first born son since the original creator and also get's passed every couple of decades when the new kings and queens are selected. We watch as the four selected for each kingdom of Ignitia (fire), Aquatori (water), Ventalla (air), and Terrathian (earth) train and hone their powers to ready themselves for their trials to compete to become the next king or queen.

It was honestly refreshing to have a fantasy book without spice. This had twists woven throughout that I didn't even know where coming. Mic drops, plot twists and turns and curves, characters and a world that are fascinating and wonderful. I can't quite pinpoint my favorite part because the whole thing was amazing! I can't wait to see what happens next!

This book had an interesting premise and some solid world-building ideas, but it leaned a little too hard into classic YA tropes for my taste. The characters felt underdeveloped, the romance didn’t have much depth, and the stakes never really hit. It read very young, with predictable twists and overly simplified conflicts. Might be a good fit for readers new to fantasy, but it didn’t quite work for me.

This book blew me away! The world-building is rich and alive, and the characters leapt off the page with all their flaws and fire. I fell hard for this book and can’t wait to see where Blaze’s journey takes her next.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Roaring Brook Press for the ARC

So I really wanted to like this book, but it was just fine. The first chapter was really good. The it just was bland. The main character took the whole book to get some confidence. All the characters were suppose to have these amazing powers, but they barely used them. They were like in the background. The story was nothing new, which I’m fine with, but it wasn’t exciting, even the trials weren’t very exciting. The “bad boy” wasn’t in the book enough. Their interactions weren’t enough for me to believe they would be enemies to lovers. The first live interest had the only twist in the book that I didn’t see coming, but it wasn’t exciting out of left field and felt unnecessary. Also the way it ended was so blah it didn’t leave me wanting or caring to find out what happened.

Heir of Storms is a beautifully atmospheric, emotionally charged debut that hooked me from page one. Blaze is the kind of heroine you root for because she doesn’t believe she can win. Because she’s real. Because she’s flawed. And because she never got the chance to be anything else.

It’s a book about power, yes—but even more so, it’s about belonging. Or maybe, learning how to belong to yourself first.

This is one of those reads that stays with you. I’ve already ordered my physical copy, and I’ll be first in line when the sequel drops.

3.75/5 stars, rounded up to 4

Keeping this short, mainly to avoid spoilers!

Heir of Storms feels very reminiscent of the YA fantasies I enjoyed in the early 2010s. It opens to a very compelling backstory, the prose immediately grabbing my attention, and making me eager to read more. Unfortunately, that didn't carry over to the rest of the book.

HoS feels like it treads many of the same paths as books that have come before it: there's a sheltered girl with immense power, who finds herself competing in trials to win a crown she doesn't want. I wouldn't have minded this if the magic system was unique, or the main character, Blaze, hadn't been so bland throughout most of the story. It also didn't help that the names were all over the place. There would be great fantasy names and surnames like Renly, Castellion, Harglade, Elaith; and then there were names like Blaze, Flint, Fox, and Hal (which, to be fair, is short for Haldyn, but my point stands). It constantly took me out of the story when BLAZE, whose parents knew she didn't have fire powers when she was a newborn, would ruminate on her feelings for Prince HAL.

Despite that, both the writing and story were decent enough that I kept picking the book back up after setting it aside. But around a third of the way through, I started questioning if I even wanted to continue reading; it was taking me days to read a chapter and I had a hard time being at all invested in the characters or plot once everyone was set up at the golden palace. I gave myself until the 50% mark to decide if I would DNF or not. Luckily at 40%, Fox (Fox!) Calloway Castellion came into the picture.

[Sidenote: It took me about three weeks to get to that 40%, and then 2 days after that to finish the book.]

Once Fox made his way onto the page, not only did the story pick up the pace, there was finally an interesting and multifaceted character to follow through Blaze's POV. Everyone else until this point felt one-dimensional, and even though I had an idea of where Fox's character arc was going, I was invested in seeing it.

I have plenty of smaller gripes with the book – mainly about the magic system and how easily Blaze seems to be able to get a handle on her powers – but overall I had so much fun in the second half that I was able to overlook them. The ending was also pretty exciting, and I'll be ready to read book 2 once it comes out!

I recommend this for fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender; Children of Blood and Bone; and those whose favorite song on TTPD is Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free digital ARC for my honest review!

Potential was there, but fell through.

This book honestly had a lot of potential if you ask me. I think the premise, the world, the magic all had the promise to be really cool and intriguing...but sadly I feel like this book just missed the mark. It ended up feeling a little too generic.

My biggest knock against this book were the characters names. I am one of those people where the characters's names can make or break a story, and in this case, they didn't help. I thought they were all a tad cliche and overused. There was nothing unique or riveting about any of the character names. And like I get what the vibe was supposed to be, but it just felt really simplistic to me.

Then there was the "love triangle"...spoiler alert, it's not a love triangle. I don't know why it was being marketed that way if it's really not a genuine love triangle. In my opinion, it was pretty obvious which guy was the main love interest. But speaking of romances...I also found that pretty lackluster. Nothing about it had me invested.

Overall, this book just didn't have anything that really pulled me in or kept me invested. It all felt very mediocre and a little too YA for me personally. I do think this would probably be a pretty solid read for someone just getting into fantasy or a younger fantasy reader, but for me, it just wasn't it.

I like to give a big thank you to the author, the publisher, and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 3.5/5

I really liked this book. The ending confused me a little, so I subtracted a star. But the FMC, the 2 MMCs (😏), the elemental magic… Great world building. Looking forward to book 2!

This book was truly a surprising delight. From the moment I started reading, I was completely hooked. The writing is clear and easy to follow, with world-building that’s carefully paced and well-distributed throughout the story. The magic system was explained so clearly that I understood everything without confusion.
There’s a subtle love triangle with a slow-burn romance—romance isn’t heavy in this one, but I’m confident it will develop more in the next book.

Honestly, this felt like a solid 4-star read until the last few chapters. The pacing was a bit uneven for me at times, but once everything began to come together and the big reveals unfolded, it became fantastic.I’m genuinely excited for the next installment, and I believe this is the first arc I’ve ever rated a full 5 stars!

If you’re looking for a fast, addictive fantasy with some romance sprinkled in, I would definitely recommend picking this up.

Thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review!