#BookReview ‘Saints Of Storm And Sorrow’ by Gabriella Buba

About the book…

In this fiercely imaginative Filipino-inspired fantasy debut, a bisexual nun hiding a goddess-given gift is unwillingly transformed into a lightning rod for her people’s struggle against colonization.

Perfect for fans of lush fantasy full of morally ambiguous characters, including The Poppy War and The Jasmine Throne.

Maria Lunurin has been living a double life for as long as she can remember. To the world, she is Sister Maria, dutiful nun and devoted servant of Aynila’s Codicían colonizers. But behind closed doors, she is a stormcaller, chosen daughter of the Aynilan goddess Anitun Tabu. In hiding not only from the Codicíans and their witch hunts, but also from the vengeful eye of her slighted goddess, Lunurin does what she can to protect her fellow Aynilans and the small family she has created in the convent: her lover Catalina, and Cat’s younger sister Inez.

Lunurin is determined to keep her head down—until one day she makes a devastating discovery, which threatens to tear her family apart. In desperation, she turns for help to Alon Dakila, heir to Aynila’s most powerful family, who has been ardently in love with her for years. But this choice sets in motion a chain of events beyond her control, awakening Anitun Tabu’s rage and putting everyone Lunurin loves in terrible danger. Torn between the call of Alon’s magic and Catalina’s jealousy, her duty to her family and to her people, Lunurin can no longer keep Anitun Tabu’s fury at bay.

The goddess of storms demands vengeance. And she will sweep aside anyone who stands in her way.

My thanks to the lovely people at Titan Books for my gifted review copy of ‘Saints Of Storm And Sorrow’

It is published in e-book and paperback on June 25th, available from all good bookshops!

If you are looking for an own voices, Filipino, Queer fantasy featuring a conflicted heroine,sea goddesses, sea monsters, accusations of witchery and hiding your powers in plain sight, then this is the book for you.
Allow yourself to be vividly swept away by the journey which protagonist, Luna, takes to the sea, leaving behind all that she knows to hide in a convent, from the coming Inquisition.
As she hides her true calling on land, so she also hides herself from the sea where she is the chosen supplicant of the goddess, Anitun Tabu.
But will her loved ones and chosen family pay the price for her quelling her true calling to the sea? And how much more does she have to sacrifice before she can let her hair down, literally and figuratively?
A stunning fantasy debut which has a voice as unique as each wave, you easily become immersed with Lunurin and her conflicted loyalties, her love for her girlfriend, Cat, and the multiple strands of loyalties which she straddles.
I absolutely loved the intensity of the world building and the strong sense of identity which shone on every page.
Cannot wait for Book 2!

About the author…

Gabriella Buba is a writer and chemical engineer who likes to keep explosive pyrophoric materials safely contained in pressure vessels or between the covers of her books. She writes Filipino epic fantasy for bold, bi, brown women who deserve to see their stories centered.

Links-https://gabriellabuba.com/

Twitter @GabriellaBuba @TitanBooks