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tania_mybookishsecret's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, War, and Blood
Moderate: Grief and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual assault
monicalaurette's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
“But comfortable doesn’t win battles.”
After a long month I was finally able to finish this book after reading We Set the Dark on Fire. Now be warned, this review will not censor spoilers from the first book but will for this book.
So WUtMS is narrated by Carmen Santos, the rebel spy who had been placed in Medio’s School for Girls five years ago to get into the highest ranking family in Medio. To get information and sneak protestors into the city. To help further the mission of La Voz.
And the girl who left Dani Vargas broken, bruised, and burned on a road next to the dead body of her mother-in-law & guards; unsure if the girl would ever return her love, keep her promise, and not betray the rebellion. But with Dani’s loyalty put into question, and the organization she was raised in seemingly changed overnight, Carmen runs BACK into the city where she is a wanted murderer to save her, and save the group she considers family in the process.
While fighting both sides to prove loyalty, love, and support for the cause, many others' stances come into question and friendships are broken, lost, and shot down. But will Carmen be able to unite and tie together La Voz from the attack coming down on them all from her evil ex-husband?
“It makes you worthy of the title rebel.”
I felt like this was such a good conclusion to the story that began with WStDoF. The growth of the characters and the inner turmoil of Carmen was a great piece to see instead of it being in Dani’s view again. To see both sides of the couple. I loved how passionate Carmen was about both Dani and her loyalty to La Voz, showing that you don’t need to have a one-track mind to be successful, and that sometimes having something else worth fighting for along with the bigger picture can help push you farther than expected.
Of course I love a good book about women falling in love as well, but seeing the fight in the relationship that stemmed from the end of book one through all the issues in book two was nice to see. It’s not always going to be a catwalk to be in love, but it makes life so much brighter. That even when they fought, the love that the other felt for each other was what grounded them to the world. Though personally I don’t know how many declarations of love I’d be giving if I knew someone was coming for me with the sole purpose of ending my existence, but that’s what escapism is for!
“But even through all of that, the sun was shining.”
I gave We Unleash the Merciless Sea 4 stars like the first book. While I wish a certain man was not left alive, I’m okay with how he came out of the final battle. I also liked the twist of the La Voz leadership at the end of the book to see a mantel taken up in a new direction than the thousand of years before. And while I’m sad I won’t be able to see Dani & Carmen live on until their ends as a happy couple, I’m glad that I was able to be there while I could.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, and Violence
Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, Gun violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Death
Minor: Lesbophobia
honeyreads1066's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I didn't think this book could be as good as the last one and it wasn't but I still really enjoyed it.
This book changes the focus to follow Carmen instead of Dani which because of the way the last book ended I wasn't too keen on but I got used to it eventually. I like that we get to see the relationships that Carmen developed and also the way she felt about Dani. I'm kind of upset that this didn't have the same political stuff as the first one, I really enjoyed the sneaking around and trying to figure out certain things and this one was a lot more action.
I also didn't like that a few of the big twists at the end were really predictable and not in a satisfying way. I hoped that some things would come out of nowhere or there would be a massive curveball but nothing hit the way that some of the twists did in the first book.
I think overall this was an okay conclusion to the duology but because I loved the first one so much, with the change in story style and perspective, inevitably, I was never going to like the second one as much.
This book changes the focus to follow Carmen instead of Dani which because of the way the last book ended I wasn't too keen on but I got used to it eventually. I like that we get to see the relationships that Carmen developed and also the way she felt about Dani. I'm kind of upset that this didn't have the same political stuff as the first one, I really enjoyed the sneaking around and trying to figure out certain things and this one was a lot more action.
I also didn't like that a few of the big twists at the end were really predictable and not in a satisfying way. I hoped that some things would come out of nowhere or there would be a massive curveball but nothing hit the way that some of the twists did in the first book.
I think overall this was an okay conclusion to the duology but because I loved the first one so much, with the change in story style and perspective, inevitably, I was never going to like the second one as much.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, War, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
WE UNLEASH THE MERCILESS STORM picks up right where WE SET THE DARK ON FIRE left off, right after violence and revelations but from Carmen's perspective instead of Dani's. Read this for a character-driven story of love during danger and revolution.
The tone is immediately grimmer than the first book. Dani’s arc was one of hope and disillusionment in difficult circumstances, where Carmen’s begins in the wake of terror and betrayal with things going from bad to worse.
Carmen has two non-blood siblings who were around in the first book but this time around the narration includes Carmen's warm impressions of them. Her dynamic with Alex is fraught right now because she doesn't trust Carmen's loyalties after how close she got to Dani. Sota is more matter-of-fact and even more secretive than Alex. Speaking of Dani, Carmen starts off having no idea where she stands with Dani or whether she's cemented her loyalty with their husband since losing contact with the rebels.
WE SET THE DARK ON FIRE had a lot of worldbuilding to do and WE UNLEASH THE MERCILESS STORM uses it but doesn't add much to it in a grand sense. It adds more parts of the island, including the camp for La Voz, but other than the fact that there is a class divide it doesn't do much explaining of anything already covered in the first one. The overall effect is to treat this as the second half of one giant book rather than leaving space for someone who needs reminders since reading the first book. This is a duology, so that's fine, but this is best read as close to immediately after the first book as you can manage for the ideal experience.
The whole purpose of this book is to address things left hanging from the first book, like Carmen's sudden revelation and their entire relationship, for a start. Carmen is a different person than Dani and this book is about her troubles and goals which means there is a new storyline and some new things which are introduced and resolved. As far as I can tell this is a duology which is completed by this book. While there could maybe be more books in this setting, Dani and Carmen's story seems complete with a lot of things wrapped up. In a bigger sense I'd like to know what they do next and how the rebellion turns out in the long run, but it's closed enough to be the end.
Carmen is the new narrator and her voice is distinct from Dani's. She has a pretty different background from Dani (even at the school they received different training) and pays attention to completely different things. This picks up exactly where the last book left off, but from a different character’s perspective. This wouldn’t make sense to start here without reading the first book.
Even more so than the first book, the plot revolves around Carmen and Dani's relationship. This first thing is Carmen has to figure out how to get to Dani to see if they even still have a relationship, and the story proceeds from there. The story keeps moving and I like how it ends up, this is a good finish to the story and I'm satisfied with it overall.
The tone is immediately grimmer than the first book. Dani’s arc was one of hope and disillusionment in difficult circumstances, where Carmen’s begins in the wake of terror and betrayal with things going from bad to worse.
Carmen has two non-blood siblings who were around in the first book but this time around the narration includes Carmen's warm impressions of them. Her dynamic with Alex is fraught right now because she doesn't trust Carmen's loyalties after how close she got to Dani. Sota is more matter-of-fact and even more secretive than Alex. Speaking of Dani, Carmen starts off having no idea where she stands with Dani or whether she's cemented her loyalty with their husband since losing contact with the rebels.
WE SET THE DARK ON FIRE had a lot of worldbuilding to do and WE UNLEASH THE MERCILESS STORM uses it but doesn't add much to it in a grand sense. It adds more parts of the island, including the camp for La Voz, but other than the fact that there is a class divide it doesn't do much explaining of anything already covered in the first one. The overall effect is to treat this as the second half of one giant book rather than leaving space for someone who needs reminders since reading the first book. This is a duology, so that's fine, but this is best read as close to immediately after the first book as you can manage for the ideal experience.
The whole purpose of this book is to address things left hanging from the first book, like Carmen's sudden revelation and their entire relationship, for a start. Carmen is a different person than Dani and this book is about her troubles and goals which means there is a new storyline and some new things which are introduced and resolved. As far as I can tell this is a duology which is completed by this book. While there could maybe be more books in this setting, Dani and Carmen's story seems complete with a lot of things wrapped up. In a bigger sense I'd like to know what they do next and how the rebellion turns out in the long run, but it's closed enough to be the end.
Carmen is the new narrator and her voice is distinct from Dani's. She has a pretty different background from Dani (even at the school they received different training) and pays attention to completely different things. This picks up exactly where the last book left off, but from a different character’s perspective. This wouldn’t make sense to start here without reading the first book.
Even more so than the first book, the plot revolves around Carmen and Dani's relationship. This first thing is Carmen has to figure out how to get to Dani to see if they even still have a relationship, and the story proceeds from there. The story keeps moving and I like how it ends up, this is a good finish to the story and I'm satisfied with it overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Homophobia, Gun violence, Murder, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Grief, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Child death, Sexual content, Violence, Medical trauma, Torture, Death, and Medical content
Minor: Ableism and Fire/Fire injury
foxy_amy's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is full of emotional and romantic moments, combined in a perfect way with tense and action moments. This book also highlights the issues of misogyny and sexism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Gun violence, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny
larbster90's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Gun violence, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content
nefariousbee's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Violence
cindespair's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Cursing
kaidoz's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I honestly liked this one better than the first book in the series. The plot was a lot more fast-paced and it seemed more life or death which made me care about the characters more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Police brutality, Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Grief, Death, and Cursing
Minor: Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Child death, Kidnapping, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Blood, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault
Book centers around a rebellion in a society where women are viewed as commodities. Men are given two trained wives and there is a lot of institutionalized sexism because of it. It also includes war and mentions attacks from the police state.rwmccormic's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Xenophobia
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
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