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Storm Breaker #1
Storm Breaker
From the publisher who brought you Fourth Wing comes your next romantasy obsession...
For nineteen-year-old Poet Graves, New Manhattan has always promised safety―if she obeys. Raised within the ruling Houses and betrothed to a powerful heir, she enters Amery Academy knowing her future has already been decided.
But Amery is nothing like she imagined. Its trials are brutal, its loyalties conditional, and its rules designed to expose weakness. As Poet struggles to survive, she must hide the truth that could get her executed: the storms don’t fear her―they answer back.
When a dangerous outsider from beyond the city walls enters the academy, Poet is drawn to him despite everything she’s been taught to believe. He threatens the life she’s been promised. And choosing him could cost her not just her future, but her freedom.
A gripping dystopian romance filled with forbidden power, ruthless challenges, and a heroine who refuses to burn quietly―perfect for fans of Divergent and The Hunger Games.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published May 5, 2026
About the author
Nisha J. Tuli
29 books5,791 followersVisit my website to sign up for my newsletter and download a bonus chapter from Rule of the Aurora King and Not Safe for Work!
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Nisha J Tuli is a USA Today and international bestselling author of glittering fantasy worlds, steamy rom-coms, and kissing scenes full of angst. Her book, Trial of the Sun Queen, went on to become a BookTok hit, selling over a million copies and finding its way into readers' hands around the world. Her book Storm Breaker is currently in development with Amazon MGM for a TV series.
When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found in the gym or the kitchen (to eat, not to cook) or maybe knitting scarves to survive a Canadian winter. She lives in Manitoba with her husband, their two kids, and their fluffy Samoyed.
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Nisha J Tuli is a USA Today and international bestselling author of glittering fantasy worlds, steamy rom-coms, and kissing scenes full of angst. Her book, Trial of the Sun Queen, went on to become a BookTok hit, selling over a million copies and finding its way into readers' hands around the world. Her book Storm Breaker is currently in development with Amazon MGM for a TV series.
When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found in the gym or the kitchen (to eat, not to cook) or maybe knitting scarves to survive a Canadian winter. She lives in Manitoba with her husband, their two kids, and their fluffy Samoyed.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,963 reviews
April 12, 2026
YA dystopian fantasy + slow simmering feminine empowerment/rage but with yearning and butterflies (raging butterflies?) and I was so here for it.
You know that feeling when you read a book that makes you want to eat the rich, burn down the patriarchy and oppressive regimes, while sobbing over the destruction humanity has caused and will continue to cause to our beautiful planet... but it also makes you giggle and kick your feet? This was that.
This has a very clear target audience and I think the publisher’s comparisons to The Hunger Games and Divergent in their blurb are very fair, with the adrenaline-packed deadly trials component and the whole choosing between two factions type of vibe. Although it’s romantasy, so keep that in mind if you like keeping dystopian and romantasy separated, because YA romantasy is entwined here (mild, non-explicit spice and the vibe is more suited to an upper YA or NA audience, potentially).
I also would add that our beautifully brown-skinned, purple-haired FMC Poet Graves’s POV comes from a place of privilege and proximity to power and it’s kind of like we’re in the head of someone from the Capitol, just with more of a conscience. And that’s what I think sets this apart. Because Poet is coming to terms with her complicity in systemic oppression, classism, exploitation and starting to question the systems she’s been raised in, which is an interesting angle.
Oh and she has this cool elemental magic ability where she can get struck by lightning, absorb the shock and survive. A pretty useful skill if you live in an environment plagued with deathly storms on the reg! But oh wait, nope…apparently the government will disappear her if they find out she can do that… just a wee bit of irony there. And there are some obvious metaphors for our current society today here if you would like to spiral.
Another thing I noticed about this Venice-but-make-it-NY inspired world—(gondolas + canals! because the planet warmed and the glaciers melted and the world flooded and all the polars bears and other animals died, my eyes are leaking)—is the patriarchal society, with almost a subtle Handmaid’s Tale undercurrent. The implication that a woman’s autonomy and agency evaporates after marriage I didn’t find super cute, I’m sorry guys. Very “what in the Gilead is going on here?”. I’m pretty sure we’re all exhausted by the patriarchy, so if you like themes of finding the courage to stand up to oppressive systems, you will find it here.
The other thing that struck a chord with me was the very on the nose parallels to a certain country with a shrivelled mango apparently in charge. And, once you see who The E-Squad, aka the Extinguishers represent (is it a coincidence they wear red?), you can’t unsee it. (Reading is political, and dystopian fiction especially has always functioned as a reflection of anxieties over power structures, what can I say 💁🏽♀️)
Highly recommend it if you want a similar vibe to the classic YA dystopians of yesteryear, just with a lot more pining and romance. My teenage self would've loved this and my current self also loved it.
Not surprised, but am extremely delighted that this has been optioned for a TV series.
Thanks so much to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC!
﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
The blurb says this is "perfect for fans of Divergent and The Hunger Games." Guess my sleeper agent code's been activated
You know that feeling when you read a book that makes you want to eat the rich, burn down the patriarchy and oppressive regimes, while sobbing over the destruction humanity has caused and will continue to cause to our beautiful planet... but it also makes you giggle and kick your feet? This was that.
This has a very clear target audience and I think the publisher’s comparisons to The Hunger Games and Divergent in their blurb are very fair, with the adrenaline-packed deadly trials component and the whole choosing between two factions type of vibe. Although it’s romantasy, so keep that in mind if you like keeping dystopian and romantasy separated, because YA romantasy is entwined here (mild, non-explicit spice and the vibe is more suited to an upper YA or NA audience, potentially).
I also would add that our beautifully brown-skinned, purple-haired FMC Poet Graves’s POV comes from a place of privilege and proximity to power and it’s kind of like we’re in the head of someone from the Capitol, just with more of a conscience. And that’s what I think sets this apart. Because Poet is coming to terms with her complicity in systemic oppression, classism, exploitation and starting to question the systems she’s been raised in, which is an interesting angle.
Oh and she has this cool elemental magic ability where she can get struck by lightning, absorb the shock and survive. A pretty useful skill if you live in an environment plagued with deathly storms on the reg! But oh wait, nope…apparently the government will disappear her if they find out she can do that… just a wee bit of irony there. And there are some obvious metaphors for our current society today here if you would like to spiral.
Another thing I noticed about this Venice-but-make-it-NY inspired world—(gondolas + canals! because the planet warmed and the glaciers melted and the world flooded and all the polars bears and other animals died, my eyes are leaking)—is the patriarchal society, with almost a subtle Handmaid’s Tale undercurrent. The implication that a woman’s autonomy and agency evaporates after marriage I didn’t find super cute, I’m sorry guys. Very “what in the Gilead is going on here?”. I’m pretty sure we’re all exhausted by the patriarchy, so if you like themes of finding the courage to stand up to oppressive systems, you will find it here.
The other thing that struck a chord with me was the very on the nose parallels to a certain country with a shrivelled mango apparently in charge. And, once you see who The E-Squad, aka the Extinguishers represent (is it a coincidence they wear red?), you can’t unsee it. (Reading is political, and dystopian fiction especially has always functioned as a reflection of anxieties over power structures, what can I say 💁🏽♀️)
Highly recommend it if you want a similar vibe to the classic YA dystopians of yesteryear, just with a lot more pining and romance. My teenage self would've loved this and my current self also loved it.
Not surprised, but am extremely delighted that this has been optioned for a TV series.
Thanks so much to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC!
﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
The blurb says this is "perfect for fans of Divergent and The Hunger Games." Guess my sleeper agent code's been activated
May 11, 2026
4 🌟 “𝙿𝚘𝚎𝚝 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚜, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝙸’𝚟𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎.”
this book includes a few of my favorite things… dystopian romance, academia vibes, and new york city 🫶🏻✨ and oh boy!! it felt so very nostalgic of early 2000s YA dystopian (big Divergent vibes)
this takes place on a future Earth that’s been affected by climate change. this creates such a cool reimagining of NYC, it sort of gave me like Venice vibes since they have to use boats to get around after everything flooded.
we follow 𝙋𝙤𝙚𝙩, a college student whose the daughter of a high society Scion, as she attends Amery Academy. i love our girl Poet so much!! 💜 she is so relatable. i really enjoyed watching her grow and find herself in this book. and 𝙍𝙤𝙤𝙠 🤭 our mysterious love interest hehe that i need to know more about like HELLLOOO!!!! 🧸🪡🌩️
i loved the concept of the storms and i found the trials really interesting. the plot was a bit predictable and the dialogue is clearly aimed for a younger audience so i didn’t completely connect with it but i still had such a good time!! that ending and set up for book 2??! yes yes yes 🤭🙂↕️
this book includes a few of my favorite things… dystopian romance, academia vibes, and new york city 🫶🏻✨ and oh boy!! it felt so very nostalgic of early 2000s YA dystopian (big Divergent vibes)
this takes place on a future Earth that’s been affected by climate change. this creates such a cool reimagining of NYC, it sort of gave me like Venice vibes since they have to use boats to get around after everything flooded.
we follow 𝙋𝙤𝙚𝙩, a college student whose the daughter of a high society Scion, as she attends Amery Academy. i love our girl Poet so much!! 💜 she is so relatable. i really enjoyed watching her grow and find herself in this book. and 𝙍𝙤𝙤𝙠 🤭 our mysterious love interest hehe that i need to know more about like HELLLOOO!!!! 🧸🪡🌩️
i loved the concept of the storms and i found the trials really interesting. the plot was a bit predictable and the dialogue is clearly aimed for a younger audience so i didn’t completely connect with it but i still had such a good time!! that ending and set up for book 2??! yes yes yes 🤭🙂↕️
April 27, 2026
3.5 ★— Much like Jesus on the third day, the dystopian romance genre, believed to have been killed in the mid to late 2010s, is quickly rising back up, giving us all the feisty heroines and tall, broody love interests who will sneeringly call them “princess.”
Which is a thing that happened in this book. Which maybe already sets up the overall consensus I have for this story, which is: sometimes fun, kinda nostalgic, definitely predictable, but enjoyable if you’re ready for that.
Poet is from an upper-class family, living a life that has predestined her to being on the arm of a wealthy man and continuing on her family’s legacy, when she’s sent to Amery Academy, a school that will determine her future role in society. But, like these books usually go, she has a secret power as a Storm Breaker and meets a mysterious boy from the lower classes she isn’t supposed to get close to.
First and foremost, I appreciated that Poet is a brown girl, that we get her as a woman of color, and that the male love interest, Rook, is described as brown-skinned as well, as explicit main characters of color are frustratingly rare to find in this genre!
Poet herself is a very familiar dystopian heroine: brave, willful, and determined to control her future. What makes her more interesting is the story letting her reckon with some of her privileges through her budding relationship with Rook.
Another aspect I enjoyed was the backdrop of this book being a future ravaged by climate change, which is just a fantastic theme overall and made for very interesting world building that I wish had been explored in more depth and will undoubtedly be expanded on in sequels. The world didn’t feel too dissimilar from ours, with characters having electronics not far from our own, making the story feel grounded in our reality and helping to hammer in the societal critiques the narrative features.
Generally, though, the book really had a hard time truly captivating me. I felt like most story beats and twists were easily foreseeable, and Rook sadly felt quite bland. While he isn’t the typical bad boy and is actually nice and respectful once he and Poet get closer, I still thought he suffered from a lack of interesting characterization and that his and Poet’s romance followed a very typical, predictable progression that just didn’t manage to keep me fully invested.
All this being said, the novelty of a brown girl heroine and my nostalgic enjoyment have me curious enough to want to read the sequel, so I am definitely keeping my eyes open for that one!
_____________
Thank you to Entangled Publishing for the ARC.
Which is a thing that happened in this book. Which maybe already sets up the overall consensus I have for this story, which is: sometimes fun, kinda nostalgic, definitely predictable, but enjoyable if you’re ready for that.
Poet is from an upper-class family, living a life that has predestined her to being on the arm of a wealthy man and continuing on her family’s legacy, when she’s sent to Amery Academy, a school that will determine her future role in society. But, like these books usually go, she has a secret power as a Storm Breaker and meets a mysterious boy from the lower classes she isn’t supposed to get close to.
First and foremost, I appreciated that Poet is a brown girl, that we get her as a woman of color, and that the male love interest, Rook, is described as brown-skinned as well, as explicit main characters of color are frustratingly rare to find in this genre!
Poet herself is a very familiar dystopian heroine: brave, willful, and determined to control her future. What makes her more interesting is the story letting her reckon with some of her privileges through her budding relationship with Rook.
Another aspect I enjoyed was the backdrop of this book being a future ravaged by climate change, which is just a fantastic theme overall and made for very interesting world building that I wish had been explored in more depth and will undoubtedly be expanded on in sequels. The world didn’t feel too dissimilar from ours, with characters having electronics not far from our own, making the story feel grounded in our reality and helping to hammer in the societal critiques the narrative features.
Generally, though, the book really had a hard time truly captivating me. I felt like most story beats and twists were easily foreseeable, and Rook sadly felt quite bland. While he isn’t the typical bad boy and is actually nice and respectful once he and Poet get closer, I still thought he suffered from a lack of interesting characterization and that his and Poet’s romance followed a very typical, predictable progression that just didn’t manage to keep me fully invested.
All this being said, the novelty of a brown girl heroine and my nostalgic enjoyment have me curious enough to want to read the sequel, so I am definitely keeping my eyes open for that one!
_____________
Thank you to Entangled Publishing for the ARC.
Did Not Finish
August 20, 2026soft dnf @20% — i see a lot of mutuals had enjoyed this and so i will possibly come back… but not at this time.
i never like when dystopian books compare themselves to the hunger games, because nothing will ever top the socio-political commentary suzanne collins depicted in thg; not to mention, all dystopian novels that compare themselves to thg sell out to a love triangle, which, spoiler! thg HAD NO LOVE TRIANGLE... ok rant over. i'm excited to dive into this new dystopian novel set in nyc, but i always take dystopian these days with a grain of salt...
i never like when dystopian books compare themselves to the hunger games, because nothing will ever top the socio-political commentary suzanne collins depicted in thg; not to mention, all dystopian novels that compare themselves to thg sell out to a love triangle, which, spoiler! thg HAD NO LOVE TRIANGLE... ok rant over. i'm excited to dive into this new dystopian novel set in nyc, but i always take dystopian these days with a grain of salt...
June 16, 2026
« To everyone who hides in shadows but lives with a spark burning in their chest bright enough to burn down the world. »
Writing such an unoriginal story after that dedication should be a crime.
I’d rather read about a zombie apocalypse where everyone dies (even the MCs) than school bullying I swear 😭
I don’t really have anything good to say. The whole thing felt shallow & underdeveloped. The worldbuilding was practically nonexistent. I had many, many, many unanswered questions and some just pushed the boundary of ridiculousness. Because what was the point exactly?
The fmc lies heavily in self pity and the mmc had no personality. He just felt like a copy of every other mmc these types of books have lately and I’m so tired of the nickname ‘princess’… I want to vomit every time this nickname comes up.
The dialogues were disjointed and fizzled out like a song from the 60s slowly fading out in the distance. It was abrupt & convoluted. I couldn’t really tell the friend group apart and that fiancé of hers had too much page time.
I like my dystopians complicated, deep & philosophical. This was way too simplistic. It was predictable and underwhelming. When the bullying started at school I thought : well of course. He calls her princess in their first interaction? Of course. Her fiancé is a dick? Of course. She has powers she shouldn’t have and kept them secret since she was 8? Of course. The plot barely moves in 402 pages? Of course.
The abbreviations we use today were jarring in that setting. And why were people screaming so much? I sincerely did not like one thing about this novel and I kept reading because i really loved the first 100 pages. I was disappointed by the wasted potential.
Writing such an unoriginal story after that dedication should be a crime.
I’d rather read about a zombie apocalypse where everyone dies (even the MCs) than school bullying I swear 😭
I don’t really have anything good to say. The whole thing felt shallow & underdeveloped. The worldbuilding was practically nonexistent. I had many, many, many unanswered questions and some just pushed the boundary of ridiculousness. Because what was the point exactly?
The fmc lies heavily in self pity and the mmc had no personality. He just felt like a copy of every other mmc these types of books have lately and I’m so tired of the nickname ‘princess’… I want to vomit every time this nickname comes up.
The dialogues were disjointed and fizzled out like a song from the 60s slowly fading out in the distance. It was abrupt & convoluted. I couldn’t really tell the friend group apart and that fiancé of hers had too much page time.
I like my dystopians complicated, deep & philosophical. This was way too simplistic. It was predictable and underwhelming. When the bullying started at school I thought : well of course. He calls her princess in their first interaction? Of course. Her fiancé is a dick? Of course. She has powers she shouldn’t have and kept them secret since she was 8? Of course. The plot barely moves in 402 pages? Of course.
The abbreviations we use today were jarring in that setting. And why were people screaming so much? I sincerely did not like one thing about this novel and I kept reading because i really loved the first 100 pages. I was disappointed by the wasted potential.
May 5, 2026
If you’ve been searching for a book that captures the heart-pounding adrenaline of The Hunger Games, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire trials, mixed with the intense war college vibes of Fourth Wing, Storm Breaker by Nisha J. Tuli is your next obsession. I was so locked in while reading this that I found myself fighting my own eyelids at 2:00 AM, telling myself "just one more chapter" until the very end. This book had me hooked in the best possible way!
The story follows Poet Graves, a high-society daughter of a powerful Scion who is fed up with being a pawn in her father's patriarchal games. After being forced into an arranged marriage with the insufferable Knox, Poet decides to stage the ultimate rebellion. Instead of falling in line with the house her father chose, she pledges to a different one and signs up for the Storm Guard. It is giving major Mulan empowerment vibes—she is disciplined, regimented, and refuses to take anyone's nonsense as she trains to become a warrior.
I was absolutely obsessed with the dynamic between Poet and her love interest, Rook. He is mysterious, aloof, and brooding in the best way possible. Their connection is described so beautifully—especially the moments they share during the storms. But the real scene-stealer? There is a moment where he literally sews her childhood stuffed animal back together while she’s recovering. I’m sorry, but, swoon! Does it get any more sweet than that?
The world-building is centered around elemental storm magic, and the tests Poet has to pass are intense. It captures that same nail-biting feeling where anything can happen, much like the high-stakes pressure of The Hunger Games. People are disappearing, the tension is suffocating, and the action scenes are so vivid they play out like a movie in your head. There is also a heavy layer of classism, with Rook belonging to an ostracized class called the "Solitudes," creating a forbidden romance that kept me so hooked.
Just when you think you have the world figured out, Nisha J. Tuli flips the table over. I can’t believe that ending! My jaw was on the floor and I have so many questions! There are so many mysteries left at the end, and I need to know what happens next! I’m still in shock that this is only the first book, because so much ground was covered. I love Nisha's writing style, it was so addictive and it literally had my heart racing. I can't wait for the next book!
Perfect if you love:
✨️ Strong, disciplined FMC (Mulan energy!)
👀 Broody, mysterious MMC
✨️ War College and Dark Academia settings
🤯 High-stakes trials and deadly initiations
💜 Forbidden romance and class tension
😍 Addictive, fast-paced world-building
⚡️ Elemental storm magic
💜 Female empowerment
✨️ Rebellious vibes
Reminded me of:
❤️ 2000s Dystopian and Fantasy
✨️ The Hunger Games
🔥 Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire
✨️ Fourth Wing
❤️🔥 ACOTAR Series
✨️ Mulan
The story follows Poet Graves, a high-society daughter of a powerful Scion who is fed up with being a pawn in her father's patriarchal games. After being forced into an arranged marriage with the insufferable Knox, Poet decides to stage the ultimate rebellion. Instead of falling in line with the house her father chose, she pledges to a different one and signs up for the Storm Guard. It is giving major Mulan empowerment vibes—she is disciplined, regimented, and refuses to take anyone's nonsense as she trains to become a warrior.
I was absolutely obsessed with the dynamic between Poet and her love interest, Rook. He is mysterious, aloof, and brooding in the best way possible. Their connection is described so beautifully—especially the moments they share during the storms. But the real scene-stealer? There is a moment where he literally sews her childhood stuffed animal back together while she’s recovering. I’m sorry, but, swoon! Does it get any more sweet than that?
The world-building is centered around elemental storm magic, and the tests Poet has to pass are intense. It captures that same nail-biting feeling where anything can happen, much like the high-stakes pressure of The Hunger Games. People are disappearing, the tension is suffocating, and the action scenes are so vivid they play out like a movie in your head. There is also a heavy layer of classism, with Rook belonging to an ostracized class called the "Solitudes," creating a forbidden romance that kept me so hooked.
Just when you think you have the world figured out, Nisha J. Tuli flips the table over. I can’t believe that ending! My jaw was on the floor and I have so many questions! There are so many mysteries left at the end, and I need to know what happens next! I’m still in shock that this is only the first book, because so much ground was covered. I love Nisha's writing style, it was so addictive and it literally had my heart racing. I can't wait for the next book!
Perfect if you love:
✨️ Strong, disciplined FMC (Mulan energy!)
👀 Broody, mysterious MMC
✨️ War College and Dark Academia settings
🤯 High-stakes trials and deadly initiations
💜 Forbidden romance and class tension
😍 Addictive, fast-paced world-building
⚡️ Elemental storm magic
💜 Female empowerment
✨️ Rebellious vibes
Reminded me of:
❤️ 2000s Dystopian and Fantasy
✨️ The Hunger Games
🔥 Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire
✨️ Fourth Wing
❤️🔥 ACOTAR Series
✨️ Mulan
May 7, 2026
ew who would read this book?
ew YA y2k dystopian vibes
eww dark academia/combat college
forbidden romance? eww
eww elemental magic
ew the fmc has a character development
wait...
ew YA y2k dystopian vibes
eww dark academia/combat college
forbidden romance? eww
eww elemental magic
ew the fmc has a character development
wait...
Read
March 13, 2026I devoured this book and can’t wait for it to take the world by storm (pun intended 😇)
Here’s my official blurb:
An addictive YA dystopian romance that had me counting down the minutes until I could get back to my book! Set in a world of lethal magical storms, the forbidden romance and games of cat and mouse had me eagerly turning the pages. This book grabbed me by the throat in chapter one and never let go!
Here’s my official blurb:
An addictive YA dystopian romance that had me counting down the minutes until I could get back to my book! Set in a world of lethal magical storms, the forbidden romance and games of cat and mouse had me eagerly turning the pages. This book grabbed me by the throat in chapter one and never let go!
July 8, 2026
✩ 4.75 stars ✩
What to Expect:
➼ Forbidden Romance
➼ Deadly Trials
➼ Academic Setting
➼ Found Family
➼ Hidden Powers
➼ Elite Society vs Outsiders
➼ Political Maneuvering
➼ YA Dystopian Fantasy
➼ Narrated by Soneela Nankani
➼ First Person POV
I really enjoyed this one! Over the last few years, we’ve seen a big resurgence in the dystopian romance genre, but this is one of the first new dystopian books in the YA category that has truly impressed me. The general structure of their society reminded me a lot of the Uglies series which added a very nostalgic feeling for me. I thought the similarities were particularly strong surrounding the events that occurred at the end of the book.
Both characters were very compelling and had great chemistry together! Things really came to a head for them leading up to the cliffhanger ending, which set the scene for what will hopefully be a great book two! Looking forward to continuing this series very soon! I wish I could say more about what specifically I’m excited about, but I fear it would be a spoiler. 🙃
I definitely recommend checking this one out!
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
Pre-read: I was thinking I should take a break from dystopian and then started this like 10 min later. 😆
≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫
Connect with me on Instagram ✩ Tiktok
What to Expect:
➼ Forbidden Romance
➼ Deadly Trials
➼ Academic Setting
➼ Found Family
➼ Hidden Powers
➼ Elite Society vs Outsiders
➼ Political Maneuvering
➼ YA Dystopian Fantasy
➼ Narrated by Soneela Nankani
➼ First Person POV
I really enjoyed this one! Over the last few years, we’ve seen a big resurgence in the dystopian romance genre, but this is one of the first new dystopian books in the YA category that has truly impressed me. The general structure of their society reminded me a lot of the Uglies series which added a very nostalgic feeling for me. I thought the similarities were particularly strong surrounding the events that occurred at the end of the book.
Both characters were very compelling and had great chemistry together! Things really came to a head for them leading up to the cliffhanger ending, which set the scene for what will hopefully be a great book two! Looking forward to continuing this series very soon! I wish I could say more about what specifically I’m excited about, but I fear it would be a spoiler. 🙃
I definitely recommend checking this one out!
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
Pre-read: I was thinking I should take a break from dystopian and then started this like 10 min later. 😆
≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫
Connect with me on Instagram ✩ Tiktok
April 19, 2026
4.5
Rook lands flat on his back, and I'm on him, my thighs straddling his chest, knees pinning his elbows to the floor.
"Now who's the princess?" I ask with a smirk.
"Sit a little higher and you'll be a Queen," he taunts, and it takes me a moment to process his meaning."
I owe you an apology Rook, I was not familiar with your game.
Storm Breaker felt like such a throwback to the 2010s dystopian reading era. If you loved the Divergent series, and most recently Silver Elite, I think you'll have a great time with this one.
I will say, I found the writing style a little inconsistent at times. Nisha J. Tuli has a really easy and enjoyable writing style for the most part but there were definitely a couple of chapters that the writing needs tightening up.
One thing that irritated me slightly was how often Poet's father's abuse was repeated. By chapter 5, I was like I GET IT. I think it could have been woven more subtly into the story rather than us just telling us, repeatedly. It was little things like this throughout that stopped this being a 5 star read for me.
The storyline had me hooked and I love a school/university setting. The relationship development between Poet and Rook was enjoyable and it felt natural alongside the main story. I was very relieved that the storyline about Knox and Poet's position in House Fiama wasn't dragged out unnecessarily. The pacing of this book was perfect for me and once I hit the 25% mark, I struggled to put this book down.
If you don't enjoy YA reads, this might not be the book for you. But as I said, if you were a reader/fan of the 2010s dystopian era then this may be the right read for you.
I'll definitely be picking up book 2 - I need to know what happens with Poet and Rook!
I received an advanced reading copy for free through the publisher (Mayhem Books), and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Rook lands flat on his back, and I'm on him, my thighs straddling his chest, knees pinning his elbows to the floor.
"Now who's the princess?" I ask with a smirk.
"Sit a little higher and you'll be a Queen," he taunts, and it takes me a moment to process his meaning."
I owe you an apology Rook, I was not familiar with your game.
Storm Breaker felt like such a throwback to the 2010s dystopian reading era. If you loved the Divergent series, and most recently Silver Elite, I think you'll have a great time with this one.
I will say, I found the writing style a little inconsistent at times. Nisha J. Tuli has a really easy and enjoyable writing style for the most part but there were definitely a couple of chapters that the writing needs tightening up.
One thing that irritated me slightly was how often Poet's father's abuse was repeated. By chapter 5, I was like I GET IT. I think it could have been woven more subtly into the story rather than us just telling us, repeatedly. It was little things like this throughout that stopped this being a 5 star read for me.
The storyline had me hooked and I love a school/university setting. The relationship development between Poet and Rook was enjoyable and it felt natural alongside the main story. I was very relieved that the storyline about Knox and Poet's position in House Fiama wasn't dragged out unnecessarily. The pacing of this book was perfect for me and once I hit the 25% mark, I struggled to put this book down.
If you don't enjoy YA reads, this might not be the book for you. But as I said, if you were a reader/fan of the 2010s dystopian era then this may be the right read for you.
I'll definitely be picking up book 2 - I need to know what happens with Poet and Rook!
I received an advanced reading copy for free through the publisher (Mayhem Books), and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Storm Breaker felt like a throwback to early 2000’s dystopian, while still holding its own as a unique addition to the dystopian fantasy genre.
The world building was descriptive and captivating, and I was easily hooked by the plot. The stakes in the book are HIGH. I didn’t realize how high until we were dropped into the first test and was immediately on the edge of my seat!
I grew to really like our characters over the course of the book. I greatly enjoyed Poet and Rook’s dynamic and seeing their relationship develop. I initially struggled a bit with Poet’s passivity towards the way the people in her life treated her, so to see her come into her own as the story progressed was incredibly satisfying.
The ending sets the stage for a very interesting book two! I have some theories (and a whole lot of questions) about where this is headed, and I’m excited to see what happens next!
Thank you Entangled publishing for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
The world building was descriptive and captivating, and I was easily hooked by the plot. The stakes in the book are HIGH. I didn’t realize how high until we were dropped into the first test and was immediately on the edge of my seat!
I grew to really like our characters over the course of the book. I greatly enjoyed Poet and Rook’s dynamic and seeing their relationship develop. I initially struggled a bit with Poet’s passivity towards the way the people in her life treated her, so to see her come into her own as the story progressed was incredibly satisfying.
The ending sets the stage for a very interesting book two! I have some theories (and a whole lot of questions) about where this is headed, and I’m excited to see what happens next!
Thank you Entangled publishing for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
Did Not Finish
April 23, 2026DNF @ page 146
I’m just so bored with it. There are dozens of side characters that I know are supposed to be interesting or memorable on some level but they’re so insignificant, jumbled, and forgettable that major moments where they’re dying or they’re experiencing a high stakes conflict feel hollow. I don't see or feel a connection between our main character and these people she’s supposed to love and be close to.
I’m also just really confused by how life at this academy works. When we’re not in one class getting glimpses of interactions with the MC and her love interest, we’re seeing really repetitive conflicts within her social group outside of class and bizarre hazing from the different evil dystopian frat houses that run this institution
I’m just so bored with it. There are dozens of side characters that I know are supposed to be interesting or memorable on some level but they’re so insignificant, jumbled, and forgettable that major moments where they’re dying or they’re experiencing a high stakes conflict feel hollow. I don't see or feel a connection between our main character and these people she’s supposed to love and be close to.
I’m also just really confused by how life at this academy works. When we’re not in one class getting glimpses of interactions with the MC and her love interest, we’re seeing really repetitive conflicts within her social group outside of class and bizarre hazing from the different evil dystopian frat houses that run this institution
April 11, 2026
Storm Breaker by Nisha J. Tuli
Book Blurb: For nineteen-year-old Poet Graves, New Manhattan has always promised safety―if she obeys. Raised within the ruling Houses and betrothed to a powerful heir, she enters Amery Academy knowing her future has already been decided.
Rating: *****
Feels: Excitement, Investment,
Style: Fantasy, Romantasy, Dystopia, Romance, Young Adult, Science Fiction
First published May 5, 2026 : 416 pages
Fighting for your life in a Dystopian world where the world has separated into elite ruling classes and if you are lucky you can enter ... and survive ... a school to train you to serve the survivors that are kept safe. Add in an outsider from the world outside their little bubble who is a broody hot enigma .. and its just a recipe for all the fun. I enjoyed all the drama and trials. This is the kind of dystopian I adore, that leaves me with all kinds of questions and wanting book two !!!
This book has:
Dystopian Vibes
Hidden Identity
Forbidden Romance
Dark Academia
Class Separations
High-stakes trials
Elemental magic
Political Intrigue
Book Blurb: For nineteen-year-old Poet Graves, New Manhattan has always promised safety―if she obeys. Raised within the ruling Houses and betrothed to a powerful heir, she enters Amery Academy knowing her future has already been decided.
Rating: *****
Feels: Excitement, Investment,
Style: Fantasy, Romantasy, Dystopia, Romance, Young Adult, Science Fiction
First published May 5, 2026 : 416 pages
Fighting for your life in a Dystopian world where the world has separated into elite ruling classes and if you are lucky you can enter ... and survive ... a school to train you to serve the survivors that are kept safe. Add in an outsider from the world outside their little bubble who is a broody hot enigma .. and its just a recipe for all the fun. I enjoyed all the drama and trials. This is the kind of dystopian I adore, that leaves me with all kinds of questions and wanting book two !!!
This book has:
Dystopian Vibes
Hidden Identity
Forbidden Romance
Dark Academia
Class Separations
High-stakes trials
Elemental magic
Political Intrigue
Did Not Finish
May 28, 2026DNF
I tried. I really did. I went into this book optimistic, hopeful even, because the premise sounded INSANE in the best way possible. A flooded dystopian Manhattan? Violent storms? Elite academy? Dangerous trials? Broody mysterious man? Oh this should’ve been crack to me. This should’ve had me foaming at the mouth. Instead this book and I entered a psychological warfare match and at exactly the 50% mark I lost. I tapped out. White flag raised. Medics called. Put me on the stretcher because I cannot do this anymore.
This world makes absolutely no sense and I feel like I’m being gaslit into believing it does.
We’re told Manhattan is flooded, society collapsed, storms are constantly destroying everything, this is supposedly one of the last functioning civilized places on earth, and people travel around in boats and gondolas because there are no streets anymore. Cool. Fine. Interesting visual. But then WHY IS THERE ALSO A SUBWAY SYSTEM??? UNDERGROUND??? UNDER THE WATER??? WHO IS MAINTAINING THE TRAINS??? WHO SAID “yes let’s continue operating subterranean transit systems beneath our drowned apocalypse city”? I genuinely started laughing because every new detail contradicted the last one.
And the thing is, I can forgive unrealistic worlds if they FEEL immersive or emotionally convincing, but this world feels like it was assembled from random dystopian Pinterest aesthetics without any connective tissue holding it together. The storms are supposedly the defining feature of this universe and after HALF THE BOOK I still couldn’t tell you what they are, how they work, why they happen, or what the actual consequences are besides “wow scary lightning.” Some people get struck by lightning and survive apparently. Cool. Why? No clue. What does that mean? Unknown. What are the rules? Don’t ask questions apparently.
Or what storm breakers actually do besides aggressively train and act cryptic. The FMC keeps reminding us every seven seconds that becoming a storm breaker is her life’s purpose, her destiny, her everything, but the actual JOB remains a mystery. Are they meteorologists? Soldiers? Human lightning rods? Fitness influencers? Nobody knows.
There’s no paper anymore apparently. THAT’S the apocalypse consequence we’re focusing on. Everything is digital now. Phones. Tablets. Screens. Okay??? But HOW??? You’re telling me civilization collapsed, resources are scarce, they’re isolated from the outside world, half the city is underwater, and somehow Apple manufacturing remains untouched? Where are they getting materials? Electricity? Infrastructure? Servers? Replacement parts? WiFi apparently survived the apocalypse harder than the human race did. You’re telling me civilization collapsed, Manhattan is drowning, everyone lives in isolated chaos, but the iPads are fully charged and operational? Bezos survives all timelines apparently.
Nobody explains ANYTHING. How do they get food? What kind of economy exists here? What jobs do people even have besides being rich assholes at murder school? What can they realistically produce in a city that’s literally drowning? What happened to the rest of the world? Who are the Hollows? What are the wastelands? Who are the Solitudes? Why does society function this way? What jobs even EXIST here besides “storm breaker” and “vaguely rich bully”? Why does nobody seem concerned about literally anything?
And don’t even get me started on the academy because I still have no clue what anyone is studying there. Seriously. What is the curriculum? What jobs exist in this world? What are the actual responsibilities of these houses? The story just keeps throwing around terms and titles expecting them to sound important enough that nobody notices there’s no substance underneath them. The school feels less like an institution and more like a collection of evil frat houses run by rich bullies with a murder kink. The four houses run society somehow, but the book explains absolutely none of it in a meaningful way. The trials are genuinely stupid too. One challenge involves killing someone to join the political class and I’m supposed to take this seriously as intelligent societal structure??? What exactly is the lesson here? “Congrats, you committed murder, you’re qualified for government now”? And if you’re physically weaker than the other person you just deserve to die? Incredible educational model.
And because the worldbuilding is so underdeveloped, all the emotional moments fall completely flat. There are SO MANY side characters too. Like an actually absurd amount. Every chapter introduces another person I’m apparently supposed to care deeply about and they all immediately blur together into one giant soup of names, outfits, vague attitudes, and forced drama. Every time there was some emotional scene where someone died or got hurt or betrayed somebody I felt nothing because the book never gave me a reason to emotionally attach myself to any of them. It’s like the story expected emotional investment to happen automatically because technically these characters are “friends.” Everyone blended together into one giant blob of dramatic teenagers with interchangeable personalities.
Poet especially tested my patience because she spends the entire book recycling the exact same thoughts over and over again. We GET IT. Your family sucks. Your friends suck. You’re conflicted. You feel betrayed. We did this chapter already. And dear GOD the characterization style almost broke me mentally because every single new character introduction followed the exact same formula like the author had a preset Sim generator running in the background. Hair color. Skin tone. Body build. Outfit. DONE. Next. Every person walked onto the page like they were being described for a police sketch instead of an actual story. Rinse and repeat. Meanwhile we learn absolutely nothing meaningful about who these people actually ARE, but god forbid we don’t learn about their hair color....
I finished 50% of this book knowing the exact clothing description of seventeen side characters but not understanding the basic structure of society.
The relationships were somehow even worse because none of them felt earned. Her friendships felt hollow, the emotional bonds felt forced, and the romance?? Rook is probably the most interesting character in theory but he’s barely IN the book. The man who appears approximately every 70 pages to stare intensely, rescue Poet, beat up her ex-boyfriend, and then disappear back into the shadows like dystopian Batman with western footwear.
This man’s entire personality at the halfway mark consists of:
cowboy boots
randomly appearing to save her
humiliating the ex-boyfriend repeatedly
That’s it. That’s the man. We know more about his footwear than his motivations.
And honestly the ex-boyfriend got more page time than the actual love interest, which is insane considering even HE barely had a personality beyond “gets punched by Rook periodically”, this man keeps getting his ass handed to him by the same dude over and over again and STILL keeps showing up. Stand up king I guess. The romance has absolutely no depth because we spend no meaningful time with these people outside repetitive tension scenes.
And the female characters being written so meek and emotionally flimsy drove me insane too. Everyone feels passive until the plot suddenly requires them to become irrationally hostile for manufactured drama. Poet’s indecisiveness alone gave me emotional vertigo. There’s literally a scene where her best friend assumes she’ll join one house, Poet joins it, and then later the friend acts shocked and upset that she joined it. WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE. Conversations happen like everyone’s reading different scripts.
And the worst part is that I WANTED to care. I kept waiting for the moment where everything would click into place and the lore would finally come together and the characters would develop and Rook would become an actual human being instead of Cowboy Boot Man™ but at 50% I had to admit defeat because this book was giving me absolutely nothing except confusion and irritation.
By the halfway point I felt like I knew more about everyone’s jawlines and outfits than their actual motivations.
So yeah. DNF at 50%. This book won. Congratulations. I’m free now.
But if ANYONE wants to spoil the second half for me PLEASE do because I refuse to suffer through the rest of this personally but I AM still nosy enough to want answers. Also I am calling it right now: the “best friend” is absolutely betraying her at some point because that girl has “future backstabber” energy radiating off her like nuclear waste. If I’m wrong I’ll apologize publicly ,but I need to know if my suffering at least made me psychic.
I tried. I really did. I went into this book optimistic, hopeful even, because the premise sounded INSANE in the best way possible. A flooded dystopian Manhattan? Violent storms? Elite academy? Dangerous trials? Broody mysterious man? Oh this should’ve been crack to me. This should’ve had me foaming at the mouth. Instead this book and I entered a psychological warfare match and at exactly the 50% mark I lost. I tapped out. White flag raised. Medics called. Put me on the stretcher because I cannot do this anymore.
This world makes absolutely no sense and I feel like I’m being gaslit into believing it does.
We’re told Manhattan is flooded, society collapsed, storms are constantly destroying everything, this is supposedly one of the last functioning civilized places on earth, and people travel around in boats and gondolas because there are no streets anymore. Cool. Fine. Interesting visual. But then WHY IS THERE ALSO A SUBWAY SYSTEM??? UNDERGROUND??? UNDER THE WATER??? WHO IS MAINTAINING THE TRAINS??? WHO SAID “yes let’s continue operating subterranean transit systems beneath our drowned apocalypse city”? I genuinely started laughing because every new detail contradicted the last one.
And the thing is, I can forgive unrealistic worlds if they FEEL immersive or emotionally convincing, but this world feels like it was assembled from random dystopian Pinterest aesthetics without any connective tissue holding it together. The storms are supposedly the defining feature of this universe and after HALF THE BOOK I still couldn’t tell you what they are, how they work, why they happen, or what the actual consequences are besides “wow scary lightning.” Some people get struck by lightning and survive apparently. Cool. Why? No clue. What does that mean? Unknown. What are the rules? Don’t ask questions apparently.
Or what storm breakers actually do besides aggressively train and act cryptic. The FMC keeps reminding us every seven seconds that becoming a storm breaker is her life’s purpose, her destiny, her everything, but the actual JOB remains a mystery. Are they meteorologists? Soldiers? Human lightning rods? Fitness influencers? Nobody knows.
There’s no paper anymore apparently. THAT’S the apocalypse consequence we’re focusing on. Everything is digital now. Phones. Tablets. Screens. Okay??? But HOW??? You’re telling me civilization collapsed, resources are scarce, they’re isolated from the outside world, half the city is underwater, and somehow Apple manufacturing remains untouched? Where are they getting materials? Electricity? Infrastructure? Servers? Replacement parts? WiFi apparently survived the apocalypse harder than the human race did. You’re telling me civilization collapsed, Manhattan is drowning, everyone lives in isolated chaos, but the iPads are fully charged and operational? Bezos survives all timelines apparently.
Nobody explains ANYTHING. How do they get food? What kind of economy exists here? What jobs do people even have besides being rich assholes at murder school? What can they realistically produce in a city that’s literally drowning? What happened to the rest of the world? Who are the Hollows? What are the wastelands? Who are the Solitudes? Why does society function this way? What jobs even EXIST here besides “storm breaker” and “vaguely rich bully”? Why does nobody seem concerned about literally anything?
And don’t even get me started on the academy because I still have no clue what anyone is studying there. Seriously. What is the curriculum? What jobs exist in this world? What are the actual responsibilities of these houses? The story just keeps throwing around terms and titles expecting them to sound important enough that nobody notices there’s no substance underneath them. The school feels less like an institution and more like a collection of evil frat houses run by rich bullies with a murder kink. The four houses run society somehow, but the book explains absolutely none of it in a meaningful way. The trials are genuinely stupid too. One challenge involves killing someone to join the political class and I’m supposed to take this seriously as intelligent societal structure??? What exactly is the lesson here? “Congrats, you committed murder, you’re qualified for government now”? And if you’re physically weaker than the other person you just deserve to die? Incredible educational model.
And because the worldbuilding is so underdeveloped, all the emotional moments fall completely flat. There are SO MANY side characters too. Like an actually absurd amount. Every chapter introduces another person I’m apparently supposed to care deeply about and they all immediately blur together into one giant soup of names, outfits, vague attitudes, and forced drama. Every time there was some emotional scene where someone died or got hurt or betrayed somebody I felt nothing because the book never gave me a reason to emotionally attach myself to any of them. It’s like the story expected emotional investment to happen automatically because technically these characters are “friends.” Everyone blended together into one giant blob of dramatic teenagers with interchangeable personalities.
Poet especially tested my patience because she spends the entire book recycling the exact same thoughts over and over again. We GET IT. Your family sucks. Your friends suck. You’re conflicted. You feel betrayed. We did this chapter already. And dear GOD the characterization style almost broke me mentally because every single new character introduction followed the exact same formula like the author had a preset Sim generator running in the background. Hair color. Skin tone. Body build. Outfit. DONE. Next. Every person walked onto the page like they were being described for a police sketch instead of an actual story. Rinse and repeat. Meanwhile we learn absolutely nothing meaningful about who these people actually ARE, but god forbid we don’t learn about their hair color....
I finished 50% of this book knowing the exact clothing description of seventeen side characters but not understanding the basic structure of society.
The relationships were somehow even worse because none of them felt earned. Her friendships felt hollow, the emotional bonds felt forced, and the romance?? Rook is probably the most interesting character in theory but he’s barely IN the book. The man who appears approximately every 70 pages to stare intensely, rescue Poet, beat up her ex-boyfriend, and then disappear back into the shadows like dystopian Batman with western footwear.
This man’s entire personality at the halfway mark consists of:
cowboy boots
randomly appearing to save her
humiliating the ex-boyfriend repeatedly
That’s it. That’s the man. We know more about his footwear than his motivations.
And honestly the ex-boyfriend got more page time than the actual love interest, which is insane considering even HE barely had a personality beyond “gets punched by Rook periodically”, this man keeps getting his ass handed to him by the same dude over and over again and STILL keeps showing up. Stand up king I guess. The romance has absolutely no depth because we spend no meaningful time with these people outside repetitive tension scenes.
And the female characters being written so meek and emotionally flimsy drove me insane too. Everyone feels passive until the plot suddenly requires them to become irrationally hostile for manufactured drama. Poet’s indecisiveness alone gave me emotional vertigo. There’s literally a scene where her best friend assumes she’ll join one house, Poet joins it, and then later the friend acts shocked and upset that she joined it. WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE. Conversations happen like everyone’s reading different scripts.
And the worst part is that I WANTED to care. I kept waiting for the moment where everything would click into place and the lore would finally come together and the characters would develop and Rook would become an actual human being instead of Cowboy Boot Man™ but at 50% I had to admit defeat because this book was giving me absolutely nothing except confusion and irritation.
By the halfway point I felt like I knew more about everyone’s jawlines and outfits than their actual motivations.
So yeah. DNF at 50%. This book won. Congratulations. I’m free now.
But if ANYONE wants to spoil the second half for me PLEASE do because I refuse to suffer through the rest of this personally but I AM still nosy enough to want answers. Also I am calling it right now: the “best friend” is absolutely betraying her at some point because that girl has “future backstabber” energy radiating off her like nuclear waste. If I’m wrong I’ll apologize publicly ,but I need to know if my suffering at least made me psychic.
Want to Read
March 23, 2026thank you thank you thank you entangled teen for the physical ARC!!! treasuring this forever !!!!!
im SOOOO excited to read this book like omg?!!?! wdym the hunger games/divergent meets THE CRUEL PRINCE !!!! i fear this is the dystopian of the year!
and a movie is in production !!! 👏🙂↕️ love seeing brown authors win <3
im SOOOO excited to read this book like omg?!!?! wdym the hunger games/divergent meets THE CRUEL PRINCE !!!! i fear this is the dystopian of the year!
and a movie is in production !!! 👏🙂↕️ love seeing brown authors win <3
June 3, 2026
I am bored to tears.
DNF @ pg. 285 - 67%.
The logistics of this world make no sense, all the characters are clichés, the plot lines are shallow, and there were way too many similarities to Divergent.
DNF @ pg. 285 - 67%.
The logistics of this world make no sense, all the characters are clichés, the plot lines are shallow, and there were way too many similarities to Divergent.
July 30, 2026
this was essentially a mix of many popular dystopian and fantasy series in one. nothing was particularly bad, but i consistently felt like i'd read it before.
May 10, 2026
The 2000s Dystopian Era Is SO Back ⚔️
Nothing made complete sense, but somehow it was still incredibly entertaining🤣
Everyone is constantly running around, fighting for survival, uncovering secrets, and causing chaos — and honestly, that’s part of the fun.
This was definitely very YA for my taste. If I had read this at sixteen, I probably would’ve been completely obsessed🔥
Even though I was left with quite a few unanswered questions — the logic behind the political system, the division of society, the motivations of those in power — it was still a genuinely enjoyable read.
The story is fast-paced, packed with action, danger, and constant challenges. And honestly? Early-2000s-style dystopian fiction is officially making a comeback🔥
The heroine is brave, compassionate, loyal, and genuinely easy to root for, though at times she can be frustratingly naive and makes some questionable decisions (very YA-coded, honestly).
And the male lead is exactly what you’d expect — mysterious, tall, attractive, arrogant, protective, and impossible to ignore.
I’m definitely curious to see where this story goes next because there are still so many secrets and mysteries I want answers to🕵🏻♀️
✨ TROPES ✨
⚡ Dystopian world
🗡️ Rebellion against the system
👑 Corrupt ruling class
🔥 Survival trials
🖤 Mysterious protective MMC
⚔️ Action-packed adventure
💫 Strong but naive heroine
🕵🏻♀️ Secrets & hidden truths
💥 High-stakes missions
❤️ Slow-burn romance vibes
🌪️ Found family vibes
Nothing made complete sense, but somehow it was still incredibly entertaining🤣
Everyone is constantly running around, fighting for survival, uncovering secrets, and causing chaos — and honestly, that’s part of the fun.
This was definitely very YA for my taste. If I had read this at sixteen, I probably would’ve been completely obsessed🔥
Even though I was left with quite a few unanswered questions — the logic behind the political system, the division of society, the motivations of those in power — it was still a genuinely enjoyable read.
The story is fast-paced, packed with action, danger, and constant challenges. And honestly? Early-2000s-style dystopian fiction is officially making a comeback🔥
The heroine is brave, compassionate, loyal, and genuinely easy to root for, though at times she can be frustratingly naive and makes some questionable decisions (very YA-coded, honestly).
And the male lead is exactly what you’d expect — mysterious, tall, attractive, arrogant, protective, and impossible to ignore.
I’m definitely curious to see where this story goes next because there are still so many secrets and mysteries I want answers to🕵🏻♀️
✨ TROPES ✨
⚡ Dystopian world
🗡️ Rebellion against the system
👑 Corrupt ruling class
🔥 Survival trials
🖤 Mysterious protective MMC
⚔️ Action-packed adventure
💫 Strong but naive heroine
🕵🏻♀️ Secrets & hidden truths
💥 High-stakes missions
❤️ Slow-burn romance vibes
🌪️ Found family vibes
June 20, 2026
3.75 ⭐️
there is so much to love about this book, the dystopian mix of magic made for such an interesting and captivating read. super easy to read and very pacy.
i didn’t fully adore the FMC and sometimes the plot felt a touch predictable but the ending left me reeeeeling and i can’t wait for more!
there is so much to love about this book, the dystopian mix of magic made for such an interesting and captivating read. super easy to read and very pacy.
i didn’t fully adore the FMC and sometimes the plot felt a touch predictable but the ending left me reeeeeling and i can’t wait for more!
June 26, 2026
3.5 Stars
This was a 3.5 star read for me but it was SO CLOSE to being a 4 star.
Do I think it's a unique dystopian book that had me hooked throughout?? No. However did I love the general vibes and characters? Yes. I am usually more critical but I just ENJOYED this book a lot and so I will forgive it for some of the rather similar themes/storyline/scenes to a certain story by Veronica Roth. Well kind of, because I couldn't give it more than 3.5 stars for that fact. It was basically a mix of Divergent/Shatter Me/ Silver Elite with a random similar scene to Twilight thrown in!
I did really enjoy the story and the characters are what held me and made me want to continue when I was concerned of how similar it was at the start.
Poet, our FMC is really interesting. She has a big secret that could get her killed (Tris anyone?) but is a top elite in her world (which is one city...like Divergent) and so is under constant attention and scrutiny. She has an abusive powerful Dad and an absent Mum and is unwillingly engaged to an absolute dickhead called Knox. So I routed for her from the beginning. She is strong, brave and clever and I really liked her.
Rook, our MMC is someone that was born and lives outside of the city (where there is said to be roaming people but not much other life). He arrives as a surprise to everyone to enrol in the Academy that Poet is starting. His kind are known to be violent criminals so everyone hates him. He is big, muscly, tanned, dark hair, tatted and speaks his mind and doesn't care about anyone else...so of course I instantly loved him. A tatted rebel?! Sign me up! However there is SO much more to him and he turns out to be so kind and caring and I absolutely ADORE him.
The society is split into 4 groups (or factions...) where if you change group, you have to stop talking to your friends and family. I told you it was VERY Divergent. They are in a city plagued by storms which cause violent purple energy/lightning outbursts which kill people. Except for a few people that can absorb the energy but it turns them crazy and so they are hunted by society. Want to guess what our FMC's secret is?!
The set up was fine just not super unique. There are trials at the academy which was super similar to Divergent/Fourth Wing but they were interesting and I did enjoy reading it. I would have liked more tension from the trials and training, it was all a little easy for me.
The side characters were okay. I wish we had more from them but they worked well for the story, especially Knox and Poet's best friend Trinity.
I did LOVE the growing trust, friendship and relationship between Poet and Rook. This was really well done and there were some scenes where I swooned/kicked my feet and giggled. Although I thought thisnwould be a more adult Romantasy and the smut was just not there at all.
So yes, I did enjoy it but I could have just done with MORE unique aspects. I also felt in general there was a lack of humour and real tension.
Despite this the ending was really good and I am actually looking forward to reading the next book quite a lot.
(I am however a little surprised at how much hype this one got because it's good but not blow me away amazing.)
This was a 3.5 star read for me but it was SO CLOSE to being a 4 star.
Do I think it's a unique dystopian book that had me hooked throughout?? No. However did I love the general vibes and characters? Yes. I am usually more critical but I just ENJOYED this book a lot and so I will forgive it for some of the rather similar themes/storyline/scenes to a certain story by Veronica Roth. Well kind of, because I couldn't give it more than 3.5 stars for that fact. It was basically a mix of Divergent/Shatter Me/ Silver Elite with a random similar scene to Twilight thrown in!
I did really enjoy the story and the characters are what held me and made me want to continue when I was concerned of how similar it was at the start.
Poet, our FMC is really interesting. She has a big secret that could get her killed (Tris anyone?) but is a top elite in her world (which is one city...like Divergent) and so is under constant attention and scrutiny. She has an abusive powerful Dad and an absent Mum and is unwillingly engaged to an absolute dickhead called Knox. So I routed for her from the beginning. She is strong, brave and clever and I really liked her.
Rook, our MMC is someone that was born and lives outside of the city (where there is said to be roaming people but not much other life). He arrives as a surprise to everyone to enrol in the Academy that Poet is starting. His kind are known to be violent criminals so everyone hates him. He is big, muscly, tanned, dark hair, tatted and speaks his mind and doesn't care about anyone else...so of course I instantly loved him. A tatted rebel?! Sign me up! However there is SO much more to him and he turns out to be so kind and caring and I absolutely ADORE him.
The society is split into 4 groups (or factions...) where if you change group, you have to stop talking to your friends and family. I told you it was VERY Divergent. They are in a city plagued by storms which cause violent purple energy/lightning outbursts which kill people. Except for a few people that can absorb the energy but it turns them crazy and so they are hunted by society. Want to guess what our FMC's secret is?!
The set up was fine just not super unique. There are trials at the academy which was super similar to Divergent/Fourth Wing but they were interesting and I did enjoy reading it. I would have liked more tension from the trials and training, it was all a little easy for me.
The side characters were okay. I wish we had more from them but they worked well for the story, especially Knox and Poet's best friend Trinity.
I did LOVE the growing trust, friendship and relationship between Poet and Rook. This was really well done and there were some scenes where I swooned/kicked my feet and giggled. Although I thought thisnwould be a more adult Romantasy and the smut was just not there at all.
So yes, I did enjoy it but I could have just done with MORE unique aspects. I also felt in general there was a lack of humour and real tension.
Despite this the ending was really good and I am actually looking forward to reading the next book quite a lot.
(I am however a little surprised at how much hype this one got because it's good but not blow me away amazing.)
May 12, 2026
Dystopian romance is so back, and Storm Breaker is one of the latest additions to this sub genre revival.
🗓️ Pub date: May 5, 2026
🎁 eARC gifted to me by Entangled Publishing
💜 Upper YA dystopian romance
💜 1st person POV
💜 Forbidden romance
💜 Deadly trials
💜 Future Manhattan
Spice rating: 🌶️🌶️ (not overly explicit)
I love Nisha J. Tuli's two romantasy series, so I was counting down the days until this release. The premise of this story is VERY up my alley, and, overall, it delivered vibes wise. It's fast-paced, action-packed, and angsty.
Poet's characterization is fitting given her age, upbringing, and experiences. It brought me back to my headspace at 19, and I sympathized with how transitional this moment in time was for her. Poet is FINALLY given a level of independence she's been desperately craving and takes full advantage of it.
I enjoyed the politics, magic system, and dystopia within this book. It's very fitting and realistic based on what's currently happening in the world, and I think Nisha J. Tuli did a good job at developing these aspects.
The romance in Storm Breaker was hit or miss, but I think it came down to not fully knowing/understanding our MMC. While I love our FMC and a forbidden romance, I struggled a bit with how their romance progressed. Based on the ending, we're definitely going to learn more about him in book 2, and I'm looking forward to it.
The plot was a little too predictable for me, at times, which brings me to my next point:
I think one of my biggest issues with Storm Breaker is it's not consistently marketed as YA/upper YA. In some places I see it being marketed as "upper YA dystopian romance"/"YA dystopian romance" and in others it's just called "dystopian romance." This book reads upper YA (MAYBE new adult) mainly due the writing style, coming-of-age characters, level of predictably, and monologue (casualness & lingo). I went into this book thinking it was adult and had to rewire my thinking. Once I did, I ended up enjoying the story more in the second half.
I'm excited to continue this series, especially after that ending!
A sincere thank you to Entangled Publishing for gifting me an eARC ahead of its release!
🗓️ Pub date: May 5, 2026
🎁 eARC gifted to me by Entangled Publishing
💜 Upper YA dystopian romance
💜 1st person POV
💜 Forbidden romance
💜 Deadly trials
💜 Future Manhattan
Spice rating: 🌶️🌶️ (not overly explicit)
I love Nisha J. Tuli's two romantasy series, so I was counting down the days until this release. The premise of this story is VERY up my alley, and, overall, it delivered vibes wise. It's fast-paced, action-packed, and angsty.
Poet's characterization is fitting given her age, upbringing, and experiences. It brought me back to my headspace at 19, and I sympathized with how transitional this moment in time was for her. Poet is FINALLY given a level of independence she's been desperately craving and takes full advantage of it.
I enjoyed the politics, magic system, and dystopia within this book. It's very fitting and realistic based on what's currently happening in the world, and I think Nisha J. Tuli did a good job at developing these aspects.
The romance in Storm Breaker was hit or miss, but I think it came down to not fully knowing/understanding our MMC. While I love our FMC and a forbidden romance, I struggled a bit with how their romance progressed. Based on the ending, we're definitely going to learn more about him in book 2, and I'm looking forward to it.
The plot was a little too predictable for me, at times, which brings me to my next point:
I think one of my biggest issues with Storm Breaker is it's not consistently marketed as YA/upper YA. In some places I see it being marketed as "upper YA dystopian romance"/"YA dystopian romance" and in others it's just called "dystopian romance." This book reads upper YA (MAYBE new adult) mainly due the writing style, coming-of-age characters, level of predictably, and monologue (casualness & lingo). I went into this book thinking it was adult and had to rewire my thinking. Once I did, I ended up enjoying the story more in the second half.
I'm excited to continue this series, especially after that ending!
A sincere thank you to Entangled Publishing for gifting me an eARC ahead of its release!
May 7, 2026
"𝒫𝑜𝑒𝓉 𝒢𝓇𝒶𝓋𝑒𝓈, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓀𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝐼'𝓋𝑒 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒."
This was my first book by Nisha, and I immediately want to go read all of her other books. This book hooked its talons into me and didn’t let go. I am LIVING for this new era of dystopian books, they bring so many nostalgic feelings for me, as dystopian is what solidified my love for reading in my teens, while also blending my favorite genres. Storm Breaker felt so unique and fresh from what's on the market, and I couldn’t read it fast enough. The yearning and tension between Poet & Rook felt electric (pun intended). I was consumed by the trauma, the magic, the self discovery, the forbidden romance… just everything. I cannot wait to see where Nisha takes the rest of the series!
𝓣𝓻𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓥𝓲𝓫𝓮𝓼:
⚡Dystopian Romantasy
⚡Dark Academia
⚡Divergent Meets Gossip Girl
⚡Forbidden Romance
⚡Glittering Storm Drenched World
⚡Dangerous ☠️ Trials
⚡Enemies to Lovers
⚡Family Trauma
⚡The Storms Call To Her
⚡Morally Gray MCs
⚡Political Intrigue
⚡Fierce FMC x Broody MMC
“𝓘 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮—𝓳𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓪 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓫𝓮𝓪𝓽—𝓽𝓸 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰.
𝓘 𝓪𝓶 𝓼𝓸 𝓯𝓾𝓬𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓭.
𝓣𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓼𝔀𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓬𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓽 𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓮.
𝓣𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓫𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓸𝓷𝓮.
𝓣𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓫𝓵𝓮𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓮𝓽𝓵𝔂 𝓼𝓸 𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓹𝓮𝓸𝓹𝓵𝓮 𝓭𝓸𝓷’𝓽 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓵 𝓾𝓷𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮.”
This was my first book by Nisha, and I immediately want to go read all of her other books. This book hooked its talons into me and didn’t let go. I am LIVING for this new era of dystopian books, they bring so many nostalgic feelings for me, as dystopian is what solidified my love for reading in my teens, while also blending my favorite genres. Storm Breaker felt so unique and fresh from what's on the market, and I couldn’t read it fast enough. The yearning and tension between Poet & Rook felt electric (pun intended). I was consumed by the trauma, the magic, the self discovery, the forbidden romance… just everything. I cannot wait to see where Nisha takes the rest of the series!
𝓣𝓻𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓥𝓲𝓫𝓮𝓼:
⚡Dystopian Romantasy
⚡Dark Academia
⚡Divergent Meets Gossip Girl
⚡Forbidden Romance
⚡Glittering Storm Drenched World
⚡Dangerous ☠️ Trials
⚡Enemies to Lovers
⚡Family Trauma
⚡The Storms Call To Her
⚡Morally Gray MCs
⚡Political Intrigue
⚡Fierce FMC x Broody MMC
“𝓘 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮—𝓳𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓪 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓫𝓮𝓪𝓽—𝓽𝓸 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰.
𝓘 𝓪𝓶 𝓼𝓸 𝓯𝓾𝓬𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓭.
𝓣𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓼𝔀𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓬𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓽 𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓮.
𝓣𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓫𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓸𝓷𝓮.
𝓣𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓫𝓵𝓮𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓮𝓽𝓵𝔂 𝓼𝓸 𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓹𝓮𝓸𝓹𝓵𝓮 𝓭𝓸𝓷’𝓽 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓵 𝓾𝓷𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮.”
August 31, 2026
Stürmischer Reihenauftakt mit Suchtpotenzial:
„Storm Breaker“ von Nisha Tuli
Mit „Storm Breaker“ wagt sich Nisha Tuli erfolgreich in die dystopische Dark Academia vor.
Im postapokalyptischen New Manhattan des Jahres 3067 kämpft die neunzehnjährige Poet Graves an der elitären Amery Academy nicht nur in brutalen Prüfungen ums Überleben, sondern hütet auch ein lebensgefährliches Geheimnis: Sie verbirgt eine verbotene Verbindung zu den zerstörerischen Stürmen der Außenwelt.
Weggerissen von den strengen Plänen ihrer Familie, trifft sie auf Rook, einen geheimnisvollen Außenseiter. Die sich daraus entwickelnde Slow-Burn-Romance lebt von feurigen Blicken und intensiver Spannung, drängt die Haupthandlung jedoch nie in den Hintergrund.
Tuli überzeugt mit einem faszinierenden Magiesystem, starkem World-Building und einer tiefgründigen, widerstandsfähigen Protagonistin, die sich konsequent gegen ihr vorbestimmtes Schicksal auflehnt.
Das Buch bietet adrenalingeladene Unterhaltung, verlangt Lesenden am Ende allerdings einen harten Cliffhanger ab – und behandelt teils schwere Themen wie emotionalen Missbrauch.
Wer Fan von starken Heldinnen, Akademie-Settings und verbotener Liebe ist, greift hier absolut richtig zu
„Storm Breaker“ von Nisha Tuli
Mit „Storm Breaker“ wagt sich Nisha Tuli erfolgreich in die dystopische Dark Academia vor.
Im postapokalyptischen New Manhattan des Jahres 3067 kämpft die neunzehnjährige Poet Graves an der elitären Amery Academy nicht nur in brutalen Prüfungen ums Überleben, sondern hütet auch ein lebensgefährliches Geheimnis: Sie verbirgt eine verbotene Verbindung zu den zerstörerischen Stürmen der Außenwelt.
Weggerissen von den strengen Plänen ihrer Familie, trifft sie auf Rook, einen geheimnisvollen Außenseiter. Die sich daraus entwickelnde Slow-Burn-Romance lebt von feurigen Blicken und intensiver Spannung, drängt die Haupthandlung jedoch nie in den Hintergrund.
Tuli überzeugt mit einem faszinierenden Magiesystem, starkem World-Building und einer tiefgründigen, widerstandsfähigen Protagonistin, die sich konsequent gegen ihr vorbestimmtes Schicksal auflehnt.
Das Buch bietet adrenalingeladene Unterhaltung, verlangt Lesenden am Ende allerdings einen harten Cliffhanger ab – und behandelt teils schwere Themen wie emotionalen Missbrauch.
Wer Fan von starken Heldinnen, Akademie-Settings und verbotener Liebe ist, greift hier absolut richtig zu
April 12, 2026
2.5 stars
This was sadly not for me. The premise was promising, and I did really enjoy the storm concept - it felt atmospheric and genuinely magical to read about at times.
However, I struggled to connect with the book overall.
Firstly, it felt very clearly inspired by other popular dystopian stories, to the point where it lacked a sense of originality. While familiar tropes aren’t necessarily a bad thing (I love them!), here they didn’t feel reimagined in a way that made the book stand out.
Secondly, the characters fell completely flat for me. This applies to both the main and side characters. Character building is probably the most important element in a book for me, and if I don’t care about the characters, I don’t really care what happens to them. Poet, in particular, felt like a very typical YA dystopian/fantasy heroine. A “not like other girls” girl which I personally struggle with. Rook, our MMC, was even less distinct; he was simply… there? I never felt like I got to know him in any meaningful way, and I just did not get their connection at all. There was zero tension or chemistry to me. The side character which are supposed to add some fun and lighthearted vibes also failed in doing so.
Thirdly, I found the setting and overall worldbuilding confusing. The academy, which is such a central part of the story, never fully made sense to me. The structure of the academy (with houses, military-style training, and then basic academic classes) felt inconsistent, and I couldn’t quite grasp its purpose within the world. Because of that, it was difficult to feel grounded in the story.
Overall, this was an easy and fast read, and I can appreciate the core idea behind it. The atmosphere had potential, and the concept itself is intriguing. However, the execution, especially in terms of character depth and world building, left a lot to be desired. Despite spending 430 pages on this book, I ultimately I felt very disconnected from the story and characters.
Huge thank you to the publisher for the proof. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was sadly not for me. The premise was promising, and I did really enjoy the storm concept - it felt atmospheric and genuinely magical to read about at times.
However, I struggled to connect with the book overall.
Firstly, it felt very clearly inspired by other popular dystopian stories, to the point where it lacked a sense of originality. While familiar tropes aren’t necessarily a bad thing (I love them!), here they didn’t feel reimagined in a way that made the book stand out.
Secondly, the characters fell completely flat for me. This applies to both the main and side characters. Character building is probably the most important element in a book for me, and if I don’t care about the characters, I don’t really care what happens to them. Poet, in particular, felt like a very typical YA dystopian/fantasy heroine. A “not like other girls” girl which I personally struggle with. Rook, our MMC, was even less distinct; he was simply… there? I never felt like I got to know him in any meaningful way, and I just did not get their connection at all. There was zero tension or chemistry to me. The side character which are supposed to add some fun and lighthearted vibes also failed in doing so.
Thirdly, I found the setting and overall worldbuilding confusing. The academy, which is such a central part of the story, never fully made sense to me. The structure of the academy (with houses, military-style training, and then basic academic classes) felt inconsistent, and I couldn’t quite grasp its purpose within the world. Because of that, it was difficult to feel grounded in the story.
Overall, this was an easy and fast read, and I can appreciate the core idea behind it. The atmosphere had potential, and the concept itself is intriguing. However, the execution, especially in terms of character depth and world building, left a lot to be desired. Despite spending 430 pages on this book, I ultimately I felt very disconnected from the story and characters.
Huge thank you to the publisher for the proof. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
June 15, 2026
What a Dystopian Stunner!
I thought this was SO cool!
Academic vibes with energy power⚡️Set in future NYC!
This book definitely had me hooked the entire time, it’s fast paced and definitely action packed with also a forbidden romance.
This is set to be a TV show and I can definitely see that!
I’m excited for book 2 🫶
I thought this was SO cool!
Academic vibes with energy power⚡️Set in future NYC!
This book definitely had me hooked the entire time, it’s fast paced and definitely action packed with also a forbidden romance.
This is set to be a TV show and I can definitely see that!
I’m excited for book 2 🫶
June 16, 2026
4.5 rounded up. September is much too far away for book 2! Nisha J. Tuli is slowly becoming a favorite author of mine. Definitely recommend!
May 14, 2026
I used to have the feeling we were living a golden age of the YA genre. Series like The Hunger Games, Divergent or The Raven Boys were YA, but complex, layered, the characters had depth, the problems they presented felt real. I haven’t felt that way for a while. All the YA I’ve read in the past 2-3 years felt copies of copies of those previous series, badly written and with nothing new to offer.
That’s how this book felt to me. The worldbuilding was very weak. We’re presented with a dystopian future in which the ocean has inundated Manhattan so people move around in gondolas (???), but there still is an underground train, which didn’t make sense to me. We know there are very serious storms, and that some people can get struck by lightning without dying, and that was pretty much it. Oh, and there is no paper. That’s the big consequence of the apocalypse. Everything is now through phones and tablets (really?).
How they keep making technology without materials, resources or contact with the outside world is beyond me. Aren’t they supposed to live in a half inundated city, the only remaining civilized spot in the world? How do they get food? What kind of economy do they have? What can they fabricate in those conditions? We don’t know.
The school consists a lot of mean bullies and the ‘society’, formed of four ‘houses’, run the city, but nothing is sufficiently explained. What are they studying? What kind of jobs are in this world? What makes you ‘society’ or something else? What happened to make New Manhattan what it is? Why the storms?
We’re told non-stop that the FMC wants to be a storm breaker, a very important job, but after reading the book, I still don’t know what is is that storm breakers do, apart from being very fit. Plus, the trials they had to pass were stupid: why do you have to kill someone to be part of the politician class? What’s the lesson there? What if you’re physically less capable than the other person? You should just die? What is it that you’re proving with that test? I don’t know what’s the point of this school.
Most of the book is about the FMC thinking about how she feels, and about how shitty her family and friends are. The romance didn’t feel real either, and the MMC was a superficial character that appears sometimes to rescue her, and not much else. He doesn’t really participate in the story. His personality consisted of wearing cowboy boots and hitting the ex-boyfriend. We see a lot more of the ex-boyfriend and the so-called friends than of him, and they barely had a personality, either.
In short, everything is too simplistic. I don’t believe this is a real world or that these characters could exist. It needs way more explaining and development. I don’t understand how the editor of this book didn’t ask any of these questions when reviewing the story.
That’s how this book felt to me. The worldbuilding was very weak. We’re presented with a dystopian future in which the ocean has inundated Manhattan so people move around in gondolas (???), but there still is an underground train, which didn’t make sense to me. We know there are very serious storms, and that some people can get struck by lightning without dying, and that was pretty much it. Oh, and there is no paper. That’s the big consequence of the apocalypse. Everything is now through phones and tablets (really?).
How they keep making technology without materials, resources or contact with the outside world is beyond me. Aren’t they supposed to live in a half inundated city, the only remaining civilized spot in the world? How do they get food? What kind of economy do they have? What can they fabricate in those conditions? We don’t know.
The school consists a lot of mean bullies and the ‘society’, formed of four ‘houses’, run the city, but nothing is sufficiently explained. What are they studying? What kind of jobs are in this world? What makes you ‘society’ or something else? What happened to make New Manhattan what it is? Why the storms?
We’re told non-stop that the FMC wants to be a storm breaker, a very important job, but after reading the book, I still don’t know what is is that storm breakers do, apart from being very fit. Plus, the trials they had to pass were stupid: why do you have to kill someone to be part of the politician class? What’s the lesson there? What if you’re physically less capable than the other person? You should just die? What is it that you’re proving with that test? I don’t know what’s the point of this school.
Most of the book is about the FMC thinking about how she feels, and about how shitty her family and friends are. The romance didn’t feel real either, and the MMC was a superficial character that appears sometimes to rescue her, and not much else. He doesn’t really participate in the story. His personality consisted of wearing cowboy boots and hitting the ex-boyfriend. We see a lot more of the ex-boyfriend and the so-called friends than of him, and they barely had a personality, either.
In short, everything is too simplistic. I don’t believe this is a real world or that these characters could exist. It needs way more explaining and development. I don’t understand how the editor of this book didn’t ask any of these questions when reviewing the story.
May 3, 2026
05/02/2026-05/03/2026
Thank you to Mayhem Books (Entangled Teen) for the gifted digital proof copy of “Storm Breaker” by Nisha J. Tuli 🤍
⭐️⭐️⭐️
(Coming 05/05-2026)
So, let me start by saying I did enjoy this one.
Honestly she would’ve been a five star… if I thought it wasn’t a complete Divergent rip off.
I see everyone say this book is like Divergent and Fourth Wing having a baby. With Fourth Wing, I can understand because of the academy system and the MMC with tattoos. ⚡️
However, with Divergent it is a completely different story:
💜 We have an FMC who has a father that’s the lead of their dare I say faction aka Poet.
💜 Poet decides to leave her safe “faction” (I know they use another term but tbh in my head after a while I just started calling it this) for the less safe sort of enemy “faction.”
💜 Once leaving her “faction” her family basically is no contact (because the “faction” is your new family.)
💜 Poet has to jump to an unknown (except hello? It’s a secret net at the bottom of darkness) - Divergent initiation??
💜 She goes through three (in Poets case two) trials to secure her spot as a first year… sound familiar? (*whispers* Fourth Wing.)
💜 Poet isn’t like everyone else she’s basically “Divergent” in this world (which means she’s got special immunity powers)
💜 She’s being hunted and also there’s special testing technology for this “divergent” issue.
💜 The MMC (Xaden coded) also has these special abilities but also is working in secret with the wastes (somehow both Xaden and Four?)
💜 They sneak out of their dorms and find a solace spot aka room to share (*cough* Divergent.)
I really wanted to hash this one a two 🌟 but I enjoyed the concept of the storms and what this could’ve been. And also I was a sucker for Rook regardless (hello jeans, cowboy boots, tattoos and overall yummy men!)
Thank you to Mayhem Books (Entangled Teen) for the gifted digital proof copy of “Storm Breaker” by Nisha J. Tuli 🤍
⭐️⭐️⭐️
(Coming 05/05-2026)
So, let me start by saying I did enjoy this one.
Honestly she would’ve been a five star… if I thought it wasn’t a complete Divergent rip off.
I see everyone say this book is like Divergent and Fourth Wing having a baby. With Fourth Wing, I can understand because of the academy system and the MMC with tattoos. ⚡️
However, with Divergent it is a completely different story:
💜 We have an FMC who has a father that’s the lead of their dare I say faction aka Poet.
💜 Poet decides to leave her safe “faction” (I know they use another term but tbh in my head after a while I just started calling it this) for the less safe sort of enemy “faction.”
💜 Once leaving her “faction” her family basically is no contact (because the “faction” is your new family.)
💜 Poet has to jump to an unknown (except hello? It’s a secret net at the bottom of darkness) - Divergent initiation??
💜 She goes through three (in Poets case two) trials to secure her spot as a first year… sound familiar? (*whispers* Fourth Wing.)
💜 Poet isn’t like everyone else she’s basically “Divergent” in this world (which means she’s got special immunity powers)
💜 She’s being hunted and also there’s special testing technology for this “divergent” issue.
💜 The MMC (Xaden coded) also has these special abilities but also is working in secret with the wastes (somehow both Xaden and Four?)
💜 They sneak out of their dorms and find a solace spot aka room to share (*cough* Divergent.)
I really wanted to hash this one a two 🌟 but I enjoyed the concept of the storms and what this could’ve been. And also I was a sucker for Rook regardless (hello jeans, cowboy boots, tattoos and overall yummy men!)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2026
Thank you so much Entangled Teen for the ARC
5 ⭐️ 1 🌶️
Brb gotta go scream from the rooftops about how much I loved this book!!!!
This was truly a dystopian dream! The political intrigue, the society created post-apocalyptic destruction of the planet… you know because we destroy everything 😵💫
Poet’s journey throughout this book was amazing. I love how she grew into her own and said a big fuck you to her shitty family!!
Don’t even get me started on Rook. That man?? GIVE HIM TO ME RIGHT NOW. I can’t wait to learn more about him and why he’s so broody!! Ugh I need book 2 asap
5 ⭐️ 1 🌶️
Brb gotta go scream from the rooftops about how much I loved this book!!!!
This was truly a dystopian dream! The political intrigue, the society created post-apocalyptic destruction of the planet… you know because we destroy everything 😵💫
Poet’s journey throughout this book was amazing. I love how she grew into her own and said a big fuck you to her shitty family!!
Don’t even get me started on Rook. That man?? GIVE HIM TO ME RIGHT NOW. I can’t wait to learn more about him and why he’s so broody!! Ugh I need book 2 asap
June 28, 2026
⭐️3.50⭐️
Well written, but unfortunately not nearly as unique or compelling as the 5 star reviews led me to believe.
This book hits because it's a re-hashing of the nostalgic 2000's Dystopian era - not because it's as pioneering as a 5 star book should be.
The twists were too similar to other Dystopian books to be engaging. The worldbuilding was middling, and despite the length of the book, the FMC and MMC were not compelling. They felt like inserts that could be replaced by any other YA protagonists, unfortunately.
I wonder if the story and worldbuilding itself would receive such high reviews if not for the typical broody MMC currying so much favor with readers.
Ultimately, this book was too much work for the lukewarm ending. I can't see how anyone who is a regular dystopia reader (or even movie watcher) would be surprised by the twist that were easily apparent a few chapters in.
I re-read the last few chapters again because I thought surely I missed the crazy twist everyone was raving about, but no. Everything you expect in a dystopia with two sides and a walled city happens in this book.
I like this author and while I may not continue to read the rest of the series, I'm genuinely hoping the next books offer some new and unique plot threads to the already saturated realm of Dystopia.
I think this has done well because it comes from a reputable author with good writing. But it begs the question, if a new author tried to debut with such a predictable manuscript would it have been picked up and marketed as heavily?
Well written, but unfortunately not nearly as unique or compelling as the 5 star reviews led me to believe.
This book hits because it's a re-hashing of the nostalgic 2000's Dystopian era - not because it's as pioneering as a 5 star book should be.
The twists were too similar to other Dystopian books to be engaging. The worldbuilding was middling, and despite the length of the book, the FMC and MMC were not compelling. They felt like inserts that could be replaced by any other YA protagonists, unfortunately.
I wonder if the story and worldbuilding itself would receive such high reviews if not for the typical broody MMC currying so much favor with readers.
Ultimately, this book was too much work for the lukewarm ending. I can't see how anyone who is a regular dystopia reader (or even movie watcher) would be surprised by the twist that were easily apparent a few chapters in.
I re-read the last few chapters again because I thought surely I missed the crazy twist everyone was raving about, but no. Everything you expect in a dystopia with two sides and a walled city happens in this book.
I like this author and while I may not continue to read the rest of the series, I'm genuinely hoping the next books offer some new and unique plot threads to the already saturated realm of Dystopia.
I think this has done well because it comes from a reputable author with good writing. But it begs the question, if a new author tried to debut with such a predictable manuscript would it have been picked up and marketed as heavily?
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