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Book: “Storm Breaker” by Nisha J. Tuli
Publishing Info: Entangled: Mayhem Books, May 2026
Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!
Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound
Book Description: 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.
Review: It’s fun that dystopian novels are having a bit of a resurgence, it seems. Kate, of course, is doing her timely Hunger Games read-through, and there have been several new romance/romantasy dystopian books coming out that I’ve enjoyed reading. Not least of which was Seek the Traitor’s Son by the OG Veronica Roth, which I read and loved recently! That being the case, I was excited to check out another such novel when the publisher approached me about reviewing this book.
So, while this book didn’t blow me away, I will say that it is a dystopian novel that will please those who deeply love dystopian novels. That is, if you’re familiar with the tropes and storylines that come with this sort of book and that’s your jam, well, this one has that all in spades. On the other hand, this isn’t the most original story that’s ever existed, so if you’re looking for a fresh take on the dystopian romance story, this probably isn’t it.
To start with what I liked, I feel like this book was very fast-paced, very readable, and very approachable to readers who aren’t necessarily super familiar with genre conventions. The world-building isn’t super complex, but it’s easy to understand what’s going on here and who the major players are. This, of course, leaves a lot of room in the story for characterization and the romance plotline to take over as the main features. Thus, how well this book works for you will largely come down to how you feel about Poet and the MMC.
For me, however, I thought Poet was a weaker example of a female main character. In many ways, she read as very familiar and very YA, using the worse interpretation of that term. Many YA heroines are excellent, but there is also an unfortunate habit of writing them to be inconsistent, inscrutable, and rather unlikable. And we saw that all here. Poet makes decision after decision that not only makes no sense for her as a character but also makes no sense for pretty much anyone ever. It could be argued that this is part of her growth, but if so, I found it to be an unsatisfying arc. Look, adults continue to learn and grow too. But Poet was learning some pretty basic lessons that had me viewing her as a sixteen-year-old teen (on the young side, even) rather than an adult woman.
The romance was also just OK. It was a hard sell when I was struggling so much already to enjoy Poet, and unfortunately, the MMC didn’t do enough to compensate. I didn’t hate him by any means (which should probably be chalked up to a huge win given how I feel about other MMC characters in romantasies), but he was also just kind of there much of the time.
I know this author is fairly beloved for her YA books, and maybe I’d feel better about her writing if I had started there. Unfortunately, I went into this one with the promise of reading an adult dystopian romance, and with that came different expectations, especially with regards to characterization. Ultimately, it’s hard to read an adult spicy romance novel when the main character feels like she’s 16.
Rating 7: Fans of this author will likely love this. But it read as too YA for what I was expecting going in, especially with regards to the portrayal of the FMC.
Reader’s Advisory:
“Storm Breaker” can be found on these Goodreads lists: YA Dystopian Books With Female Lead and Apocalypses and Dystopias.
The Library Ladies 