Magic, Mermaids, and Mayhem!

Greetings, Enchanted Ones!

I am the fairy queen of the Neverwinter Woods, a librarian of mythic legend--furthermore, keeper of The Enchanted Library, a wonderfully whimsical library situated between worlds. How is that possible, you may ask? Well, venture forth and you may have the chance to find out. This week our topic of conversation is one of my favorite things: Fantasy/Sci-Fi! We will speak about my experience reading Heir of Storms, by Lauryn Hamilton Murray in detail, as well as some other books I picked up that fall under the YA fantasy/Sci-Fi umbrella. Stay tuned!

Heir of Storms (2025) by Lauryn Hamilton Maurray.

At the start of this book, we learn that Blaze, our main character, was born in the Fire Nation—I mean, Ignitia… and does not inherit flame magic, as her parents assumed. In fact, not only does she inherit water magic instead, but she’s a Rain Singer, a sub-sect of the Aquatori that have faded from public view, long since believed to be extinct. Blaze causes a storm which kills many, which makes her ~scary~ and the most hated girl in the world™. In typical YA fashion, she is of course kept under lock and key through her entire childhood, which is glazed over because it isn’t important. Of course, by the end of the book she has mastered her rain-singer powers, and is to be crowned queen of the Water Tri—Aquatori. Ahem. As you can guess by my snide comments, there are quite a few problems I have with this book, So, without further introduction, let’s get into it.


1. Wants to be so many different popular franchises…fails to live up to most of them

Imitation is the best form of flattery, or so they say. In our current world of books, especially in YA, I have noticed that books are often marketed based on what other popular franchises they can be compared to. The first review on the back of the book reads: “A fierce heroine faces magical trials, courtly intrigue, and sizzling love triangles—think hunger games with more spells, more stakes, and way more swoon.”

• Hunger Games: Honestly, beyond the trials, which are nothing like the games, it’s not much like it, that review on the back cover really set me up to think this book would be like the hunger games.

• Shadow and Bone: The Rift is the same as The Shadow Fold, but less interesting, down to it being created by the book’s central ~bad boy~ love interest.

• Game of Thrones: They’re all fighting for the throne, though in a much more organized way than in Game of Thrones. During the set-up, before I knew more about the actual trials, I was more inclined to see the Game of Thrones and Hunger Games comparisons, but much less so later on.

• Avatar The Last Air Bender (ATLA): THIS is actually the source material I feel the author took the most from. There are characters in the book such as Flint and Ember who are clearly (in my opinion) based on the characters Zuko and Azula. Especially Ember. The initial world building is very much ATLA. There are SO many aspects of this book that I feel are lifted directly from ATLA. Although elemental magic is not original to ATLA, this book follows such similar ideas that make it hard to ignore.
  
  Unfortunately where ATLA flourishes (the characters and world building) this book fails spectacularly most of the time.
  
  
  2A. The characters

• Blaze: Our main character, the girl who called the storm that shook the world. In the beginning, she is quite a boring predictable character. Passive as they come, letting life happen to her rather than living her life. That makes sense, though, given she is so young, and many teens relate to the idea of being a victim of circumstance. I do like that that set-up lends itself to her coming into her power. Just because I don’t find it particularly interesting or new doesn’t mean that it isn’t effective. I do like that she comes into herself as the book goes on.

• Flint: A very important character, yet we don’t really get much from him. I do feel like as readers we are told we are supposed to care about him as a character, but we are not shown why. I like him a lot, he’s got potential, but in this first book, it’s hard to care much for him.

• Haldyn: I liked him! He reminded me a lot of Char from Ella Enchanted, especially before the reveal. Just genuinely kind and a good bridge between Blaze and High Society. I knew from the beginning he wasm’t going to be the long-term love interest, though. It was pretty obvious. I didn’t predict that it would end up being Elva who he loved, and it makes me want to see more of their love story, or even really hints, to be honest... I would have liked a bit more foreshadowing.

• Fox: The best character by far, I love that the author isn’t afraid to make him truly “bad”. So often the ~bad boy~ trope is a front, and I do think there’s probably more to Fox than meets the eye in terms of his motivation, we got bits of that in the first book--but the scene when he chokes Fjord stood out. I love how they were all transfixed and no one intervened as he choked and nearly killed this kid. I love a “bad” character who actually commits bad acts. His character is clearly one of the ones that inspired the story, and you can tell by how much more vibrant he is than the other characters. I love how he’s terrifying yet charming. I love the detail that he watched Blaze’s trial, probably related to her in a lot of ways, became interested and made it possible for her to watch his trial (and subsequently her brothers, and other side characters).

2B. Notable side characters:

• Elva: I would have liked to see more of her. I want to learn more about Obsidia and Shadow Magic.

• Spinner and Sheen: Spinner more so than Sheen. I wish we learned more about them, and got more details into the world of the Court of Eyes. Sheen is definitely Flint’s main love interest. I’m calling it. I clocked that wayyyyy too early.

• Ember: Ehhhh....technically notable, but she’s just an Azula knockoff to me. I would have liked to learn more about her than the fact that she’s a ruthless mean girl that exists to torment the main character. I’m so sick of the girls hating on other girls trope. It’s so tired!!! I won’t even write anything expansive about Marina, she’s the same as Ember but less important. I bet we will never see her character again.

• The Plot:
  
  The beginning is the worst part of the book. It really opens up once they get to the Golden Palace, for me, that’s when the book really started. The plot was predictable. We as an audience know that Blaze is going to win. We know she’s going to get a handle on her powers, we know she’s going to become queen. I felt that the “big reveal” of the old man from the library being Caius Castellion was just so lame. There was so much telling in this book, not enough showing. I feel like we spend so much time being TOLD the lore of this universe rather than just experiencing it through the characters. I feel like this entire book was just a mean’s to an end. I think that the author has a vision, and this whole book was just her getting to the part she actually wants to write. So much set up for the future, not enough impact and focus in the 400ish pages of this book.
  
  4. The World:
  
  Sigh.... just an ATLA rip off. The only interesting and original bits were the bits about the Court of Eyes, and the Otherlands. You know...the parts we don’t actually get to hear about in detail.
  
  5. The Magic:
  Underdeveloped. I do like the idea of Water whispering and Water Ways. Even the idea of the Rain Singers interests me, but of course, we don’t get to know about that beyond what little Blaze learns from her books and mentors. Again, telling, not showing. LAME.

Conclusion:
It’s just...okay. I think some teen readers will really like it, especially those less familiar with the tropes of the genre. For me, it was a two and a half star read. But the small glimmers of interesting and original content is enough to keep me invested enough to read the second book. Murray’s style of writing is quite good, I like her descriptions. I just pray that I am right about her having tunnel vision, and that he second book is more of what I actually want to see from her. I think that the two and a half stars come from the potential. I want the second book to be good so bad. That remains to be seen. Now that I am finished ripping this book apart, it’s time to talk about some of the other books I found this week.

The Demonic Inventions of Aurelie Blake (2026) by Mara Rutherford.

I picked up this book at the Worcester Public Library with the help of my teen brother. We go there once a week on Tuesdays and do homework together, and he helped me pick out a couple books that were fantasy and/or sci-fi. Admittedly, our method of picking books was literally judging books by their cover. But it does give me some insight about what kind of covers appeal to teens. This was the first one he picked up off the shelf, and I do have to agree the cover is very pretty.

Plot summary: In this world, innovation is forbidden. Any creation at all, be it art, music, engineering—conjures a demon from the other side. The greater the innovation, the more dangerous the demon. This has never stopped Aurelie.

Sea Change (2024) by Susan Fletcher

Another title I picked up at the Worcester Public Library.

Plot Summary: A Little Mermaid retelling set in a future shaped by climate change and genetic engineering. Turtle, a Mer child genetically altered to have gills and lungs-- As Turtle forms a secret bond with Kai, a Normal boy, she faces an agonizing choice: undergo surgery to remove her gills and live among Normals, or remain with her Mer community and the life she's known.

Half a Soul (2020) by Olivia Atwater

The last book isn’t actually a title I picked up this week, but one I read a few years back and remember adoring. I don’t recall which library I checked it out from at the time.

Plot summary: Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora has had no sense of fear or embarrassment - a condition which makes her prone to accidental scandal. She hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season--but when the Lord Sorcier discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into dangerous and peculiar faerie affairs.

I would call this a successful week of fantastical discoveries! Tune in next time for some horror/thriller recommendations. Until then, I must bid you farewell.

Sincerely,
The Keeper of the Enchanted Library