The Drowned Ones

Storm Witch #3

by Ellen Renner

The third in a gripping fantasy trilogy “reminiscent of Ursula K Le Guin’s Earthsea…” Guardian

The Storm Witch trilogy is set in a world of islands, where Elemental spirits rule and pirates known as the Drowned Ones roam the seas. At the heart of the story is thirteen-year-old Storm, who is bestowed with great, but dangerous, magical powers.

In this third story, Storm knows the balance of the world is under threat. If she can’t stop the Fire Witch from carrying out her deadly plan, the Fire Elemental will reign supreme. She needs the help of the Drowned Ones, but the last time she saw them, they were trying very hard to kill her…

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2021

About the author

Ellen Renner was born in the USA, but came to England in her twenties, married here, and now lives in an old house in Devon with her husband and son. Ellen originally trained as a painter and surrounds herself with sketches of her characters as she writes. She spins wool as well as stories, knitting and weaving when time allows. She plays the violin, fences (badly!) and collects teapots and motorcycles.

Her first book, CASTLE OF SHADOWS, won the Cornerstones Wow Factor Competition, the 2010 North East Book Award and was chosen for both THE INDEPENDENT and THE TIMES summer reading lists and, along with the sequel CITY OF THIEVES, was included on THE TIMES list of best children's books of 2010. TRIBUTE is the first in a YA fantasy series.

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is really good but the ending is boring. For almost half the book a huge fight between Rekka and Storm was being hyped up but in the end it never happened. The end was sad but I was hoping for a epic fight.

[Amy (Golden Books Girl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book in this series was released all the way back in 2019, so I was absolutely thrilled to finally get my hands on the final part of the trilogy. It picks up pretty much straight after the ending of Under Earth, and sees Storm face a final battle with the Fire spirit, who is intent on destroying the world with its hate. The thing that has always been the standout for me with this series, is the incredible world that Ellen has crafted. I’m fascinated by the Elementals and the people they choose as their witches and emissaries, and also by the parallels between the idea of the Pact and certain people in real life. The plot is very fast paced and so much is packed into this final part of the adventure that it definitely felt like everything was wrapped up, although I do think there would be potential for other stories set in this world. Storm is an amazing character and I’ve loved spending time with her over the course of the trilogy, and I think Nim and Mer’s development throughout the previous books and this one have been so interesting. This is a very fitting finale for the series, and I can’t wait to read more from Ellen in the future.