A very addicting YA romantasy that I was surprised to enjoy as much as I did.

Blaze is the first Rain Singer in years, born into one of the most powerful fire-wielding families in the empire. She is a pariah, her birth having resulted in a devastating storm that drowned the empire.
She has spent 17 years hidden away until she is chosen to participate in the Choosing Rite, a deadly competition in which the most gifted young Etheri battle for each of the four thrones.

There’s a charming enchanting Crown Prince and a dangerous bad boy newcomer at court, both secretly making plays for Blaze.

I forgot how much Young Adult can engage me and keep me glued to the page.
The banter was great with the side characters (particularly Blaze’s twin brother, Flint). There is a found family aspect you tend to find with YA.

<b>‘Some see emotion as a hindrance rather than a strength,’ he says quietly. ‘But that is because they forget how powerful emotions can be. Never underestimate the way you can feel.’
</b>
There are secrets and a hidden past and treasures. A version of the chosen one troupe. There are balls, trials, training, bullies, kittens.

It isn’t anything insanely unique. The characters were very common to the genre, however the writing and pacing kept me turning the pages - as well as any charming, funny appearance of Flint.

Arc gifted by Penguin Random House.

Wow wow wow...

I loved this book, the story flowed constantly leaving me wanting to turn the page and see what happens next.
The premise is interesting, the odd one out embracing herself in a competition for a throne she's not even sure she wants.
The characters have such depth, not completely good, not completely bad, but dimensional with twists and turns to each divulged in a way that leaves you hanging on for more.

LOVE LOVE LOVE! CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE!

This was such a fun and engaging YA fantasy, I loved the writing so much and found myself instantly captivated by the story and the FMC Blaze who has lead a sheltered life. The world building was so vivid and immersive and it reminded me of why I love fantasy and especially YA fantasy there is just something so comforting about reading it.

I really enjoyed that as the story progressed at a steady pace we were giving insight into the development of the characters magical power and the action that we are drawn into that is driving each character through centuries of tradition. I love anything with trials and really enjoyed how fresh and new the ideas for this story felt.

There were plenty of twists and turns that I didn't see coming and while I was here for the romance between Blaze and the two MMCS that she finds herself involved with. I absolutely loved the sibling relationship between her and Flint and found it so endearing and it was definitely one of my favourite things about this story.

I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read more about this world and these characters.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this before publication, these are my honest thoughts.

Oh my goodness.

There are no words that can even begin to describe my thoughts.

Let me start by saying that I absolutely love Blaze, she is so amazing!!!
However I felt that she shouldn’t have forgiven Hal so quickly but that’s just my opinion because I would have forgiven him for doing what he did.

I absolutely adored this book. It's so so well written, the characters and their development is fantastic.
I was obsessed from the first line. It gave me chills! The twists and turns were so well executed, that although I saw a few of them coming, I didn't care cause they were so well done.
I can't wait for everything that Lauryn writes, cause she has gone straight on my auto buy list.

I am absolutely in love with this book! I can’t believe it’s the authors debut story, the world building and character development are top tier I couldn’t get enough of it! Blaze really is a force to be reckoned with, she starts off being very sheltered and unsure of the world around her but through many trials and tribulations she really shines through. I can’t wait to see what happens after the end of the book and we get to see what a certain Fox is up to! So happy I got the chance to read an early copy thank you Net-galley!

I really enjoyed this book. It flows great I couldn’t put it down. I love fantasy and of course a bit of Romance so this is the perfect book for me. I really enjoyed the characters.

ARC obtained through NetGalley - thank you to the author and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Now this book is a YA Romantsy which I don't normally lean towards but the cover and blurb drew me in and boy did this book surprise me.

The story follows the FMC whose birth threw her country through an unforgettable storm. Ever since, she has been trying to deal with that guilt and grief, hidden away in the palace, unable to summon an ounce of her power.

Now the throne title/ monarch system works a little bit different in this series, the "throne/ titles" aren't given to the rulers, they chosen. They compete in a set of trials to determine their next rulers.

If you like the below tropes, I'm sure your going to love this book.

Tropes:
Plot Twists
Deadly Competition
Forbidden Love
Elemental Magic

This was a really fun enjoyable fantasy story. I liked the FMC Blaze, as she struggled through the power she was given and her emotions about it. I liked the two romantic interests and how those played out. The family dynamics were interesting. I enjoyed the way the royal courts were made up, the magic system and the overall story. The trials were entertaining. There was a lot hinted at, obviously going to be a series. I'm excited for book two, even though book one isn't even out until June!

🌿🌨️ Heir Of Storms 🌨️🌿

- Lauryn Hamilton Murray @laurynhamiltonmurray

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you love YA romantic fantasy, I can guarantee you’re going to love this book. It had everything from a cool magic system, interesting world building, high stakes trials and not one but TWO swoonworthy love interests.

We follow Blaze, a Storm Weaver, whose birth caused her country to be plunged into a storm that caused immeasurable damage and claimed lives. Ever since, she has been reconciling with that guilt and grief, hidden away in the palace, unable to summon a drop of rain. (Think Elsa, in Frozen).

Thrones in Blaze’s kingdom aren’t inherited, they’re won. Every eclipse, four wielders of each type of elemental magic - earth, wind, fire and air - are chosen to compete in a series of trials to determine the new kings and queens of each kingdom. And, as luck would have it, Blaze is chosen. She must travel to the Golden Palace, leaving the safety of her own four walls, and confront all the emotions she’s been concealing the past sixteen years.

It has trials, which is something I love in a book. I feel like recently some books have tried to capitalise on the idea of trials, as a marketing ploy to appeal to readers. But in Heir Of Storms, the trials are essential to the plot, and they were so. Damn. Cool.

Sure, maybe the world building wasn’t super original and the plot was a bit predictable, but I had such a good time with this book that I really don’t care.

Thank you to @netgalley and @puffinbooksuk for the ARC!

3.5 stars. I like the writing style, it was very quick to read. Love an elemental magic system, felt very early-2010s-YA.

Ok the flip side, the love interest just annoyed me. You cannot be arrogant AND seventeen. Pick a struggle. Also the twists had no foreshadowing so it felt a bit random. We spent an awful lot of time just waiting for things to happen?

Thank you for the arc!

Heir of Storms swept me into its whirlwind world right from the start.

Blaze, with her electrifying origins and undeniable magical spark, is a character you can’t help but root for. The blend of elemental magic, intense training scenes, and the high-stakes trials at the Golden Palace creates a story that’s both immersive and exhilarating. Additionally, the empire’s richly detailed world and the intriguing dynamics of court life make every page feel like an adventure, drawing you deeper into a realm where every challenge is a chance to rise.

The romance and political intrigue add layers of excitement that keep the story moving at a lively pace, making it a truly captivating read. With its unique twist on classic fantastical themes and a cast of characters that feels both familiar and refreshingly original, Heir of Storms delivers an epic YA romantasy experience that’s hard to put down. Overall, it’s a fantastic start to what promises to be an unforgettable series - definitely an adventure worth diving into.

This has all the vibes of 2010s books you look back on with a warm feeling. Then you realise that's because it's pretty much exactly the same.

Ultimately the main bits I liked were story elements from other books. I love a good twist but found myself unsurprised and predicting them, which is good until there isn't anything fun.

Characterisation was interesting. My favourites reminded me of characters I knew and loved but I didn't enjoy the fact that Blazes main problems were with women and she had no strong female friendships.

This book explores grief and emotions fuelling magic access which was really interesting. I wish this was fleshed out more and she worked this out by herself because by half way through pretty much any mentor character also knew this trick and it felt strange (considering she's such a bookworm) that she'd never considered it.

I did enjoy the familial relationships in this. I wished Blaze spent more time with her cousin so we got some more understanding of the problems between them. After a while "everyone hates me for this one thing I did as a baby" got quite boring in the sense that more people have common sense... I hope. And then you had characters who wanted to be her friend with no inner conflict or concerns or even mention of it which felt convenient. Like all of her brothers friends didn't have a problem with her?

I didn't like the love triangle. I did like the twist but I don't get WHY they like each other. One reason is a spoiler and the other just made no sense and I couldn't quite believe it.

Also I thought her and her brothers names were very funny.

By no means was this book bad. I did enjoy my time with it and read it really quickly, but I have read such amazing fantasies recently that think so much deeper than this that it fell flat for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC

This book follows Blaze, a girl born into a long legacy of fire wielders who has the power to control water. When she is just a baby she accidentally causes a huge storm that floods the kingdom, she is whisked away into isolation with her grandmother. She is known by many names: changeling, freak, storm weaver. People fear her and her powers, but little do they know, she no longer has any.
Now it is time for the crowns to be passed down to the next generation and Blaze and her brother Flint are both chosen to fight for their respective crowns. The Golden Palace is full of threats, and Blaze must find a way to learn to build her power again to be in with a fighting chance.
This is a very brief overview of the start of the book, unfortunately it did begin in a very formulaic way. I felt as though I have read this plot many times before so I was scared that the book would fall into the rut of being predictable. However it really surprised me in the best way once I actually got into it. It was incredibly easy to get lost in this world, the story also took a very interesting turn and now my only issue with this book is that the next one isn’t already available!! I am desperate to find out what happens next!!
This book has a great cast of characters, and the romance has so much potential (this book is rather slow burn)
Overall, a very enjoyable read and I would highly recommend it

I LOVED THIS SO SO MUCH!!!! THIS BOOK IS SO GOOOOD. I NEED BOOK TWO.

this book. just wow. its easily my fav read of 2025 so far, by literal miles.

This book just felt like a nostalgic fantasy read in the beginning but it evolved into so much more really altering a few genre expectations in a way I loved. The world is very reminiscent of a traditional fantasy world with a five elemental system but we also got lots of little worldbuilding details about the kingdoms interaction with the Otherlands. I really liked the way we were rapidly drawn into the action with centuries of tradition behind it that is driving all the characters.
Blaze already being such a notorious figure in the world having created a huge empire wide storm at her birth was a nice change from people just learning about their power (we do get good power development tho which I always like).
It’s a great book and I cant wait to see what this author does in the sequel!

This was a fun read 😊

The world building was interesting and the magic system was intriguing. Blaze was a great FMC who has been sheltered her whole life and thrust into trials, I liked her. But Fox definitely stole the show, I loved every scene he was in and I hope book 2 has more of Fox in it!

I am looking forward to book 2 and exploring more of this world 🥰

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 ⭐

ARC Review

This story had me hooked from the early chapters.

The characters, world building and overall storytelling were really strong. A massive fan of Flint and Blazes sibling relationship and cannot wait to see more of that in further books.

The pacing was good but I would have liked more going on when we were waiting for the trials.

Overall loved this and cannot wait to read more about these characters and this world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for providing me with this ARC copy.

I REALLY enjoyed this! It has great world building, trials, a strong FMC and a sprinkling of romance.
The pacing was really good and kept me turning the pages, always excited for what was to come next. Some really great plot twists as well which I’m intrigued to see how those play out in book 2.

I am very excited not only for book 2, but to see the reception this book gets once it’s released!

Heir of Storms by Lauryn Hamilton Murray @laurynhamiltonmurray is an exciting start to a YA romantasy trilogy, following the story of Blaze, a young Rain Singer who has been born to a family of fire-wielders. She’s thrust into a wild competition for an empire’s throne she doesn’t know and can’t inherit, instead she has to win it. Political intrigue, romance, training, and secrets are only a few things she’ll find in this journey for the throne.

This book was really exciting and such a page turner. I really enjoyed reading the training but and the whole host of characters. I can’t wait for the next book in the series! Highly recommend this to folks who loved Red Queen and Shadow and Bone! Heir of Storms releases in May of this year.