What do you think?
Rate this book
Storm Weaver #2
Tides of Fortune
Not yet published
Expected 21 Jul 26"Bears all the hallmarks of addictive YA fantasy. . . This is going to be huge.” —Laura Steven, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Our Infinite Fates, on Heir of Storms
Return to the spellbinding world of Heir of Storms in the explosive second installment to the Storm Weaver trilogy, perfect for fans of Red Queen, Throne of Glass, and The Rose Bargain.
Having survived three treacherous trials to win her crown, Blaze is now Queen of the Aquatori. But before she can take the throne, she must set out to find the Eye of the Soul, one of the realm’s most powerful weapons, before another claims its power for themself.
Her journey will take her deep into the forests of Ostacre and into a temporary alliance with the infuriating but undeniably compelling Fox. She can’t help but feel drawn to him. . . but can she trust him? Fortune favors the brave, but will it protect the Storm Weaver on her most dangerous mission yet?
Narrated by not just Blaze, but her brother, Flint, and the newly-discovered Shadow Magi, Elva, the epic journey that began in Heir of Storms continues in the sweeping adventure of Tides of Fortune.
Return to the spellbinding world of Heir of Storms in the explosive second installment to the Storm Weaver trilogy, perfect for fans of Red Queen, Throne of Glass, and The Rose Bargain.
Having survived three treacherous trials to win her crown, Blaze is now Queen of the Aquatori. But before she can take the throne, she must set out to find the Eye of the Soul, one of the realm’s most powerful weapons, before another claims its power for themself.
Her journey will take her deep into the forests of Ostacre and into a temporary alliance with the infuriating but undeniably compelling Fox. She can’t help but feel drawn to him. . . but can she trust him? Fortune favors the brave, but will it protect the Storm Weaver on her most dangerous mission yet?
Narrated by not just Blaze, but her brother, Flint, and the newly-discovered Shadow Magi, Elva, the epic journey that began in Heir of Storms continues in the sweeping adventure of Tides of Fortune.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 2026
About the author
Lauryn Hamilton Murray
5 books369 followersLauryn Hamilton Murray grew up in Scotland writing stories about sad girls, secrets and storms. She holds a BA Hons in English Literature from the University of Stirling and a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh. She is happiest when reading in the sun and hiking with her dogs, Huxley and Ziggy.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews
May 3, 2026
➸ 4.5 stars
𓈀 𓄹𓂃 thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the advanced readers copy!!
heir of storms was one of my favorite fantasy books of last year and i’ve been so excited for its sequel!! and it did not disappoint one bit!! while book one is more focused on the trials and competition for the throne, tides of fortune takes a more adventurous route which i found so much!! split into three povs we follow our fmc blaze while she journeys through the wildlands accompanied by fox in search for the missing eye of the soul, flit, blaze’s brother, accompanied by spinner and sheen also journeying through the wildlands to reunite with blaze, and finally, elva, who was more of a side character in the last book but based on all the revelations between her and hal, i was quite intrigued to see their story as well!!
first off, after book one i was wanting more of the sibling relationship between blaze and flint because i just love it so much!! we were able to get a bit of it in this book and i will say as short as it lasted, it was amazing nonetheless!! their love and care for each other is so sweet and loving!!
now i mentioned in my heir of storms review how i shipped flint and sheen so bad and MY INTUITION WAS SO RIGHT BECAUSE I KNEW THERE HAD TO BE SOMETHING THERE!!! don’t get me wrong i love spinner but im going to need her to step aside in the next book so flint and sheen can shine!!! theyre going to be the slowest of burns and i am so ready for it!!! their loathing and banter throughout this was incredible and i loved every second of it!! and oh the TENSION!!! they had me so giddy!!!
now for my favs, blaze and fox <3 blaze has come a long way since book one and i am loving her confidence in herself!!! and fox has been so (hot) mysterious and has had so many secrets but in this book we find out more about him and i absolutely loved the openness!!! him and blaze find themselves with some trust issues and some shameless flirting of fox’s part all while having the most scrumptious banter and dynamic oh i love them i love them i love them!!!! i love how he makes it known how much he likes her and i love how much he believes in her and her power!!
anyways!!! this book truly felt like that second book type of book if that makes sense but i loved every second of it!!! i’m looking forward to the final book and i’ll be thinking about these characters every second until im able to read about them again!!! i truly can’t recommend this series enough, it’s so much fun!!!!
favorite quotes:
“And the way he was looking at me … it was as if I were the best thing he had ever seen.”
“Let me down,”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re beautiful when you’re angry?”
“Nope. Just you.”
“I don’t like you,”
“I know.”
“Storm Weaver, why is it that you would spill my blood yet won’t insult my cooking?”
“Consider it a peace offering.”
“Your peace offering is proposing to fight with me some more?”
“It’s what you and I do best.”
“I won’t let him hurt you, Storm Weaver,”
“Fox Calloway Castellion. The Earth Cleaver, whose broken heart ripped the realm in two. The sadistic killer with Healer’s hands. The hunter who has never slain an animal. The Prince of Slavers who liberates the enslaved. He truly is the perfect conundrum. Every time I think I’ve got him figured out, he obliterates the blueprint and I have to start again.”
“You’re thinking. What are you thinking about?”
“You.”
“I’ll show you, if you like.”
“Show me what?”
“The world.”
“Everything else seems to fall away, and I see only him. The boy who broke the world. Beautiful and bewildering and covered in blood, looking down at me as though I’m the answer to a question he hasn’t dared to ask. The cloud of drizzle grows warm, falling like ash from the midnight sky. In the light from my brandmark, I watch his pupils dilate.”
“For weeks after the third trial I was barely conscious. I don’t remember much, but I remember you. Sitting at my bedside, day and night.”
“You’re laughing. Does this mean I’m forgiven?”
“Absolutely not,”
“You wish for me to grovel, then. So be it. I throw myself upon your mercy, Your Majesty. I am yours to do with as you please.”
“Lie to me again, and I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.”
“That’s not very inventive.”
“Fine. Lie to me again, and I’ll drown you in this pool. Or feed you to my dragonfly. Or strangle you with the cord of my dress.
“That’s more like it.”
“Let’s see now. She’s stubborn. Impatient. Impulsive. Occasionally hot-tempered. Incredibly cutting when she wants to be.
She’s also resilient. Thoughtful. Kind. Clever—almost frighteningly so. She’s brave too, not to mention distractingly beautiful. And I’d follow her anywhere.”
“You would?”
“I would do anything for her. I would do anything for you.”
“I fall asleep on his shoulder in front of the crackling hearth, and as I drift off into dreams, I find myself thinking that never have I been held more gently than by the same pair of hands that tore apart the world.”
“Here, we don’t have to be the Storm Weaver and the Earth Cleaver. We can just be Blaze and Fox. We can just be.”
𓈀 𓄹𓂃 thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the advanced readers copy!!
heir of storms was one of my favorite fantasy books of last year and i’ve been so excited for its sequel!! and it did not disappoint one bit!! while book one is more focused on the trials and competition for the throne, tides of fortune takes a more adventurous route which i found so much!! split into three povs we follow our fmc blaze while she journeys through the wildlands accompanied by fox in search for the missing eye of the soul, flit, blaze’s brother, accompanied by spinner and sheen also journeying through the wildlands to reunite with blaze, and finally, elva, who was more of a side character in the last book but based on all the revelations between her and hal, i was quite intrigued to see their story as well!!
first off, after book one i was wanting more of the sibling relationship between blaze and flint because i just love it so much!! we were able to get a bit of it in this book and i will say as short as it lasted, it was amazing nonetheless!! their love and care for each other is so sweet and loving!!
now i mentioned in my heir of storms review how i shipped flint and sheen so bad and MY INTUITION WAS SO RIGHT BECAUSE I KNEW THERE HAD TO BE SOMETHING THERE!!! don’t get me wrong i love spinner but im going to need her to step aside in the next book so flint and sheen can shine!!! theyre going to be the slowest of burns and i am so ready for it!!! their loathing and banter throughout this was incredible and i loved every second of it!! and oh the TENSION!!! they had me so giddy!!!
now for my favs, blaze and fox <3 blaze has come a long way since book one and i am loving her confidence in herself!!! and fox has been so (hot) mysterious and has had so many secrets but in this book we find out more about him and i absolutely loved the openness!!! him and blaze find themselves with some trust issues and some shameless flirting of fox’s part all while having the most scrumptious banter and dynamic oh i love them i love them i love them!!!! i love how he makes it known how much he likes her and i love how much he believes in her and her power!!
anyways!!! this book truly felt like that second book type of book if that makes sense but i loved every second of it!!! i’m looking forward to the final book and i’ll be thinking about these characters every second until im able to read about them again!!! i truly can’t recommend this series enough, it’s so much fun!!!!
favorite quotes:
“And the way he was looking at me … it was as if I were the best thing he had ever seen.”
“Let me down,”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re beautiful when you’re angry?”
“Nope. Just you.”
“I don’t like you,”
“I know.”
“Storm Weaver, why is it that you would spill my blood yet won’t insult my cooking?”
“Consider it a peace offering.”
“Your peace offering is proposing to fight with me some more?”
“It’s what you and I do best.”
“I won’t let him hurt you, Storm Weaver,”
“Fox Calloway Castellion. The Earth Cleaver, whose broken heart ripped the realm in two. The sadistic killer with Healer’s hands. The hunter who has never slain an animal. The Prince of Slavers who liberates the enslaved. He truly is the perfect conundrum. Every time I think I’ve got him figured out, he obliterates the blueprint and I have to start again.”
“You’re thinking. What are you thinking about?”
“You.”
“I’ll show you, if you like.”
“Show me what?”
“The world.”
“Everything else seems to fall away, and I see only him. The boy who broke the world. Beautiful and bewildering and covered in blood, looking down at me as though I’m the answer to a question he hasn’t dared to ask. The cloud of drizzle grows warm, falling like ash from the midnight sky. In the light from my brandmark, I watch his pupils dilate.”
“For weeks after the third trial I was barely conscious. I don’t remember much, but I remember you. Sitting at my bedside, day and night.”
“You’re laughing. Does this mean I’m forgiven?”
“Absolutely not,”
“You wish for me to grovel, then. So be it. I throw myself upon your mercy, Your Majesty. I am yours to do with as you please.”
“Lie to me again, and I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.”
“That’s not very inventive.”
“Fine. Lie to me again, and I’ll drown you in this pool. Or feed you to my dragonfly. Or strangle you with the cord of my dress.
“That’s more like it.”
“Let’s see now. She’s stubborn. Impatient. Impulsive. Occasionally hot-tempered. Incredibly cutting when she wants to be.
She’s also resilient. Thoughtful. Kind. Clever—almost frighteningly so. She’s brave too, not to mention distractingly beautiful. And I’d follow her anywhere.”
“You would?”
“I would do anything for her. I would do anything for you.”
“I fall asleep on his shoulder in front of the crackling hearth, and as I drift off into dreams, I find myself thinking that never have I been held more gently than by the same pair of hands that tore apart the world.”
Want to Read
April 8, 2026the way my sister read my own arc before me is INSANE. but i need to read this asap!!!
#needfox (im jk) but like i wanna see his character development and progress with blaze since theyre obviously soulmates
#needfox (im jk) but like i wanna see his character development and progress with blaze since theyre obviously soulmates
Want to Read
December 2, 2025OMG OMG OMG I GOT THE ARC 😭🥹💚 Heir of Storms is in my top 5 reads of this year and I AM SO EXCITED FOR BOOK #2!
Tysm to author Lauryn Hamilton Murray, NetGalley, & Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review 💚 pub date is July 21, 2026.
Tysm to author Lauryn Hamilton Murray, NetGalley, & Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review 💚 pub date is July 21, 2026.
June 10, 2026
4.5 ⭐️ (rounding up coz i cannot stop thinking about this book!!)
“It’s not long before weariness comes to claim me. I fall asleep on his shoulder in front of the crackling hearth, and as I drift off into dreams, I find myself thinking that never have I been held more gently than by the same pair of hands that tore apart the world.”
I might have found my new comfort read, guys. Lauryn once again knocked it out of the park. Heir of Storms was a pleasant surprise when I read it, but oh my god, Tides of Fortune just elevated my love for the series even more – this was just pure fun and nostalgia bundled into a book and it healed a part of me I didn’t know was broken. I enjoyed this so much more. It was so different to book one, but in the best possible way. I love when authors break the sequel curse!
We step away from the politics and trials from book one to allow these characters to go on an adventure of self-discovery, and it really worked for me! I really loved the lower stakes to this book where we venture beyond the court and into the wildlands where the worldbuilding really started to come alive. There’s almost a cozy, fairytale-like feel to this one, but there’s enough court intrigue to let you in on what’s been going on, politics wise, with the addition of the multiple POVs. I’ve had my ups and downs with multiple POVs in books, but I really enjoyed this one and how things came together.
When I say I was smiling and giggling throughout the novel, oh my god, I was genuinely smiling and giggling throughout. My cheeks hurt so much. This is the ultimate feel good novel. It’s just so indulgent, has so many fan-favorite tropes, and made me feel like I was a kid again.
I already loved this book from the dedication page. If you read Heir of Storms, you know how meaningful those two words are!! But like book one, it sucked me in from the first page. It does not waste time and throws you straight back into the action, picking up where we last left off from book one. It’s incredibly fast-paced — I consumed this in two days — and is definitely best read back-to-back.
It’s so rare now to find a healthy sibling relationship in books, so thank you, Lauryn for giving us Flint. I LOVE Flint so much. I have loved Flint since book one, but I loved him even more in book two. It was the best move giving Flint his own POV chapters. Oh my god, I was hollering reading his chapters. There’s never a dull moment with him. He’s just so funny and relatable and he and Blaze have one of my favorite sibling dynamics ever. I adore them so much. I love how we get to learn more about Flint as well, especially following the aftermath to book one and uncovering how that affects him. My poor boy!
Reading this during pride month was also EVERYTHING. I loved the crumbs between Sheen and Flint in book one, and Miss Lauryn Hamilton Murray did NOT disappoint with this book. I believe in Sheen and Flint supremacy!! I DEVOURED their hate to love! I feel like their relationship just felt so naturally told, too. Blaze and Fox’s relationship feel more familiar with the rehashed tropes, but there’s something really organic about Sheen and Flint’s love that doesn’t rely on these tropes to tell their story. I ship them soooo much and might actually love them as much as Blaze and Fox. I need MORE.
I loved how character driven this one was and really didn’t expect to get so attached to these characters. I need them to rally together, get on a ship and go off to find the one piece. Politics be damned. They’re so fun! That is, until the characters get candid about their issues, and it just hits you in the feels. They all deserve a hug. Elva was a welcome surprise as well. Her POV chapters felt darker, contrasting nicely to the more light-hearted ones with Blaze and Flint, and it really made my heart break for what she’s gone through. I really admire her quiet strength – it’s so nice having a soft-hearted FMC every now and then. This series just subverts book tropes so well, by making the shadow mage someone that’s sweet and timid instead of frightening and scary. It’s rare for a book to feel so familiar yet unique at the same time. While I enjoyed Elva’s POV the least, it was still nice learning about her, especially with how she evolves in this book.
I wasn’t expecting the lore to expand so much, but I loved what we got. So many new revelations and reveals! The worldbuilding feels stronger, Ostacre feels more vivid and alive, and you really start to see the world come together as we get to explore more of it this time in person. I think it was such a good idea making this an adventure book. Heir of Storms felt more self-contained where we got to learn a bit of the book’s lore, but I loved how we actually get to immerse ourselves in it this time. We go beyond the palace halls and into the wildlands and I loved getting to visit the new places and people. It really felt like I was watching One Piece again.
I am saving the best for last and that is Blaze and Fox!! The reason for all my smiling and giggling!! AHH. They really have that nostalgic early YA 2010 feel, but in a good way. Their romance is tropey, but so indulgent. A lot of it leaned into everything I love: one night at the inn, only one horse, only one bed, tending to wounds, and so much more. And the bickering, LMFAO. Just never a dull moment between the two. I could absolutely reread their scenes over and over and never get fed up. Give me ten books with them getting up to silly little antics and I’ll eat it up every single time. The banter feels familiar, but is just so comforting. Both of them are just so misunderstood and tortured! And the callbacks to book one!! The way I want to just reread the first one again after this. They’re so good together!
Blaze continues to be someone I really feel for. She just gets thrust into a world she didn’t ask for, but now has to adapt to all these responsibilities and burdens placed onto her. She gets even more new revelations thrown at her this time, the poor girl! Blaze continues to be a great FMC, someone so flawed yet real. She’s grumpy, but again with book one, she just has so many positive qualities where I can never hate her. That one scene where she steps into the wildlands for the first time and gets so happy buying her first candied apple, oh my god, my sheltered baby girl 😭😭 If anyone deserves to see the world, it’s her! Seeing her happy really melts my heart.
AND FOX. The reason my cheeks hurt so much. Fox just brings out my inner child and knows how to turn me into a kid again. There’s this youthful, free-spirited, charismatic air to him that’s so magnetic. He’s also infuriating and slappable and I’m torn between wanting to slap and kiss the guy half the time. But there’s also so much kindness and thoughtfulness to him that makes him the perfect love interest. The way he cares for Blaze, the things he does for her, I love him with all my heart.
“It’s not long before weariness comes to claim me. I fall asleep on his shoulder in front of the crackling hearth, and as I drift off into dreams, I find myself thinking that never have I been held more gently than by the same pair of hands that tore apart the world.”
I might have found my new comfort read, guys. Lauryn once again knocked it out of the park. Heir of Storms was a pleasant surprise when I read it, but oh my god, Tides of Fortune just elevated my love for the series even more – this was just pure fun and nostalgia bundled into a book and it healed a part of me I didn’t know was broken. I enjoyed this so much more. It was so different to book one, but in the best possible way. I love when authors break the sequel curse!
We step away from the politics and trials from book one to allow these characters to go on an adventure of self-discovery, and it really worked for me! I really loved the lower stakes to this book where we venture beyond the court and into the wildlands where the worldbuilding really started to come alive. There’s almost a cozy, fairytale-like feel to this one, but there’s enough court intrigue to let you in on what’s been going on, politics wise, with the addition of the multiple POVs. I’ve had my ups and downs with multiple POVs in books, but I really enjoyed this one and how things came together.
When I say I was smiling and giggling throughout the novel, oh my god, I was genuinely smiling and giggling throughout. My cheeks hurt so much. This is the ultimate feel good novel. It’s just so indulgent, has so many fan-favorite tropes, and made me feel like I was a kid again.
I already loved this book from the dedication page. If you read Heir of Storms, you know how meaningful those two words are!! But like book one, it sucked me in from the first page. It does not waste time and throws you straight back into the action, picking up where we last left off from book one. It’s incredibly fast-paced — I consumed this in two days — and is definitely best read back-to-back.
It’s so rare now to find a healthy sibling relationship in books, so thank you, Lauryn for giving us Flint. I LOVE Flint so much. I have loved Flint since book one, but I loved him even more in book two. It was the best move giving Flint his own POV chapters. Oh my god, I was hollering reading his chapters. There’s never a dull moment with him. He’s just so funny and relatable and he and Blaze have one of my favorite sibling dynamics ever. I adore them so much. I love how we get to learn more about Flint as well, especially following the aftermath to book one and uncovering how that affects him. My poor boy!
Reading this during pride month was also EVERYTHING. I loved the crumbs between Sheen and Flint in book one, and Miss Lauryn Hamilton Murray did NOT disappoint with this book. I believe in Sheen and Flint supremacy!! I DEVOURED their hate to love! I feel like their relationship just felt so naturally told, too. Blaze and Fox’s relationship feel more familiar with the rehashed tropes, but there’s something really organic about Sheen and Flint’s love that doesn’t rely on these tropes to tell their story. I ship them soooo much and might actually love them as much as Blaze and Fox. I need MORE.
I loved how character driven this one was and really didn’t expect to get so attached to these characters. I need them to rally together, get on a ship and go off to find the one piece. Politics be damned. They’re so fun! That is, until the characters get candid about their issues, and it just hits you in the feels. They all deserve a hug. Elva was a welcome surprise as well. Her POV chapters felt darker, contrasting nicely to the more light-hearted ones with Blaze and Flint, and it really made my heart break for what she’s gone through. I really admire her quiet strength – it’s so nice having a soft-hearted FMC every now and then. This series just subverts book tropes so well, by making the shadow mage someone that’s sweet and timid instead of frightening and scary. It’s rare for a book to feel so familiar yet unique at the same time. While I enjoyed Elva’s POV the least, it was still nice learning about her, especially with how she evolves in this book.
I wasn’t expecting the lore to expand so much, but I loved what we got. So many new revelations and reveals! The worldbuilding feels stronger, Ostacre feels more vivid and alive, and you really start to see the world come together as we get to explore more of it this time in person. I think it was such a good idea making this an adventure book. Heir of Storms felt more self-contained where we got to learn a bit of the book’s lore, but I loved how we actually get to immerse ourselves in it this time. We go beyond the palace halls and into the wildlands and I loved getting to visit the new places and people. It really felt like I was watching One Piece again.
I am saving the best for last and that is Blaze and Fox!! The reason for all my smiling and giggling!! AHH. They really have that nostalgic early YA 2010 feel, but in a good way. Their romance is tropey, but so indulgent. A lot of it leaned into everything I love: one night at the inn, only one horse, only one bed, tending to wounds, and so much more. And the bickering, LMFAO. Just never a dull moment between the two. I could absolutely reread their scenes over and over and never get fed up. Give me ten books with them getting up to silly little antics and I’ll eat it up every single time. The banter feels familiar, but is just so comforting. Both of them are just so misunderstood and tortured! And the callbacks to book one!! The way I want to just reread the first one again after this. They’re so good together!
Blaze continues to be someone I really feel for. She just gets thrust into a world she didn’t ask for, but now has to adapt to all these responsibilities and burdens placed onto her. She gets even more new revelations thrown at her this time, the poor girl! Blaze continues to be a great FMC, someone so flawed yet real. She’s grumpy, but again with book one, she just has so many positive qualities where I can never hate her. That one scene where she steps into the wildlands for the first time and gets so happy buying her first candied apple, oh my god, my sheltered baby girl 😭😭 If anyone deserves to see the world, it’s her! Seeing her happy really melts my heart.
AND FOX. The reason my cheeks hurt so much. Fox just brings out my inner child and knows how to turn me into a kid again. There’s this youthful, free-spirited, charismatic air to him that’s so magnetic. He’s also infuriating and slappable and I’m torn between wanting to slap and kiss the guy half the time. But there’s also so much kindness and thoughtfulness to him that makes him the perfect love interest. The way he cares for Blaze, the things he does for her, I love him with all my heart.
arc-tbr
May 9, 2026
Want to Read
September 15, 2025I only just finished book 1 and I miss Fox 😭
I wonder if her dad will get back from buying milk in this one
I wonder if her dad will get back from buying milk in this one
Want to Read
July 16, 2025so excited for this but i absolutely hate fox with a burning passion
June 19, 2026
Wow, what a book! I don’t know where to start! First off the chapters had different POVs which was a lovely surprise!! However I wish we had one from Fox’s POV. I loved seeing a little bit more into Elvas life and her relationship with Hal!
So many answers were answered in this book yet so many more questions popped up that I can’t wait to see in hopefully a third book!
The characters:
Flint- Poor Flint, I really feel sorry for him but he is so strong and I am very proud of him!! I love how protective and loving he is towards his sister!! Also love his dynamic with Sheen!
Renly- we didn’t really see much of him in this book but he is still as cute and sweet as ever!!
Blaze- wow she is a powerful and strong girl if I ever saw her! She is amazing and deserves everything! I hope her and Fox get together eventually and I hope she is an amazing queen and people accept her! She goes through so many hardships but still comes back stronger, I admire her so much!!
Fox-my darling!!! I love him to bits!!! He is so caring, protective and sweet! He is perfect for Blaze and I hope that they overcome this difficultly! I can’t wait to see more of him hopefully and I wish we get some more thoughts and feelings about him in the future books!
Hal- well done for bringing justice to the correct people!
Balen- I can’t wait to see his relationship with Blaze and others continue as to what will happen as I feel like there might be some plot twists to come!
The ending to this book made my cry, it was so beautiful and you can connect with it so much! It really is amazing how the two books connect and make such special bonds with you! I really hope there is another and I can wait to reread this book/ series a million times!!😂😂❤️❤️❤️
So many answers were answered in this book yet so many more questions popped up that I can’t wait to see in hopefully a third book!
The characters:
Flint- Poor Flint, I really feel sorry for him but he is so strong and I am very proud of him!! I love how protective and loving he is towards his sister!! Also love his dynamic with Sheen!
Renly- we didn’t really see much of him in this book but he is still as cute and sweet as ever!!
Blaze- wow she is a powerful and strong girl if I ever saw her! She is amazing and deserves everything! I hope her and Fox get together eventually and I hope she is an amazing queen and people accept her! She goes through so many hardships but still comes back stronger, I admire her so much!!
Fox-my darling!!! I love him to bits!!! He is so caring, protective and sweet! He is perfect for Blaze and I hope that they overcome this difficultly! I can’t wait to see more of him hopefully and I wish we get some more thoughts and feelings about him in the future books!
Hal- well done for bringing justice to the correct people!
Balen- I can’t wait to see his relationship with Blaze and others continue as to what will happen as I feel like there might be some plot twists to come!
The ending to this book made my cry, it was so beautiful and you can connect with it so much! It really is amazing how the two books connect and make such special bonds with you! I really hope there is another and I can wait to reread this book/ series a million times!!😂😂❤️❤️❤️
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Lauryn Hamilton Murray, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I liked Tides of Fortune quite a bit more than Heir of Storms!!
I loved the Storm Weaver series thus far, and this book really did not disappoint. Although it is technically YA fantasy, it does not feel like one. It feels more mature, well paced, and overall just a compelling high fantasy novel that I got addicted to! Tides of Fortune was no exception to this!
I loved the world building, the action, and the character interaction sooo much. I also felt that Blaze was just so much more relatable as well!
Overall, I loved this book. I have no bad notes!
I liked Tides of Fortune quite a bit more than Heir of Storms!!
I loved the Storm Weaver series thus far, and this book really did not disappoint. Although it is technically YA fantasy, it does not feel like one. It feels more mature, well paced, and overall just a compelling high fantasy novel that I got addicted to! Tides of Fortune was no exception to this!
I loved the world building, the action, and the character interaction sooo much. I also felt that Blaze was just so much more relatable as well!
Overall, I loved this book. I have no bad notes!
May 26, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and publishers for gifting me this arc!!
If I were to describe this book in one word, I would use the word “fun”. This book was just so much FUN. I was completely obsessed the entire time. You could pry this book out of my cold dead hands. The plot was so fast paced and I loved that we got to explore more of this world and its magic system. I mean we literally went on a quest in this book and I was SO HERE FOR IT!!! I also just freaking LOVE Fox and Blaze. Like the way they argue like a married couple makes me so happy🤭 also I was so glad that we got to experience more of Flint and exploring his struggles after the first book BROKE MY HEART.
Okay but can we go back to Fox because OH MY GOSH I LOVE HIM!!! He is hilarious and I was dying laughing at some of his lines😂
Honestly this review is making no sense (I am trying to write it with very little sleep lol) but to sum it all up I would totally pick up this series if you are looking for a fun YA Fantasy!!
If I were to describe this book in one word, I would use the word “fun”. This book was just so much FUN. I was completely obsessed the entire time. You could pry this book out of my cold dead hands. The plot was so fast paced and I loved that we got to explore more of this world and its magic system. I mean we literally went on a quest in this book and I was SO HERE FOR IT!!! I also just freaking LOVE Fox and Blaze. Like the way they argue like a married couple makes me so happy🤭 also I was so glad that we got to experience more of Flint and exploring his struggles after the first book BROKE MY HEART.
Okay but can we go back to Fox because OH MY GOSH I LOVE HIM!!! He is hilarious and I was dying laughing at some of his lines😂
Honestly this review is making no sense (I am trying to write it with very little sleep lol) but to sum it all up I would totally pick up this series if you are looking for a fun YA Fantasy!!
May 29, 2026
ATLA-coded road trip except with 10x more romantic angst.
This was so fun! I enjoyed this more than book 1. We pick up pretty much immediately at the end of book 1 with Blaze about to set off to find the Eye she threw into the portal. We get new POVs here of Flint and Elva which I think was a good choice as it gave the chance to expand the world a bit.
Blaze was my favourite POV and there is one main reason: FOX. He is so insanely boyfriend shaped it’s insane. I loved every single one of their interactions, the slow burn is SO GOOD. I was kicking my feet every time they interacted, which was good since they were pretty much constantly together throughout the whole book. They were great together, which made a certain thing that happened at the end so heartbreaking. But it sets us up for some great yearning in the final book.
I loved Flint too. He is such a charming disaster and his romance with [REDACTED] was a delightful surprise.
Elva was probably the weakest POV but that was probably partly because I was just so much more invested in the other characters’ storylines.
Everything weaves together well at the end and sets us up nicely for the final chapter.
Thank you to NetGalley and Puffin Books for the arc!
This was so fun! I enjoyed this more than book 1. We pick up pretty much immediately at the end of book 1 with Blaze about to set off to find the Eye she threw into the portal. We get new POVs here of Flint and Elva which I think was a good choice as it gave the chance to expand the world a bit.
Blaze was my favourite POV and there is one main reason: FOX. He is so insanely boyfriend shaped it’s insane. I loved every single one of their interactions, the slow burn is SO GOOD. I was kicking my feet every time they interacted, which was good since they were pretty much constantly together throughout the whole book. They were great together, which made a certain thing that happened at the end so heartbreaking. But it sets us up for some great yearning in the final book.
I loved Flint too. He is such a charming disaster and his romance with [REDACTED] was a delightful surprise.
Elva was probably the weakest POV but that was probably partly because I was just so much more invested in the other characters’ storylines.
Everything weaves together well at the end and sets us up nicely for the final chapter.
Thank you to NetGalley and Puffin Books for the arc!
June 13, 2026
Many thanks to Penguin Random House for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Heir of Storms was a surprise favourite of last year so I was really pleased to receive the ARC for the sequel. We pick up not too long after the events of the first book; Blaze and Flint have returned home to prepare for their aunt's funeral, Fox is exiled and Hal is trying to keep his court together. What Blaze truly needs is to collect the magic eyes again before Hal's uncle - King Balen - gets his hands on them. But this time Blaze doesn't off alone, she's accompanied by her twin Flint as they secretly steal away on their mission.
Tides of Fortune loses a little bit of the novelty that the previous book brought to the table by dipping more into a classic adventure and quest story. However, it is no less fun and shakes things up a bit by adding two new point of views. Where in book one we only followed Blaze, we now also get Flint and Elva's point of view. This actually really surprised me but it added a lot to the book as a whole, especially given their vastly different personalities.
Blaze gets a taste of freedom for the first time, and hers is truly your classic quest story through magical forests, dangerous cities, tunnels and down along the river. Besides trying to piece together all the secrets and King Balen's motives, this is by and large your quest style story and it's simply fun and well written. Flint is the most bubbly character of the three - I really enjoyed the sibling dynamics brought in book one which thankfully also carried across into the sequel. Getting to see things from Flint's point of view definitely strengthens this and we also get to see more of what drives him. He is less confident than his surface lets on, especially in the aftermath of book one.
Elva was the biggest surprise - she was such a minor, albeit likeable, character in book one and she was already involved in some of the first book's biggest twists. We get to see her life as a serf (this world's term for slaves), her struggles between loving Hal and remaining loyal to her own kind, and of course coming to terms with her magic having been returned to her and whether or not Hal would still accept her if he knew about her magic. She is our main window to see what is gone in terms of court politics - we get to see King Balen's manipulations, shifting loyalties and the decline of Hal's health.
I feel as though many new elements were added to this already fairly complicated world. There are many different kinds of beings and nations behind them. There's a large pool of different magical abilities and I do confess that it sometimes becomes a little difficult to keep up. There were times I couldn't quite remember things and just shrugged and read on as it is. In addition, though, we now also get more magical beings such as willow-the-wisp and dryads. These caught me off guard as this felt like a world with largely original beings. They didn't bother me by any means but it was simply an element I didn't expect. Due to exploring the outside, this world feels a lot more fantastical than the first book let on - in the first, we mainly spent time at court with characters who largely appeared human but happened to control elemental magic.
Many new secrets are revealed, but we are still largely left with more questions than answers which makes it fairly difficult to predict how the story will proceed. The very final scene does have me thinking that I have a good guess what both Balen and Blaze will do next, but how that impacts the remainder of the plot is yet to be seen. I was also right in my suspicious I had in book one for Flint in regards to romance - it doesn't quite yet come to a conclusion in this volume but it's fairly clear which path things are taking and I'm on board with that. As a whole, this volume was a little more messy than the first and at times felt like it was trying to tackle too much at once. But at its core, it was an incredibly fun book to read and adding more point of views as a great choice.
January 23, 2026
Just like Heir of Storms, this is beyond a 5 star read for me. If I could just slap an infinite stars rating on this book, I totally would. And if I could wrap whoever approved my NetGalley request for Tides of Fortune in the tightest hug imaginable, I would do it without hesitation. I screamed when this ARC landed on my shelf. I was approved for this back in November, and since then, I’ve read this book three times. It’s THAT good. Heir of Storms was one of my favorite reads of 2025, and getting to return to this world before publication genuinely felt like a gift.
When I first requested this ARC, I posted on my Instagram story to manifest an approval from the NetGalley gods. Lauryn and I exchanged a few DMs back and forth — mostly because I never stop talking about these books, these characters, or this world. (If you follow me on Instagram, you already know.) During one of those conversations, Lauryn mentioned that Tides of Fortune was written differently than Heir of Storms, and that she was nervous for people to read it. I can only imagine how terrifying it must be to release a sequel that doesn’t perfectly mirror the first. But let me say this clearly: yes, it’s different — but it is somehow even better.
This book expands in every way that matters. We get multiple POVs. We get a FMC who is experiencing the world beyond the palace walls for the very first time — while simultaneously trying to save it. We sit in the aftermath of that brutal ending from book one. We watch characters carry more trauma, more grief, more responsibility than they ever should have had to bear. The scope is wider, the emotions are heavier, and the stakes are higher — but the heart of the story remains intact.
Lauryn Hamilton Murray took everything she built so beautifully in Heir of Storms — the tension, the banter, the fragile and rocky relationships, Blaze’s relentless will to survive in a world that wishes she wouldn’t, the magic system, the worldbuilding — and deepened it. Every dynamic feels sharper. Every choice feels costlier. Every emotional beat lands harder. And when our favorite Storm Weaver and Earth Cleaver finally come together again? I audibly squealed. When Fox said, “We have to stop meeting like this,” I felt my soul leave my body, I threw my Kindle, and cheered like an idiot. It only got better from there.
This story is told through three POVs — Blaze, Flint, and Elva — and each one adds something essential. Blaze remains everything I love in a FMC: stubborn, intelligent, strong-willed, painfully naive in ways that aren’t her fault, and endlessly brave. Watching her step into a world she’s been sheltered from while learning that she doesn’t have to face it alone is breathtaking. Watching her accept and strengthen some of her magic was amazing, and I can’t wait to see where she goes from here. Her and Fox’s relationship is quite literally EVERYTHING. I have been rooting for them since the moment we first meet Fox, and this book only made me root for them harder. Every interaction they have had me either squealing, laughing, or sobbing, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Flint — cocky, dramatic, fiercely protective, and genuinely hilarious — is the kind of sibling character who steals every scene he’s in. His POV cracked my heart open more than once, and I’m so beyond grateful that we got to explore the aftermath of his trials and the trauma and fear he’s still carrying around. Seeing him grapple with who he was before his third trial versus after was heart wrenching, but by the end of the book, he was able to at least speak some of his fears out loud to the people he trusts most. I’m crossing my fingers we get to see him and a certain someone grow closer in the next book because their tension and chemistry is INSANE. Every single one of their interactions had me screaming “JUST KISS ALREADY!”
And Elva… mysterious, heartbreaking Elva. Introduced in Heir of Storms as Blaze’s serf at the Golden Palace, her journey takes a devastating and fascinating turn that Tides of Fortune finally allows us to explore. Her chapters added a layer of emotional complexity that I didn’t even realize I was missing. I cannot wait to further explore her abilities, her past, her present, and hopefully what comes next for her. These three POVs offer us almost every single angle we need to see this story fully, with each POV following a different pair/group of characters, and by the end, all three paths merge together until all of our favorite characters are back together again.
Chapters 44 and 45 absolutely wrecked me. I sobbed. I had to physically set the book down all three times because I couldn’t see the words through my tears. Blaze’s journey — from feeling utterly alone in every possible way to realizing that she never was and never has to be— is one of the most beautiful, emotionally satisfying arcs I’ve read in YA fantasy. I cannot wait to see what comes next, and I’m both so anxious and so excited to see how Blaze comes to terms with who and what she is. I also can’t wait to see King Balen get his ass handed to him. I cannot STAND that man!
Tides of Fortune doesn’t just continue the plot. It deepens it. It challenges its characters. It trusts its readers. And it cements this story as something truly special. I’m quite literally obsessed, if you can’t tell! If anyone sees me reread this for a fourth time just move along because I’m starting to think it’s inevitable… especially because I already miss Blaze, Fox, Flint, Elva, Sheen, Spinner, and every other wonderful character in this book. And Scout. And River. I could keep going, but I’ll leave you with this: please read this. Add HoS to your TBR, read it before July, and then pick this up and prepare to be emotional destroyed. I’m not sure how I’m going to survive the wait for book 3.
The absolute biggest thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group | Roaring Brook Press for this eARC. An even bigger thank you to the author, the insanely talented Lauryn Hamilton Murray, for creating what is becoming one of my favorite series of all time. I’ll be screaming about how much I loved this for the rest of my life!
When I first requested this ARC, I posted on my Instagram story to manifest an approval from the NetGalley gods. Lauryn and I exchanged a few DMs back and forth — mostly because I never stop talking about these books, these characters, or this world. (If you follow me on Instagram, you already know.) During one of those conversations, Lauryn mentioned that Tides of Fortune was written differently than Heir of Storms, and that she was nervous for people to read it. I can only imagine how terrifying it must be to release a sequel that doesn’t perfectly mirror the first. But let me say this clearly: yes, it’s different — but it is somehow even better.
This book expands in every way that matters. We get multiple POVs. We get a FMC who is experiencing the world beyond the palace walls for the very first time — while simultaneously trying to save it. We sit in the aftermath of that brutal ending from book one. We watch characters carry more trauma, more grief, more responsibility than they ever should have had to bear. The scope is wider, the emotions are heavier, and the stakes are higher — but the heart of the story remains intact.
Lauryn Hamilton Murray took everything she built so beautifully in Heir of Storms — the tension, the banter, the fragile and rocky relationships, Blaze’s relentless will to survive in a world that wishes she wouldn’t, the magic system, the worldbuilding — and deepened it. Every dynamic feels sharper. Every choice feels costlier. Every emotional beat lands harder. And when our favorite Storm Weaver and Earth Cleaver finally come together again? I audibly squealed. When Fox said, “We have to stop meeting like this,” I felt my soul leave my body, I threw my Kindle, and cheered like an idiot. It only got better from there.
This story is told through three POVs — Blaze, Flint, and Elva — and each one adds something essential. Blaze remains everything I love in a FMC: stubborn, intelligent, strong-willed, painfully naive in ways that aren’t her fault, and endlessly brave. Watching her step into a world she’s been sheltered from while learning that she doesn’t have to face it alone is breathtaking. Watching her accept and strengthen some of her magic was amazing, and I can’t wait to see where she goes from here. Her and Fox’s relationship is quite literally EVERYTHING. I have been rooting for them since the moment we first meet Fox, and this book only made me root for them harder. Every interaction they have had me either squealing, laughing, or sobbing, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Flint — cocky, dramatic, fiercely protective, and genuinely hilarious — is the kind of sibling character who steals every scene he’s in. His POV cracked my heart open more than once, and I’m so beyond grateful that we got to explore the aftermath of his trials and the trauma and fear he’s still carrying around. Seeing him grapple with who he was before his third trial versus after was heart wrenching, but by the end of the book, he was able to at least speak some of his fears out loud to the people he trusts most. I’m crossing my fingers we get to see him and a certain someone grow closer in the next book because their tension and chemistry is INSANE. Every single one of their interactions had me screaming “JUST KISS ALREADY!”
And Elva… mysterious, heartbreaking Elva. Introduced in Heir of Storms as Blaze’s serf at the Golden Palace, her journey takes a devastating and fascinating turn that Tides of Fortune finally allows us to explore. Her chapters added a layer of emotional complexity that I didn’t even realize I was missing. I cannot wait to further explore her abilities, her past, her present, and hopefully what comes next for her. These three POVs offer us almost every single angle we need to see this story fully, with each POV following a different pair/group of characters, and by the end, all three paths merge together until all of our favorite characters are back together again.
Chapters 44 and 45 absolutely wrecked me. I sobbed. I had to physically set the book down all three times because I couldn’t see the words through my tears. Blaze’s journey — from feeling utterly alone in every possible way to realizing that she never was and never has to be— is one of the most beautiful, emotionally satisfying arcs I’ve read in YA fantasy. I cannot wait to see what comes next, and I’m both so anxious and so excited to see how Blaze comes to terms with who and what she is. I also can’t wait to see King Balen get his ass handed to him. I cannot STAND that man!
Tides of Fortune doesn’t just continue the plot. It deepens it. It challenges its characters. It trusts its readers. And it cements this story as something truly special. I’m quite literally obsessed, if you can’t tell! If anyone sees me reread this for a fourth time just move along because I’m starting to think it’s inevitable… especially because I already miss Blaze, Fox, Flint, Elva, Sheen, Spinner, and every other wonderful character in this book. And Scout. And River. I could keep going, but I’ll leave you with this: please read this. Add HoS to your TBR, read it before July, and then pick this up and prepare to be emotional destroyed. I’m not sure how I’m going to survive the wait for book 3.
The absolute biggest thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group | Roaring Brook Press for this eARC. An even bigger thank you to the author, the insanely talented Lauryn Hamilton Murray, for creating what is becoming one of my favorite series of all time. I’ll be screaming about how much I loved this for the rest of my life!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Gawd, I love these characters so much. Both of the books in this series have made me so attached to this group of people !!
This definitely had some classic second-book vibes, with a lot of travelling and setup for what's to come, but it was handled in a really unique way. Having the three POVs scattered across Ostacre meant we got to explore different corners of the world, uncover new lore, and spend time with different character groups, which kept things feeling fresh and engaging throughout.
Obviously, I am still hopelessly in love with Fox, but Flint completely stole the spotlight in this book. He was the MVP for me from start to finish. I already loved him, but this installment solidified him as one of my absolute favourites. The whole cast is wonderful, of course, but Flint is MY MANNNNNN.
This was a great continuation of the series that left me excited (and a little nervous) for what's coming next. I cannot wait for the final book!
This definitely had some classic second-book vibes, with a lot of travelling and setup for what's to come, but it was handled in a really unique way. Having the three POVs scattered across Ostacre meant we got to explore different corners of the world, uncover new lore, and spend time with different character groups, which kept things feeling fresh and engaging throughout.
Obviously, I am still hopelessly in love with Fox, but Flint completely stole the spotlight in this book. He was the MVP for me from start to finish. I already loved him, but this installment solidified him as one of my absolute favourites. The whole cast is wonderful, of course, but Flint is MY MANNNNNN.
This was a great continuation of the series that left me excited (and a little nervous) for what's coming next. I cannot wait for the final book!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
❀° ┄───╮
review
╰───┄ °❀
thank you to netgalley, author, and publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review!
✨✨✨ ~ 3.4 rounded to 3 stars
ok so i don't really know what to say about this book. i def enjoyed the first one better. i did love the multi-povs tho since you got a lot of different perspectives.
blaze:
imo blaze is just not. she's so dense and oblivious to everything that's going on around her.
hal:
he kind of redeemed himself throughout the book, and i completely understand why he did all the things he did in both books.
fox:
idk how i feel about fox. he seems to have literally no personality and is supposed to be all tall dark and handsome, but then like in the first book you see him twice maybe and he's not... i think his character could have been a little more developed in this book as well
overall, this book was good, but i honestly don't see the point. yes, there were some plot twists and some things happened so that there would be a plot, but in reality, there was nothing major going on and the ending was boring and missing the big cliffhanger that you would expect from this kind of book.
quotes:
(please note i have an uncorrected copy, so this might not be a direct quote from the final book)
"...the crowd cheers, and I think about how innate it is- this insatiable appetite for violence. How bloodshed becomes a spectacle. Punishment by the way of entertainment."
"'Six? They're worth double that.' The man snorts. 'Not a chance. Call it seven and we have a deal.'"
"Gilded cages still have bars."
❀° ┄───╮
pre-read
╰───┄ °❀
got this arc (1/8 so far) bc i read the first one as an arc so they gave me this one without me asking 🥹
review
╰───┄ °❀
thank you to netgalley, author, and publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review!
✨✨✨ ~ 3.4 rounded to 3 stars
ok so i don't really know what to say about this book. i def enjoyed the first one better. i did love the multi-povs tho since you got a lot of different perspectives.
blaze:
imo blaze is just not. she's so dense and oblivious to everything that's going on around her.
hal:
he kind of redeemed himself throughout the book, and i completely understand why he did all the things he did in both books.
fox:
idk how i feel about fox. he seems to have literally no personality and is supposed to be all tall dark and handsome, but then like in the first book you see him twice maybe and he's not... i think his character could have been a little more developed in this book as well
overall, this book was good, but i honestly don't see the point. yes, there were some plot twists and some things happened so that there would be a plot, but in reality, there was nothing major going on and the ending was boring and missing the big cliffhanger that you would expect from this kind of book.
quotes:
(please note i have an uncorrected copy, so this might not be a direct quote from the final book)
"...the crowd cheers, and I think about how innate it is- this insatiable appetite for violence. How bloodshed becomes a spectacle. Punishment by the way of entertainment."
"'Six? They're worth double that.' The man snorts. 'Not a chance. Call it seven and we have a deal.'"
"Gilded cages still have bars."
❀° ┄───╮
pre-read
╰───┄ °❀
got this arc (1/8 so far) bc i read the first one as an arc so they gave me this one without me asking 🥹
February 8, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the arc!
Absolutely had so much fun with this, and it’s one of my favorite reads of the month. I was so excited to get this arc because I also had fun with Heir of Storms.
This book broadened the world in a way (one part in particular was very whimsy and cool), and challenged our characters in new ways. Two more POVs are added to this book in edition to Blaze, which I will get to in a moment.
Blaze and Fox’s romance was the highlight of this book for me and one of my favorites in a while. They were every bit as fun as I hoped they’d be, and had me giggling over my iPad multiple times. She hit so many things I wanted to happen for them, and the tropes were there but used well in my opinion. For sure a step up from the romance in book one!! Too many books rush a main couple getting together with a neat little bow, and this author knew not to do this. It really paid off.
The other povs: definitely necessary to an extent so we could see what was going on with the country. Elva in particular kept us updated on that front, but Flints povs were a drag and repetitive. At the beginning, they were repetitive with Blaze’s (whose I like better), and then they became the same cycle of thoughts over and over. I do like Flint, but think he worked so much better as a non pov character. I think the book would’ve been better served is he at least had fewer POVs, but at least the chapters are all short, so we always get back to Blaze soonish.
As much as I enjoyed this, another reason I can’t justify rating this over four stars (which I consider a very good rating btw. Don’t get it twisted!) is the plot was definitely suffering from some second book syndrome. I personally enjoyed the quest and the traveling, but there never really felt like there was a proper climax. The villain is looming, but underutilized. It doesn’t irritate me too badly because I still had so much fun reading this, but I know it will get to some people.
Overall this is such a fun, underrated ya series and I would recommend it! I hope Fairyloot does this book so I can snag a matching copy.
Absolutely had so much fun with this, and it’s one of my favorite reads of the month. I was so excited to get this arc because I also had fun with Heir of Storms.
This book broadened the world in a way (one part in particular was very whimsy and cool), and challenged our characters in new ways. Two more POVs are added to this book in edition to Blaze, which I will get to in a moment.
Blaze and Fox’s romance was the highlight of this book for me and one of my favorites in a while. They were every bit as fun as I hoped they’d be, and had me giggling over my iPad multiple times. She hit so many things I wanted to happen for them, and the tropes were there but used well in my opinion. For sure a step up from the romance in book one!! Too many books rush a main couple getting together with a neat little bow, and this author knew not to do this. It really paid off.
The other povs: definitely necessary to an extent so we could see what was going on with the country. Elva in particular kept us updated on that front, but Flints povs were a drag and repetitive. At the beginning, they were repetitive with Blaze’s (whose I like better), and then they became the same cycle of thoughts over and over. I do like Flint, but think he worked so much better as a non pov character. I think the book would’ve been better served is he at least had fewer POVs, but at least the chapters are all short, so we always get back to Blaze soonish.
As much as I enjoyed this, another reason I can’t justify rating this over four stars (which I consider a very good rating btw. Don’t get it twisted!) is the plot was definitely suffering from some second book syndrome. I personally enjoyed the quest and the traveling, but there never really felt like there was a proper climax. The villain is looming, but underutilized. It doesn’t irritate me too badly because I still had so much fun reading this, but I know it will get to some people.
Overall this is such a fun, underrated ya series and I would recommend it! I hope Fairyloot does this book so I can snag a matching copy.
June 23, 2026
definition of second book syndrome 🫠🫠
Currently Reading
June 23, 2026°˖✿˚⋆I received this arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review⋆˚✿˖°
♡pre-read♡
OKAY. I am excited for this! I cant wait for more Fox and Blaze. But Elva's PoV too?! I kind of don't like her and Hal so hopefully I still enjoy this because they did Blaze so dirty. And yeah it was mostly Hal but like she knewww.
°˖✿˚⋆Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc°˖✿˚⋆
June 7, 2026
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for approving me to read this book, I loved it therefore I’m rating it 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.0.
I’m obsessed with the magic, history of the weilders past and present that has led us on this path. Book 2 is a real journey of identity and purpose that holds the key to everyones future.
Where we pick up from book 1 there’s a lot of tension, everyones position seems tenuous except for Ember which is an absolute eye roll because she’s such a vicious soul. Blaze and Flint find themselves with new and unknown allies at various points of the story as they endeavour to fix the wrongs occurring because of king Balen, with him out there plotting and scheming no one appears to be safe. The search for the eye of souls is on after blaze did her best to get it away from balen. The journey is tough and deadly, but I love how it unravels secrets long buried and we get to see what our characters are really made of.
The ending leaves us in a place where what’s next is unknown, but the key players are making their move and it’s hard to say whether they will be whole by the end.
I’m obsessed with the magic, history of the weilders past and present that has led us on this path. Book 2 is a real journey of identity and purpose that holds the key to everyones future.
Where we pick up from book 1 there’s a lot of tension, everyones position seems tenuous except for Ember which is an absolute eye roll because she’s such a vicious soul. Blaze and Flint find themselves with new and unknown allies at various points of the story as they endeavour to fix the wrongs occurring because of king Balen, with him out there plotting and scheming no one appears to be safe. The search for the eye of souls is on after blaze did her best to get it away from balen. The journey is tough and deadly, but I love how it unravels secrets long buried and we get to see what our characters are really made of.
The ending leaves us in a place where what’s next is unknown, but the key players are making their move and it’s hard to say whether they will be whole by the end.
December 1, 2025
I had the opportunity to read the ARC of Tides of Fortune and Lauryn Hammilton Murray really delivered!
In Tides of Fortune, we get to see Blaze interact with the outside world for the first time as she searches for the Eye of the Soul. This book is fast paced and we immediately dive into Blaze's mission and challenges. What I really appreciated was we also got to lean into different perspectives from key characters like Flint, Blaze, Spinner, Elva, and Hal. Having all of these new narrations really developed the entire story.
Lauryn Hammilton Murray did a great job weaving action packed stories of the past, present and future and you really started to understand the full extent of Blaze's purpose.
I am obviously also a fan of romance and we definitely get to see all of these relationships develop. Not only with Fox, Hal and Blaze, but we also experience unexpected twists and turns in the love lives of most of the characters. I definitely recommend!.
In Tides of Fortune, we get to see Blaze interact with the outside world for the first time as she searches for the Eye of the Soul. This book is fast paced and we immediately dive into Blaze's mission and challenges. What I really appreciated was we also got to lean into different perspectives from key characters like Flint, Blaze, Spinner, Elva, and Hal. Having all of these new narrations really developed the entire story.
Lauryn Hammilton Murray did a great job weaving action packed stories of the past, present and future and you really started to understand the full extent of Blaze's purpose.
I am obviously also a fan of romance and we definitely get to see all of these relationships develop. Not only with Fox, Hal and Blaze, but we also experience unexpected twists and turns in the love lives of most of the characters. I definitely recommend!.
June 22, 2026
Thank you so much Penguin Australia for the gifted physical copy in exchange for an honest review!
*spoilers for Heir of Storms, the first book in the series*
Riveting, addictive and thrilling.
Oh my God. What an ending. What a cliffhanger. What an incredible story that has me wishing I could jump in the pages and walk alongside Blaze and Fox. Sequel to Heir of Storms, Tides of Fortune was a whirlwind of adventure, romance and secrets. Picking up right where we left off, Blaze is struggling to come to terms with being Queen after winning the trials. Heartbroken and feeling lost, Blaze finds herself drawn to Fox, the Earth Cleaver and the man she should steer clear from at all costs. But when everything feels so uncertain, Fox is a constant and holds answers to questions Blaze has had for years.
Told from the perspectives of Blaze, her brother Flint and palace serf Elva, we get an insight into the danger that is brewing and get to walk alongside the characters as they navigate harsh truths and danger every step of the way. Blaze is looking for the Eye of the Soul but never expected to learn so much - nor feel so much - on her journey with Fox. Will she find the Eye? And more importantly, who can she trust? Time is ticking for King Balen - the usurper to the throne - is watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Will Blaze and her friends make it out alive?
I LOVED Heir of Storms so much and somehow loved this one even more. It was so much fun and I flew through the pages. I’m so keen to find out what happens next (crying because I have to wait but the wait is gonna be so worth it!). I was hooked from the start and felt just as desperate as Blaze to find the eye! And ohmygosh Fox?!? The depth to that man is INSANE and I love him so much! I’m so keen for the third book because that cliffhanger was torturous!!
Perfect for fans of a fast-paced, highly engaging fantasy novel full of twists and turns around every corner and a history of lies that will have you flying through the pages, desperate to know the truth!
*spoilers for Heir of Storms, the first book in the series*
Riveting, addictive and thrilling.
Oh my God. What an ending. What a cliffhanger. What an incredible story that has me wishing I could jump in the pages and walk alongside Blaze and Fox. Sequel to Heir of Storms, Tides of Fortune was a whirlwind of adventure, romance and secrets. Picking up right where we left off, Blaze is struggling to come to terms with being Queen after winning the trials. Heartbroken and feeling lost, Blaze finds herself drawn to Fox, the Earth Cleaver and the man she should steer clear from at all costs. But when everything feels so uncertain, Fox is a constant and holds answers to questions Blaze has had for years.
Told from the perspectives of Blaze, her brother Flint and palace serf Elva, we get an insight into the danger that is brewing and get to walk alongside the characters as they navigate harsh truths and danger every step of the way. Blaze is looking for the Eye of the Soul but never expected to learn so much - nor feel so much - on her journey with Fox. Will she find the Eye? And more importantly, who can she trust? Time is ticking for King Balen - the usurper to the throne - is watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Will Blaze and her friends make it out alive?
I LOVED Heir of Storms so much and somehow loved this one even more. It was so much fun and I flew through the pages. I’m so keen to find out what happens next (crying because I have to wait but the wait is gonna be so worth it!). I was hooked from the start and felt just as desperate as Blaze to find the eye! And ohmygosh Fox?!? The depth to that man is INSANE and I love him so much! I’m so keen for the third book because that cliffhanger was torturous!!
Perfect for fans of a fast-paced, highly engaging fantasy novel full of twists and turns around every corner and a history of lies that will have you flying through the pages, desperate to know the truth!
May 31, 2026
3.75⭐️ (just could not justify a 4 star rating)
Alright! ‘Tides of Fortune’ was a solid follow up to ‘Heir of Storms’ as it continues to set the stage of the conflict with the main character’s uncle, King Balen. I really enjoyed the two added POVs we got; Flint and Elva, I felt it elevated the plot.
I think this author has also done a really good job at crafting the world, its magic and the different lore. There’s some new terminology and places thrown around, but it wasn’t overwhelming. As someone who isn’t a big fan of 1st person POV, I do like this author’s writing style, the book went by fast.
Elva ended up being my favorite character and I enjoyed her chapters most. Then Flint’s were my second favorite as we learned more about him and his conflicts after what happened in the first book. Their POVs are sorta what saved this book for me.
To be honest, I found Blaze’s chapters to be lacking. Our main character ended up being grating for a descent chunk after 25% due to the forced “banter” / “I’m going to be rude to him because I can”,... I don’t like how often female characters are simply written as brats and as difficult and it’s considered “strong”, it felt a regression in her character. It may be my age and that this is YA.. but still, i don’t think that’s a good enough excuse for a character to act stupid in dangerous situations. I had loved her growth in book 1 but found her so frustrating this time around, arguing about everything and i mean everything — and her “woe is me” attitude (especially at the end). While understandable considering all the new info she learned, still, there’s sort of some bigger stuff at hand and the miscommunication trope with Fox was not needed.
However, I am excited for book 3 as I really do like all of our pairings and am invested in the plot. I adore Fox and how much he adores Blaze. I was not expecting Flint’s love interest. And I’m really now rooting for Hal and Elva.
*ARC courtesy of netgalley*
Alright! ‘Tides of Fortune’ was a solid follow up to ‘Heir of Storms’ as it continues to set the stage of the conflict with the main character’s uncle, King Balen. I really enjoyed the two added POVs we got; Flint and Elva, I felt it elevated the plot.
I think this author has also done a really good job at crafting the world, its magic and the different lore. There’s some new terminology and places thrown around, but it wasn’t overwhelming. As someone who isn’t a big fan of 1st person POV, I do like this author’s writing style, the book went by fast.
Elva ended up being my favorite character and I enjoyed her chapters most. Then Flint’s were my second favorite as we learned more about him and his conflicts after what happened in the first book. Their POVs are sorta what saved this book for me.
To be honest, I found Blaze’s chapters to be lacking. Our main character ended up being grating for a descent chunk after 25% due to the forced “banter” / “I’m going to be rude to him because I can”,... I don’t like how often female characters are simply written as brats and as difficult and it’s considered “strong”, it felt a regression in her character. It may be my age and that this is YA.. but still, i don’t think that’s a good enough excuse for a character to act stupid in dangerous situations. I had loved her growth in book 1 but found her so frustrating this time around, arguing about everything and i mean everything — and her “woe is me” attitude (especially at the end). While understandable considering all the new info she learned, still, there’s sort of some bigger stuff at hand and the miscommunication trope with Fox was not needed.
However, I am excited for book 3 as I really do like all of our pairings and am invested in the plot. I adore Fox and how much he adores Blaze. I was not expecting Flint’s love interest. And I’m really now rooting for Hal and Elva.
*ARC courtesy of netgalley*
July 3, 2026
4⭐️
Loved the adventure and diving deeper into Elva's character!
I really liked the first book, so I was excited to start this one and so exciting THERE WILL BE A THIRD!!
"She's won the crown. Now she must earn it." That is exactly what this book is about, and it was a really fun ride.
What I loved:
The multiple POVs (especially Elva!): I actually really enjoyed the fact that this book uses multiple points of view.
Getting chapters from her brother Flint and Elva, instead of just Blaze, was a great choice. Elva's chapters were my absolute favorite POV! I loved getting to deep dive into her character and see things from her perspective this time around.
Blaze and Fox: Their dynamic is so good. Fox is annoying but you can't help but like him, and their forced alliance in the forest had some really fun banter.
The quest: Hunting for the Eye of the Soul gave the book a really clear, adventurous goal that kept me wanting to see what happened next.
The only thing I didn't like:
Blaze becoming OP: Honestly, the only thing I didn't really like about the book is the way Blaze became so overpowered. It felt a bit too much at times and took away some of the stakes for her character.
Audiobook thoughts:
I listened to an ALC, and the audio version was awesome. Having different narrators for the different characters made it super easy to follow along and kept me totally hooked, especially during Elva's parts.
Final thoughts: If you liked Heir of Storms, you will definitely like this one. It's a really solid, fun fantasy sequel.
Thanks to the publisher for letting me listen to an early audio copy!
Loved the adventure and diving deeper into Elva's character!
I really liked the first book, so I was excited to start this one and so exciting THERE WILL BE A THIRD!!
"She's won the crown. Now she must earn it." That is exactly what this book is about, and it was a really fun ride.
What I loved:
The multiple POVs (especially Elva!): I actually really enjoyed the fact that this book uses multiple points of view.
Getting chapters from her brother Flint and Elva, instead of just Blaze, was a great choice. Elva's chapters were my absolute favorite POV! I loved getting to deep dive into her character and see things from her perspective this time around.
Blaze and Fox: Their dynamic is so good. Fox is annoying but you can't help but like him, and their forced alliance in the forest had some really fun banter.
The quest: Hunting for the Eye of the Soul gave the book a really clear, adventurous goal that kept me wanting to see what happened next.
The only thing I didn't like:
Blaze becoming OP: Honestly, the only thing I didn't really like about the book is the way Blaze became so overpowered. It felt a bit too much at times and took away some of the stakes for her character.
Audiobook thoughts:
I listened to an ALC, and the audio version was awesome. Having different narrators for the different characters made it super easy to follow along and kept me totally hooked, especially during Elva's parts.
Final thoughts: If you liked Heir of Storms, you will definitely like this one. It's a really solid, fun fantasy sequel.
Thanks to the publisher for letting me listen to an early audio copy!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Oh my God, what an adventure indeed it was!
First of, thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Second of, you have to know that IM OBSSESSED with „Heir of the Storm” book. It landed randomly on my TBR and ever since I have finished it, I was craving for more. So here I am, delighted after I was able to finish book two, which grew to match the first one and at some point even overpowered it.
Lauryn did an amazing job with plotting this whole thing up. Because trials are over, but with Usurper on the hunt, Blaze has to do everything in her power, to find what she has hidden (im trying my best to speak riddles so I won’t spoil anything). Her sudden reunion with Foxy Fox was the light of my excistence and oh lord, their never ending banter was all I ever needed. Im just a bit mad about the ending, and what is going on inside Blaze’s head but I will leave that for now, as we still will be getting book three I assume, so Im sure it will all be fine in the end.
If you wonder, that book two will meet your expectation, I can assure you, it will. Multiple POV, not one but three different stories, connecting at culmination point and bringing all the motives that we love and adore - forced proximity, quest, found family, enemies to lovers, one horse and even one bed trope, destiny to fulfull, curses to break and forbidden romance with all the sulking, hiding and plotting.
It was brilliant, it was amazing and I want book three, like, right now. Please let me have it 🙏🏻🙏🏻
First of, thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Second of, you have to know that IM OBSSESSED with „Heir of the Storm” book. It landed randomly on my TBR and ever since I have finished it, I was craving for more. So here I am, delighted after I was able to finish book two, which grew to match the first one and at some point even overpowered it.
Lauryn did an amazing job with plotting this whole thing up. Because trials are over, but with Usurper on the hunt, Blaze has to do everything in her power, to find what she has hidden (im trying my best to speak riddles so I won’t spoil anything). Her sudden reunion with Foxy Fox was the light of my excistence and oh lord, their never ending banter was all I ever needed. Im just a bit mad about the ending, and what is going on inside Blaze’s head but I will leave that for now, as we still will be getting book three I assume, so Im sure it will all be fine in the end.
If you wonder, that book two will meet your expectation, I can assure you, it will. Multiple POV, not one but three different stories, connecting at culmination point and bringing all the motives that we love and adore - forced proximity, quest, found family, enemies to lovers, one horse and even one bed trope, destiny to fulfull, curses to break and forbidden romance with all the sulking, hiding and plotting.
It was brilliant, it was amazing and I want book three, like, right now. Please let me have it 🙏🏻🙏🏻
May 31, 2026
The way this book pulled me out of a book funk by like page two is CRAZY!!! I was immediately immersed back into the world and attached to the characters, almost like I never left! Where book one was focused on deadly trials, book two is more adventure based with political maneuvering and lot of secrets being revealed.
We pick up only a few weeks after book one ended, and are immediately dropped back into the action. In addition to Blaze’s POV, we get her brother Flint, and the new shadow mage Elva’s POVs as well! This was a nice change, as we got to see what was happening in different parts of the world. Speaking of the world, we got to visit quite a few new places in this one, some of which were mentioned in book one and then some unexpected ones too! I loved the expansion and it was done in such a natural way, as the characters were traveling in order to find something.
The relationships, both platonic and romantic, really stood out in this one. Nothing was rushed and everything felt so effortless with impeccable buildup. Fox continues to be my favorite character. I will defend anything that man does with my whole heart and this book made me love him even more!!! The tension and banter between Fox and Blaze had me screaming, but it wasn’t just romantic. A deep understanding, connection, and true friendship was built between two people who the world chose to villainize.
I binge read the last 50% of this in one sitting as I just couldn’t put it down. There was a span of like 3 chapters towards the end where SOOOOOO many things were being revealed and my jaw just kept dropping! I thought I still had so much of the book left, only to realize I was at 97% and still had so many questions and didn’t want it to end!! At this point I would read the back of a cereal box if Lauryn wrote it! I loved it give me 12 more:)
Thank you so much to Macmillan children’s publishing group, Netgalley, and Lauryn Himilton Murray for the early eARC in exchange for an honest review!
We pick up only a few weeks after book one ended, and are immediately dropped back into the action. In addition to Blaze’s POV, we get her brother Flint, and the new shadow mage Elva’s POVs as well! This was a nice change, as we got to see what was happening in different parts of the world. Speaking of the world, we got to visit quite a few new places in this one, some of which were mentioned in book one and then some unexpected ones too! I loved the expansion and it was done in such a natural way, as the characters were traveling in order to find something.
The relationships, both platonic and romantic, really stood out in this one. Nothing was rushed and everything felt so effortless with impeccable buildup. Fox continues to be my favorite character. I will defend anything that man does with my whole heart and this book made me love him even more!!! The tension and banter between Fox and Blaze had me screaming, but it wasn’t just romantic. A deep understanding, connection, and true friendship was built between two people who the world chose to villainize.
I binge read the last 50% of this in one sitting as I just couldn’t put it down. There was a span of like 3 chapters towards the end where SOOOOOO many things were being revealed and my jaw just kept dropping! I thought I still had so much of the book left, only to realize I was at 97% and still had so many questions and didn’t want it to end!! At this point I would read the back of a cereal box if Lauryn wrote it! I loved it give me 12 more:)
Thank you so much to Macmillan children’s publishing group, Netgalley, and Lauryn Himilton Murray for the early eARC in exchange for an honest review!
April 16, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Lauryn Hamilton Murray for the Arc copy of Tides of Fortune.
This sequel is an exciting adventure across the empire. In the first book we were mainly in the palace so it was nice to explore more of the world. Especially since we visit all of the taboo or forgotten places. There’s more danger and mystery wherever they go.
We get more character point-of-views as well, since everyone gets split up. It’s nice to be able to see everyone’s characters develop as they work on themselves. They discover more about their powers, histories and families.
My favorite characters this book are Fox, Sheen, Elva and the horse & fox. They each have a lot of depth and strength. As for the horse & fox, I’ll never turn down animal side kicks.
This sequel is an exciting adventure across the empire. In the first book we were mainly in the palace so it was nice to explore more of the world. Especially since we visit all of the taboo or forgotten places. There’s more danger and mystery wherever they go.
We get more character point-of-views as well, since everyone gets split up. It’s nice to be able to see everyone’s characters develop as they work on themselves. They discover more about their powers, histories and families.
My favorite characters this book are Fox, Sheen, Elva and the horse & fox. They each have a lot of depth and strength. As for the horse & fox, I’ll never turn down animal side kicks.
June 16, 2026
This book was a good continuation of the first. I felt like it helped progress the story and set it up for the finale. The multiple POVs really help get an idea of what was happening, it gave the story more depth to the characters and how all the events like Blazes storm and Fox cleaving the earth affected the kingdom.
I liked how we got to see more the terrain and the land which helps with the world building
However, sometimes it felt like I was reading a fanfic of wattpad with the whole “she’s the chosen one” concept, but overall it was a good middle book and I’m excited to see where the story goes next
I liked how we got to see more the terrain and the land which helps with the world building
However, sometimes it felt like I was reading a fanfic of wattpad with the whole “she’s the chosen one” concept, but overall it was a good middle book and I’m excited to see where the story goes next
June 8, 2026
this is such a fun series! I absolutely loved heir of storms and I’ve been so excited for book 2, and this did not disappoint. I loved seeing all of the characters again, and after the ending of book 1 I was so intrigued to see where this book was going to take us! There were some big reveals in this book, it was action packed and I just had such a good time - the magic system in this series is so cool and the politics are really intriguing! Can’t wait for the next one!!!
Thank you so much to Penguin for the review copy!
Thank you so much to Penguin for the review copy!
May 11, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
"Everything seems to fall away and I see only him. The boy who broke the world. Beautiful and bewildering and covered in blood, looking down at me as though I'm the answer to a question he hasn't dared to ask."
This book dragged me straight back into the storm, dropped me in the Wildlands, handed me a toffee apple, gave me one bed, emotional devastation, morally grey yearning, political chaos, and then had the audacity to leave me waiting until 2027 for book three.
Rude, frankly.
After Heir of Storms, Lauryn Hamilton Murray became an auto-buy author for me, and I was equally excited and mildly terrified to see where Tides of Fortune would take us next. Sequels can be tricky little beasts, but this one? It did exactly what a brilliant sequel should do. It expanded the world, deepened the characters, raised the stakes, hurt my feelings, and somehow made me even more obsessed with this series than I already was.
I was lucky enough to be sent a proof copy by Penguin, and when I tell you I annotated the absolute life out of it…I mean, this book never stood a chance. The writing is still that gorgeous, lyrical, emotionally stabby kind of prose that makes you want to highlight every other sentence and then stare dramatically out of a window for several minutes.
Basically, I absolutely ate this book up. 10/10. No notes. Just pain, yearning, elemental magic, and me being personally victimised by fictional people with green eyes.
Where Heir of Storms was Blaze proving she was never the villain they made her out to be, Tides of Fortune feels like the aftermath: what happens when the girl who survived the trials now has to decide who she trusts, what kind of queen she wants to become, and how much of herself she’s willing to risk for power, love and belonging.
Having survived the Choosing Rites and won her crown, Blaze is soon to become Queen of the Aquatori. But because peace was apparently never on the menu, she first has to find the Eye of the Soul before King Balen can claim its power for himself.
She sets off with Flint, but they’re separated early into the journey, sending them both down very different paths. Blaze finds herself in a temporary alliance with Fox (Hurray for us! Terrifying for her emotional stability…) while Flint is travelling with Sheen and Spinner as they all try to reach the place he and Blaze agreed to meet.
One of the biggest changes in this sequel is that we now get three POVs: Blaze, Flint, and Elva. And I honestly loved this. Heir of Storms, being solely from Blaze’s perspective, worked beautifully, but the multiple POVs in Tides of Fortune made the whole story feel richer, bigger and more emotionally layered. Blaze gives us the dangerous quest and the Fox-shaped chaos, Flint brings the humour and heartbreak, and Elva’s chapters add all the palace politics, class tension and moral conflict.
Blaze is still very much That Girl™ .
She is brave, stubborn, powerful, reckless, compassionate, and so tired of being turned into a cautionary tale. I loved seeing her continue to wrestle with the stories people have told about her, because she has spent her whole life being blamed for power she never asked for and feared for things she never meant to do.
And then there’s this absolute queen behaviour:
But what I really loved about Blaze in this book is that she isn’t just storm and fury. We also get her fear, her uncertainty, her loneliness, her longing, and those tiny glimpses of the childhood she was robbed of. There’s a scene with a toffee apple that sounds so small, but Flint’s reaction to it genuinely made my heart ache.
And then, of course, there’s Fox.
Unfortunately for my sanity, he is back.
Infuriating. Secretive. Reckless. Devastating. Flirting like his life depends on it and bleeding emotional damage all over the pages. I was already intrigued by him in Heir of Storms, but this book fully shoved me off the cliff.
The tension between Blaze and Fox is, quite frankly, delicious. The push and pull. The mistrust. The attraction. The way they antagonise each other and understand each other all at once. It is everything.
Their romance in this book is slow, tense, messy, and so full of yearning. Blaze doesn’t know if she can trust him, and Fox doesn’t exactly make himself easy to trust. But the chemistry between them is ridiculous. The one bed at the inn? We love to see it. The pool scene? MY HEART. The way desire literally interacts with Blaze’s magic? Sorry, but that is elite romantasy behaviour.
And then this moment?
But as much as I adored the tension and the banter, what really got me was the softness. The way these two can exist outside of the titles and the power and the fear, even if only for a moment.
And this?
But Fox and Blaze are not the only ones serving up a side of emotional damage, because Flint’s POV? I adored it.
Flint has always had that sarcastic, charming, slightly ridiculous energy, but this book gives him so much more depth. He’s still hilarious, obviously.
He uses humour like armour, and some of his lines are funny because they’re funny, but others are funny because if he doesn’t joke about the pain, he might actually have to feel it.
And then we have Flint and [REDACTED].
HELLO??? Nobody told me I was going to become this invested. The tension between them was genuinely on fire. The chemistry. The bickering. The restraint. The emotional walls. The very obvious care they are both pretending not to have.
Sheen absolutely broke my heart as well. The more we learn about him, the more painful his silence and restraint become.
Elva’s POV was another brilliant addition. Her chapters gave us a very different kind of tension: quieter, political, complicated, and heartbreaking. She’s still sneaking around the palace with Hal, but her storyline becomes so much bigger than romance. It’s about loyalty, class, survival, power and the impossible position of loving someone who sits at the centre of a system that hurts your people.
Elva is caught between two worlds, and you can feel how much that tears her apart.
The politics in this book were so good. There’s so much going on beneath the quest: who gets to hold power, who gets sacrificed to retain it, who gets labelled ‘dangerous’, who gets remembered, and who gets rendered invisible. It never feels like it's preaching, but it lends so much weight to the world.
And that’s what I think makes Tides of Fortune such a strong sequel. It still has all the things I loved in Heir of Storms: the elemental magic, the romance, the banter, the danger, the beautiful writing, but it also feels deeper: more painful; more grown-up; more emotionally complicated.
The Wildlands were atmospheric and dangerous; the world felt bigger, and the stakes felt higher. I loved the addition of Scout the fox and Cedar the horse, because obviously, give me animal companions and I will immediately become attached. I don’t make the rules.
There were also so many lines in this book that felt like they reached directly into the characters and pulled something raw out of them.
And Lauryn writes all of it so beautifully.
The prose is lyrical without feeling overdone, emotional without becoming melodramatic, and romantic without losing the plot. I found myself constantly highlighting, not just because the lines were pretty, but because they actually meant something for the characters.
Blaze is still the storm, and Fox is still ruining my life…in the best way. Flint deserves everything; Sheen needs a hug right now; Elva’s story was quietly devastating, and Hal is trying his best. King Balen? He can choke. Scout and Cedar are iconic. And me? I am not okay.
✨TL;DR: Why you should read this immediately
🌊 Blaze is still the definition of “don’t mistake me for something you can control.”
🖤 Fox is morally grey, devastatingly charming, emotionally damaged, and far too powerful for my blood pressure.
🔥 Flint and [REDACTED] brought tension I was NOT prepared for.
👑 Elva’s POV added politics, heartbreak and so much depth.
🦊 There are animal companions, dangerous quests, one bed, elemental magic, and yearning.
⚡️ The prose is stunning, the stakes are higher, and the emotional damage is delicious.
Truly, Tides of Fortune is a gorgeous, addictive, emotionally charged sequel that takes everything I loved about Heir of Storms and makes it bigger, richer, and more devastating.
I absolutely loved it. 5 stars. No notes. Just me, counting down to 2027 like a woman who has been personally wronged.
Thank you so much to Penguin for sending me a proof copy, which has been added to my Storm Weaver shrine!
This book dragged me straight back into the storm, dropped me in the Wildlands, handed me a toffee apple, gave me one bed, emotional devastation, morally grey yearning, political chaos, and then had the audacity to leave me waiting until 2027 for book three.
Rude, frankly.
After Heir of Storms, Lauryn Hamilton Murray became an auto-buy author for me, and I was equally excited and mildly terrified to see where Tides of Fortune would take us next. Sequels can be tricky little beasts, but this one? It did exactly what a brilliant sequel should do. It expanded the world, deepened the characters, raised the stakes, hurt my feelings, and somehow made me even more obsessed with this series than I already was.
I was lucky enough to be sent a proof copy by Penguin, and when I tell you I annotated the absolute life out of it…I mean, this book never stood a chance. The writing is still that gorgeous, lyrical, emotionally stabby kind of prose that makes you want to highlight every other sentence and then stare dramatically out of a window for several minutes.
Basically, I absolutely ate this book up. 10/10. No notes. Just pain, yearning, elemental magic, and me being personally victimised by fictional people with green eyes.
Where Heir of Storms was Blaze proving she was never the villain they made her out to be, Tides of Fortune feels like the aftermath: what happens when the girl who survived the trials now has to decide who she trusts, what kind of queen she wants to become, and how much of herself she’s willing to risk for power, love and belonging.
Having survived the Choosing Rites and won her crown, Blaze is soon to become Queen of the Aquatori. But because peace was apparently never on the menu, she first has to find the Eye of the Soul before King Balen can claim its power for himself.
She sets off with Flint, but they’re separated early into the journey, sending them both down very different paths. Blaze finds herself in a temporary alliance with Fox (Hurray for us! Terrifying for her emotional stability…) while Flint is travelling with Sheen and Spinner as they all try to reach the place he and Blaze agreed to meet.
One of the biggest changes in this sequel is that we now get three POVs: Blaze, Flint, and Elva. And I honestly loved this. Heir of Storms, being solely from Blaze’s perspective, worked beautifully, but the multiple POVs in Tides of Fortune made the whole story feel richer, bigger and more emotionally layered. Blaze gives us the dangerous quest and the Fox-shaped chaos, Flint brings the humour and heartbreak, and Elva’s chapters add all the palace politics, class tension and moral conflict.
Blaze is still very much That Girl™ .
She is brave, stubborn, powerful, reckless, compassionate, and so tired of being turned into a cautionary tale. I loved seeing her continue to wrestle with the stories people have told about her, because she has spent her whole life being blamed for power she never asked for and feared for things she never meant to do.
“Of course they’ve selected Blaze as their scapegoat. It’s hardly surprising. To many, she’s been a villain since the day she was born.”That line really sums up the weight Blaze has been carrying. She is constantly being reduced to the worst thing people think they know about her, and yet she refuses to let that be the whole story. She’s not softening herself to be more acceptable. She’s not shrinking to make other people comfortable. She is learning what it means to be powerful without becoming what they fear.
And then there’s this absolute queen behaviour:
“Nobody wins me.”I mean??? YES. Exactly. Print it on a banner. Put it above the throne. That is my girl.
But what I really loved about Blaze in this book is that she isn’t just storm and fury. We also get her fear, her uncertainty, her loneliness, her longing, and those tiny glimpses of the childhood she was robbed of. There’s a scene with a toffee apple that sounds so small, but Flint’s reaction to it genuinely made my heart ache.
“I’ve often wondered how she didn’t go mad, shut up for all those years — first at Bartell Manor, then Harglade Hall. She was robbed of any kind of childhood because of something she did when she was barely a day old.”The way Lauryn balances huge fantasy stakes with these quiet, human moments is genuinely beautiful.
And then, of course, there’s Fox.
Unfortunately for my sanity, he is back.
Infuriating. Secretive. Reckless. Devastating. Flirting like his life depends on it and bleeding emotional damage all over the pages. I was already intrigued by him in Heir of Storms, but this book fully shoved me off the cliff.
“A small smile curves the Earth Cleaver’s lips. ‘We have to stop meeting like this.’”Fox is still giving morally grey menace with devastating green eyes, but this time Lauryn peels back enough of his armour that I wasn’t just swooning; I was hurting for him. There is so much hiding underneath all that charm and danger, and the more we learn, the more tragic and tender he becomes.
The tension between Blaze and Fox is, quite frankly, delicious. The push and pull. The mistrust. The attraction. The way they antagonise each other and understand each other all at once. It is everything.
“Syrath velena.”Obsessed. No further questions.
Stubborn girl.
“Fazari velen.”
Stupid boy.
Their romance in this book is slow, tense, messy, and so full of yearning. Blaze doesn’t know if she can trust him, and Fox doesn’t exactly make himself easy to trust. But the chemistry between them is ridiculous. The one bed at the inn? We love to see it. The pool scene? MY HEART. The way desire literally interacts with Blaze’s magic? Sorry, but that is elite romantasy behaviour.
“Was that… Did you just simmer?”I laughed. I swooned. I needed to go and lie down.
And then this moment?
“This is a very bad idea.”What am I supposed to do with that? Be normal? Absolutely not!
“You’re probably right.”
But as much as I adored the tension and the banter, what really got me was the softness. The way these two can exist outside of the titles and the power and the fear, even if only for a moment.
“Here, we don’t have to be the Storm Weaver and the Earth Cleaver. We can just be Blaze and Fox. We can just be.”Fox’s scenes at his grandmother’s cottage were some of my favourites in the whole book. They were quiet and tender and full of grief, and they gave us such a different side to him.
“She was different from everybody. She was one of the most extraordinary people I ever knew, and yet she lived so simply.”That one genuinely hit me like a ton of bricks because it reminded me of my own Gran and Nana. Lauryn really has this way of slipping in a line that feels soft and simple, and then suddenly you’re emotionally winded.
And this?
“I find myself thinking that never have I ever been held more gently than by the same pair of hands that tore the world apart.”Bury me with it, honestly.
But Fox and Blaze are not the only ones serving up a side of emotional damage, because Flint’s POV? I adored it.
Flint has always had that sarcastic, charming, slightly ridiculous energy, but this book gives him so much more depth. He’s still hilarious, obviously.
“How’s your eye?”I’m sorry, but he is iconic.
“Lonely.”
He uses humour like armour, and some of his lines are funny because they’re funny, but others are funny because if he doesn’t joke about the pain, he might actually have to feel it.
“They say problems should be tackled head-on, but I find that my problems are best left alone. Ignore them for long enough and you can pretend they don’t exist.”What I loved about his arc is that he’s trying to work out who he is after losing both his eye and his crown. He’s spent so long relying on his appearance, his charm, his status, and this version of himself he knows how to perform. But now all of that has cracked open, and what’s underneath is so much more interesting.
And then we have Flint and [REDACTED].
HELLO??? Nobody told me I was going to become this invested. The tension between them was genuinely on fire. The chemistry. The bickering. The restraint. The emotional walls. The very obvious care they are both pretending not to have.
“I’ve been kissed countless times before — by kings and courtesans, poets and princesses.MY GOD. I need more from these two in book three. I am asking politely, but also with the energy of someone who has been left emotionally unsupervised.
But I’ve never been kissed like this.”
Sheen absolutely broke my heart as well. The more we learn about him, the more painful his silence and restraint become.
“There’s nobody left to call his name.”That line, Lauryn? Absolutely not. Straight to jail for emotional crimes.
Elva’s POV was another brilliant addition. Her chapters gave us a very different kind of tension: quieter, political, complicated, and heartbreaking. She’s still sneaking around the palace with Hal, but her storyline becomes so much bigger than romance. It’s about loyalty, class, survival, power and the impossible position of loving someone who sits at the centre of a system that hurts your people.
“I’m invisible.”I do love Hal and Elva, but I also really appreciated that Lauryn doesn’t make their relationship simple. Love does not magically erase power imbalance. It does not fix oppression. It does not make impossible choices disappear.
“Not to me. Never to me.”
Elva is caught between two worlds, and you can feel how much that tears her apart.
“More than ever, I became agonisingly aware of my own duality — that I am made up of two warring halves, forced to conceal one part of myself to preserve the other.”And when she reaches the point where she has to choose not just who she loves, but who she is?
“Before, I chose Hal. Now I choose [REDACTED]. I choose my friend, my people and myself.”YES. That is the kind of character moment I love. Painful, powerful, and completely earned.
The politics in this book were so good. There’s so much going on beneath the quest: who gets to hold power, who gets sacrificed to retain it, who gets labelled ‘dangerous’, who gets remembered, and who gets rendered invisible. It never feels like it's preaching, but it lends so much weight to the world.
And that’s what I think makes Tides of Fortune such a strong sequel. It still has all the things I loved in Heir of Storms: the elemental magic, the romance, the banter, the danger, the beautiful writing, but it also feels deeper: more painful; more grown-up; more emotionally complicated.
The Wildlands were atmospheric and dangerous; the world felt bigger, and the stakes felt higher. I loved the addition of Scout the fox and Cedar the horse, because obviously, give me animal companions and I will immediately become attached. I don’t make the rules.
There were also so many lines in this book that felt like they reached directly into the characters and pulled something raw out of them.
“Sometimes, the only way to survive pain is to accept it.”That feels like the heart of this book. Blaze, Fox, Flint, Sheen, Elva - they’re all carrying pain in different ways. Some hide it under humour. Some bury it under duty. Some turn it into power. Some pretend they’re fine until they very much are not.
And Lauryn writes all of it so beautifully.
The prose is lyrical without feeling overdone, emotional without becoming melodramatic, and romantic without losing the plot. I found myself constantly highlighting, not just because the lines were pretty, but because they actually meant something for the characters.
“Everything seems to fall away and I see only him. The boy who broke the world. Beautiful and bewildering and covered in blood, looking down at me as though I’m the answer to a question he hasn’t dared to ask.”Overall, Tides of Fortune was everything I wanted from this sequel. It gave me the same addictive, cinematic fantasy feeling as Heir of Storms, but with even more: more emotional depth, more character complexity, more romance, more political tension, and more reasons to scream into the void.
Blaze is still the storm, and Fox is still ruining my life…in the best way. Flint deserves everything; Sheen needs a hug right now; Elva’s story was quietly devastating, and Hal is trying his best. King Balen? He can choke. Scout and Cedar are iconic. And me? I am not okay.
✨TL;DR: Why you should read this immediately
🌊 Blaze is still the definition of “don’t mistake me for something you can control.”
🖤 Fox is morally grey, devastatingly charming, emotionally damaged, and far too powerful for my blood pressure.
🔥 Flint and [REDACTED] brought tension I was NOT prepared for.
👑 Elva’s POV added politics, heartbreak and so much depth.
🦊 There are animal companions, dangerous quests, one bed, elemental magic, and yearning.
⚡️ The prose is stunning, the stakes are higher, and the emotional damage is delicious.
Truly, Tides of Fortune is a gorgeous, addictive, emotionally charged sequel that takes everything I loved about Heir of Storms and makes it bigger, richer, and more devastating.
I absolutely loved it. 5 stars. No notes. Just me, counting down to 2027 like a woman who has been personally wronged.
Thank you so much to Penguin for sending me a proof copy, which has been added to my Storm Weaver shrine!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews