Storm Siren by Mary Weber

★★★★★
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"I raise my chin as the buyers stare. Yes. Look. You don’t want me. Because, eventually, accidentally, I will destroy you."

In a world at war, a slave girl’s lethal curse could become one kingdom’s weapon of salvation. If the curse – and the girl – can be controlled.

As a slave in the war-weary kingdom of Faelen, seventeen-year-old Nym isn’t merely devoid of rights, her Elemental kind are only born male and always killed at birth – meaning, she shouldn’t even exist.

Standing on the auction block beneath smoke-drenched mountains, Nym faces her fifteenth sell. But when her hood is removed and her storm-summoning killing curse revealed, Nym is snatched up by a court advisor and given a choice: be trained as the weapon Faelen needs to win the war, or be killed.

Choosing the former, Nym is unleashed into a world of politics, bizarre parties, and rumors of an evil more sinister than she’s being prepared to fight… not to mention the handsome trainer whose dark secrets lie behind a mysterious ability to calm every lightning strike she summons.

But what if she doesn’t want to be the weapon they’ve all been waiting for?

Set in a beautifully eclectic world of suspicion, super abilities, and monsters, Storm Siren is a story of power. And whoever controls that power will win.

Wow wow wow. (Is that enough wows?) I don’t know if I’m able to say enough good things about Mary Weber’s debut novel, Storm Siren, but I’ll start with saying, “I loved every single bit of it.” It’s marvelous and fantastical and shocking and fun, and it held me as a willing captive from the first page to the last.

Weber creates an enchanting world fraught with powerful and mysterious magic and superbly introduces it to her readers in Storm Siren. While reading, I felt thoroughly intrigued and immersed yet not overwhelmed. At just the right moments, she reveals the necessary explanatory details, but never lets superfluous background information bog down the narrative.

Against the backdrop of this world, Weber places an equally enchanting cast of characters. First and foremost is Nym, a perfect main character for Storm Siren. She has potent and formidable abilities as an unprecedented Elemental, yet remains confined by her station as a slave and the unforgettable tragedies of her past. She faces obstacles ostensibly impossible to overcome and proves to be clever, bold and decidedly conflicted – very likable and relatable. And supporting Nym are well-developed and complex characters. Their personalities vary uniquely and show insight beyond the static and stereotypical roles.

All in all, Storm Siren is a highly imaginative and mesmerizing story. With bits of everything from action and suspense to romance and humor, it’s a must-read that lovers of fantasy will surely enjoy. I just can’t say enough how much I loved this book. Most assuredly I’m hooked and, as soon as possible, will be picking up the book to follow (especially since that gasp-inducing cliff-hanger of an ending doesn’t leave me much of a choice).

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers, I received a copy of Storm Siren and the opportunity to honestly review it. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. (I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)