There is one thing I can say for this book: Sak is baby. For readers who may not be aware, this is a BL with a toxic romance. That is not something everyone is going to enjoy or seek out. And yet, here I am enjoying it. With all of that in mind, I thought this was a great start to a series. I'm invested in the characters, and I am curious to see where this story goes.

Everyone said this was a good series and recommended it. So if this series has a sad ending, I’m never listening to recommendations again.

This is a very somber story. It’s set in an apocalyptic-type world, where humans are at war, death is imminent, hunger is common and core users have somehow manifested. The core users have random abilities making them useful for war and many end up at the war academy for training. This world building was done well because it was easy to understand and simple. I liked how it didn’t gloss over or hide the brutality of war and unknown diseases. Instead it depicted the emotions well within the confines of the world the characters are living in, which makes their somewhat strange behavior self-explanatory.

The story follows Sak, who is a core user. He’s had a relatively good upbringing thanks to this, however his core seems useless as it provides him a heightened sense of smell and makes him smell like a plant. Sak primarily wants to survive another day until his classmate gets infected and killed right before his eyes. At his mentor’s behest, Sak leaves the academy to search for his “Caller” and shortly after crosses paths with Liam.

Sak is an interesting character. He takes abuse quite readily without complaint but is also somewhat innocent. It stirs my curiosity especially because his mentor seems to have had a hand in “creating” Sak’s personality like this. This is a dark world so I wouldn’t be surprised, but I am interested to know the reasoning. That said, Sak has many other hidden qualities, so I’m looking forward to seeing his character unfold in future volumes.

Liam, Sak’s “Caller” comes off as quite a rude character from the beginning. He’s had a horrible past as a “rental” child who was sent to war very young, but I don’t think that fully justifies his behavior towards Sak. At the end of this volume, it seems like something in Liam broke and he’s becoming a bit more emotional but things can change. Regardless, Liam seems to be more perspective as he readily realized something was wrong with how Sak’s admission was carried out. I’m also interested to see how their relationship develops and if they will be involved in the war effort.

The concept is interesting and I enjoyed the mystery undertone. I liked how we’re not getting everything at once but we are getting enough to understand the story and make some deductions. This story doesn’t shy away from death, murder, violence and assault so please read the trigger warnings before you pick this up.

The art style is very unique. It’s a predominantly greyscale manhwa with very rare splotches of colors. The characters are uniquely designed so there’s never any confusion and they stand out from backgrounds. The facial expressions are also very clear and help carry the story forward.

That said, I found the execution sometimes confusing. It makes sense as a whole but if I was reading individual chapters, then I would be thoroughly confused. It has a unique approach, so I think it’s best to read this volume in one sitting. Also, the sudden switch in perspective and wording between Sak and Liam threw me off a couple of times.

Overall I thought this was an interesting and unique read. Drawbacks aside, I think the mystery element has me hooked, as well as seeing how Sak and Liam’s relationship changes over time. I look forward to reading the next volume but someone please spoil it for me and tell me if it has a happy ending.

The worldbuilding had interesting elements but they were presented in a confusing and jarring way that made it hard to follow along. A lot of things don't make much sense like how the world operates outside of the school and we don't really learn anything about the war. The MC is just stumbling through the story and clinging to whoever will let him like Ginger and then his 'caller'. I don't mind an obsessive more toxic relationship dynamic but I wasn't sold on this one here.

This review is based on an ARC.

What a ride. I like the originality of the story and the twists were twisting. Definitely needed trigger warnings for a few things, mainly sexual coercion and bully romance troupes, but also violence and child death. I enjoyed the story and am curious about the plague subplot and its development. It was a heavy exposition book but that's normal for a planned series, I don't think all key players are introduced so I am very curious what else is in store.

Thank you so much for letting me read this graphic novel. This story is quite intriguing and I am looking forward to read the next installment as I really want to know the meaning of the title.

Wow I really loved this! This world is so interesting. I don't think I've really read anything like it. It's kind of like the soulmate trope, but not exactly. The way Sak and Lima's pasts were interwoven into the present story was really well done. I sometimes get confused with flashbacks in mangas, but I wasn't really ever confused with this one. The world building was great. It was just enough to get me interested in the story, but left me with enough questions to look forward to reading the next installment to find the answers.

There's a slight amount of toxicity with this couple, which seems to be par for the course with a lot of Asian BLs, but I'm not particulary bothered by that. In fact, I tend to enjoy the more toxic relationships more than the normal ones. There's a lot of development to be had between Lima and Sak, and I really want to see the relationship grow into something great!

Can’t say I fuck with it. The story managed to hold on to that two stars it got from the concept, until the last scene. I didn’t realize this was a BL when I picked it up somehow and yeah.. there’s this one specific type of relationship that exist in that genre that I absolutely despise, and this was Definitely one of those.

It’s just always the same thing, the more ‘feminine and pure’ boy who’s a virgin and lets himself get walked all over, and the other guy (who here is a person of color too…..) is like super aggressive and abusive and we’re supposed to.. root for them? No thank you.

The concept for the story itself was kind of interesting, but the execution was a bit lacking in my opinion. The whole thing around his keen sense of smell and being able to smell the sickness in its incubation period was actually pretty cool! The world building was pretty poor though, like we know basically nothing because he.. didn’t remember anything from class? And also, I can’t say I loved the pacing with the weird back and forth. There’s a bunch of different pots, and you go around in time too, it’s just kind of messy and a bit difficult to follow.

With this all said, I don’t think I will continue the series.

Not a fan. It's too dark and the pairing is too unpleasant for me. I'm not the audience for a romance that starts out with violence, sexual assault, and near rape. The storytelling skips around in a way that makes it hard to follow. I do like the concept of the Core and the Caller, but the story that surrounds it just doesn't cut it.

I loved the apocalyptic setting and additional fantasy elements. In this world some people have a core which gives them special abilities that could be useful in the war. These users are then gathered at the academy which is designed to train them. They're offered privilege's others are not such as food, water, and shelter but it comes with the knowledge that they made be used at anytime for the war effort.

Sak, our first MMC is a core with a useless ability yet he is accepted into the academy under unusual circumstances which leads to a more useful core holding a grudge against him for getting into the academy over his younger brother which leads to him relentlessly bullying Sak for years. The core who bullies, Sak ends up with a mysterious virus that was never supposed to infect people like him in the first place. But you soon find out that every core has a caller who can fall ill and infect the core they're tethered too.

Sak's only ally/support system sends him to the outside world to find his caller to prevent the virus from claiming both Sak and his unknown caller. Sak is very sheltered and unprepared for the harsh reality of the outside world, but he is able to locate his caller easily. Interestingly, the closer a core gets to their caller their heartrate increases drastically. Their meeting begins with a rocky start. As it was love at first sight for Sak thanks to the phenomena of their bond, but to Lima, the second MMC, it was just a random stranger who may have ulterior motives. As they interact Lima recognizes Sak's ability and overall usefulness so he decides to team up with him. Lima agrees to follow Sak back to the academy where it is safe if Sak helps him with his mission first. On top of this budding relationship, there is a government conspiracy at play. They know more about this virus and about Sak himself than they are letting on. They also pitted him against the other students starting from his admissions process. It seems that they're doing some sort of experiment with Sak, and due to the circumstances also Lima.

The art style is stunning, its mostly greyscale, but utilizes drops of color on certain parts of a character, or items in the scene to emphasize what's important. It really fits the tone of the story and post apocalyptic setting.

**A minor thing I wanted to point out is that a few of the scenes in the beginning were out of order. But you're able to piece it together. So hopefully that got fixed before being printed.**

I will for sure be continuing this series! I can't wait to not only unravel this conspiracy at play, but also for more world-building elements and for the relationship between Sak and Lima to grow. Thank you to Netgalley, Ize Press, Team S&S, and Yen Press for the eArc!

I appreciate the opportunity to review this book. Will not be purchasing for high school. Might be best for personal interest libraries.

I really enjoyed the artwork, the concept of the story was very interesting and it definitely has a lot of potential, I wasn't expecting some dark themes relating to the romance so check the trigger warnings.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc

In the first volume of Radio Storm, we are introduced to a dystopian/post-apocalyptic world where people are rapidly becoming infected with some sort of plague. The main character, Sak, is a "core-user " at a war academy that is bullied by his peers for possessing a seemingly useless power. Sak is sent beyond the safety of the academy to find his "caller", a person that will amplify his abilities, and bring him back to the academy.

While this type of setting isn't necessarily unique, it is one that I always find myself drawn to. Sort of zombie, post-apocalyptic with limited resources and high stakes/tension. I also really enjoyed the artwork. The artwork is mostly black/white with splashes of color throughout which is very interesting to see in a manwha.

The biggest issue I see in this is that it doesn't flow very well. The information that you are given is extremely limited and presented in a way that I found to be pretty confusing. You do pick up some things as the story progresses, but not really enough for a first volume (in my opinion). Another issue that I had was this so-called relationship the "core-users" have with their "callers". Personally, this was uncomfortable for me and I would encourage potential readers to look up trigger warnings if needed prior to reading.

All that being said, I am still curious to see where the author plans to take this story and plan to continue in the future. Thank you to NetGalley, Yen Press, and Team S&S for providing an advanced reading copy in exchange for a fair review.

this was unexpectedly good. radio storm is set in a world that has been at war for a long time. we're not really given much details about how this war started or what its about, just that, like all other wars, it has had dovestating effects on the population. many years ago a new type of power was discovered. young teens were found to have "cores" that could manifest into powerful abilities. and as expected of the powers that be, they've done everything they can to weaponise this power.

sak is a core user at the military academy. though his core isn't very strong - some vague ability of smelling like a plant and having a very good sense of smell - and he's often bullied for it. sak is a very interesting character; kind of naieve and innocent and completely guileless. however, through the course of the novel we kind of get the feeling that he was almost groomed to be this way. even his entrance to the academy was orchestrated in such a way that sak would be ostracised from he's peers and suspectible to manipulation.

can't remember the last time i felt so strongly for a character this quickly. the machinations of those around him are so obvious to the reader but couldn't be less so for sak. even the person he trusts the most, named "ginger", manipulates sak into leaving the academy to find his "caller".

in this world a caller is one person who can amplify the powers of a core user. we're told the core users have a naturally strong affection for their callers. and their callers, who are just normal people, are obviously mistrustful of someone who's so devoted to them at first meeting, not to mention the world this is in where people just use and use those weaker than them. despite this, the academy pushes sak into the arms of his caller and as expected their relationship in this volume is quite disastrous. it's like watching a puppy being kicked over and over again. this poor guy.

this was a very intriguing start to the story for me and the hint of relationship development present at the end makes me so eager for the next volume. genuinely wish lima, sak's caller, becomes the preson that protects sak because something tells me that everyone else is planning on using him.

Thank you to NetGalley and Yen Press/Ize Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Started off a little slow, but by the end I found myself hooked and wanting to know more! An interesting and fairly fresh twist on the zombie apocalypse trope.

A fascinating first volume! The concept of cores and their callers, someone who enhances their abilities, is interesting. Overall engaging and I would love to continue the series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Ize Press/Yen Press for this eARC! 💖

Set in an apocalyptic world where freedom is no longer an option and human morality has crumbled, Radio Storm follows the story of Sak and Lima, two strangers bound by fate.

Compared to the latter part of the story, I found the pacing of the first part a bit slow: we gradually learn how the world the MCs live in works and what “cores” and “callers” are.
Sak and Lima have such different personalities, but despite everything, they seem to be a great match for each other.
They don’t have an easy start—Lima doesn’t reciprocate Sak’s feelings at first—but that’s exactly what makes the story even more intriguing!

I appreciated how well the story unfolds in its supernatural and apocalyptic setting. It’s not an easy read—both MCs carry heavy pasts that shaped who they are today.

Overall, I really enjoyed this first volume—the black and white illustrations added depth to the story, with the eyes being the only colored detail. Before reading, I’d definitely recommend checking the TWs.

Thank you to NetGalley and Yen Press/Ize Press for the e-book copy!

I ultimately ended up DNF'ing this title as it was super confusing with its world building and the characters were not very compelling. I could see this maybe getting better but I wasn't impressed enough to find out.

This was not working for me sorry. The supernatural premise had promise but felt it was sidelined to the school drama going which was unfolding weakly for me plus, felt the relationship between the protagonist and "Scarface" was horrifying felt forced upon, and not helping "Scarface" is literally forcing it over the submissive protagonists' wishes.

This story has an apocalyptic vibe, set in a world where some people have "cores" that grant them special powers. The main character is being abused by another core user, but after things go wrong, a hidden secret is revealed—one that changes everything for him. Now, he's setting out on an adventure to find the person he's mysteriously connected to. It’s a really intriguing story, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. The art perfectly matches the atmosphere and tone of the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Yen Press | Ize Press, for this ARC! All thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

Radio Storm by Team S&S delivers a fresh take on the zombie apocalypse genre. The plot is interesting and engaging, pulling us readers trough beautifully written monologues (they can be confusing at times tho haha). I really liked the art style of it - the b&w and color splashes. Wonderful balance!

While some moments feel rushed and the narrative can be confusing at first, the overall vibe is compelling. With enough of psychological elements, a dark atmosphere, and a mix of romance and horror, this is a great read for fans of dystopian and supernatural fiction.