María Lunurin has been living a double life for as long as she can remember. To the world, she is Sister María, 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.
Reading, “She writes Filipino epic fantasy for bold, bi, brown women who deserve to see their stories centered,” along with the description of a “Filipino-inspired epic fantasy, where a nun concealing a goddess-given gift is unwillingly transformed into a lightning rod for her people’s struggle against colonization,” plus that stunning cover, I knew I had to give this a try.
There’s a lot to appreciate here, especially when it comes to representation. The protagonist is bisexual, and her identity is treated as a natural part of who she is. I really liked that. However, I was disappointed with how the story turned out for her female love interest, who is also the only other openly bi character. Her arc felt frustrating and a little disheartening.
In general, the romance didn’t work for me. There is a lot of emotional push and pull between two love interests: the devout partner, deeply shaped by colonial religion, and the soft and loving man, married out of necessity, or more?
Those who follow my reviews knows, I’m not a fan of romantic tension, so this storyline fell totally flat for me. But I can see how it might appeal to readers who enjoy emotional complexity and characters caught between love and loyalty.
There are some quite steamy scenes, which again didn’t add much for me, but were much better written than a lot of other similar scenes I read recently. They definitely added to the character growth and deepened the relationship, instead of just being there to tick a box, because, “sex sells”.
The characters overall felt a bit too familiar. The bitter, devout wife stands in for internalized oppression. The husband is the classic cinnamon roll love interest. And the main character follows the chosen one path, discovering her hidden powers and growing into her role. While these types can still work well in the right story, they didn’t fully come alive for me here.
Still, the writing style is smooth and easy to follow. It almost reads like YA in tone, which made it a quick and accessible read. Even when I wasn’t fully connecting with the characters, I found myself turning pages easily.
What really made the book worth reading was the worldbuilding and magic. This part of the story is excellent. The setting draws deeply from Filipino culture, mythology, and pre-colonial traditions. You can feel the weight of a world shaped by its own gods and rituals, now buried under layers of Catholicism brought by colonizers. That tension between old and new, native and imposed, plays out in the setting, the belief systems, and the magic itself. The result is a story that feels grounded in lived history, with a clear sense of cultural pride and resistance. The magical elements feel real and rooted.
The handling of colonization is also strong. It doesn’t shy away from the violence and trauma involved, and it doesn’t try to soften the impact for the sake of a more comfortable story. It has a darker tone in places, but it earns that tone by telling the truth. Definitely check content warnings if you’re sensitive to heavier themes.
In the end, this wasn’t a perfect read for me. The characters and romance didn’t fully land, but the worldbuilding and cultural depth made it worthwhile.
Rich in magic, rooted in Filipino history, and unafraid to challenge the legacy of colonization, this is a bold fantasy that gives voice to stories too long silenced.
