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A review by cosmicjess
Stormsong by C.L. Polk
5.0
(from before i read the book lol) lesbophobia? not on my watch!
(triggers at the end)
c.l. polk never misses, now do they? i absolutely loved the first book, witchmark, and i found myself having the same excitement reading this one!
characters
the characters have always been the strong points of these books, and in this one it's no different, with grace at the front and centre this time instead of miles, but she held everything up and really proved herself worthy of leadership from the last book. i adored her in witchmark, but in this book, she was commanding whole spaces with her perseverance alone and it felt like no one could get in her way; it was like if grace wanted something, she'd get it done! legendary behaviour.
side characters were fantastic, as well; we had miles and tristan supporting grace and leading whole revolutions with her, and they felt very much as fleshed out as they did in the first book. the love interest avia, who was also in the first book, was quipey and sharp-witted and so fucking smart, she matched grace perfectly. robin, prince severin (? i think is how you spell his name lol), and others apart of the story felt well-developed for their roles- and robin's going to head the final book, so i'm super excited!
plot
in this one, it's very much following the direct aftermath of the first book, with trying to right the wrongs of government officials and years and years of oppression of witches not recognized by those same government officials. i really enjoyed reading from grace's perspective in this instance, because she is apart of this government that is incredibly oppressive and harmful for those they don't think deserve power, and she is the daughter of someone involved directly. her grappling with all of that and her desire to fix things, trying to get allies in these spaces, and working through her own past mistakes was so fantastic and introspective to read about.
conclusion
all in all, i feel like people need tog et on this series, especially if you love political intrigue, interesting magic systems based around nature and aspects of nature, as well as great characters and wonderful romances! (also loads of queer characters as well hehe). i need the third book, like, yesterday pls
trigger warnings for
trauma, imprisonment, torture (off-page), past abusive relationship, aftermath of war, PTSD
(triggers at the end)
c.l. polk never misses, now do they? i absolutely loved the first book, witchmark, and i found myself having the same excitement reading this one!
characters
the characters have always been the strong points of these books, and in this one it's no different, with grace at the front and centre this time instead of miles, but she held everything up and really proved herself worthy of leadership from the last book. i adored her in witchmark, but in this book, she was commanding whole spaces with her perseverance alone and it felt like no one could get in her way; it was like if grace wanted something, she'd get it done! legendary behaviour.
side characters were fantastic, as well; we had miles and tristan supporting grace and leading whole revolutions with her, and they felt very much as fleshed out as they did in the first book. the love interest avia, who was also in the first book, was quipey and sharp-witted and so fucking smart, she matched grace perfectly. robin, prince severin (? i think is how you spell his name lol), and others apart of the story felt well-developed for their roles- and robin's going to head the final book, so i'm super excited!
plot
in this one, it's very much following the direct aftermath of the first book, with trying to right the wrongs of government officials and years and years of oppression of witches not recognized by those same government officials. i really enjoyed reading from grace's perspective in this instance, because she is apart of this government that is incredibly oppressive and harmful for those they don't think deserve power, and she is the daughter of someone involved directly. her grappling with all of that and her desire to fix things, trying to get allies in these spaces, and working through her own past mistakes was so fantastic and introspective to read about.
conclusion
all in all, i feel like people need tog et on this series, especially if you love political intrigue, interesting magic systems based around nature and aspects of nature, as well as great characters and wonderful romances! (also loads of queer characters as well hehe). i need the third book, like, yesterday pls
trigger warnings for
trauma, imprisonment, torture (off-page), past abusive relationship, aftermath of war, PTSD