We Unleash the Merciless Storm

Written by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Narrated by Kyla Garcia

In this nail-biting sequel to Tehlor Kay Mejia’s critically acclaimed fantasy novel We Set the Dark on Fire, La Voz operative Carmen is forced to choose between the girl she loves and the success of the rebellion she’s devoted her life to. Perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and Anna-Marie McLemore.

Being a part of the resistance group La Voz is an act of devotion and desperation. On the other side of Medio’s border wall, the oppressed class fights for freedom and liberty, sacrificing what little they have to become defenders of the cause.

Carmen Santos is one of La Voz’s best soldiers. She spent years undercover, but now, with her identity exposed and the island on the brink of a civil war, Carmen returns to the only real home she’s ever known: La Voz’s headquarters.

There she must reckon with her beloved leader, who is under the influence of an aggressive new recruit, and with the devastating news that her true love might be the target of an assassination plot. Will Carmen break with her community and save the girl who stole her heart—or fully embrace the ruthless rebel she was always meant to be?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
• Release date: Feb 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9780062977618

Tehlor Kay Mejia

Tehlor Kat Mejia is a bestselling and award winning author of young adult and middle grade fiction. Their debut young adult novel, We Set the Dark on Fire, received six starred reviews, as well as the Oregon Spirit Book Award for debut fiction, and the Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award runner up honor for debut speculative fiction. It has been featured on Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, and O by Oprah Magazine’s best books lists, and was a 2019 book of the year selection by Kirkus and School Library Journal. Its sequel, We Unleash the Merciless Storm, followed to continuing acclaim, while Miss Meteor (co-written with National Book Award Nominee Anna-Marie McLemore) was named to the American Library Association’s 2021 Rainbow List, honoring outstanding contributions in LGBTQIA teen fiction. Tehlor’s debut middle grade novel, Paola Santiago and the River of Tears, was published by the Rick Riordan Presents imprint at Disney/Hyperion. It received four starred reviews, and was named Amazon’s best book of 2020 in the 9-12 age range. It is currently in development at Disney as a television series to be produced by Eva Longoria. Tehlor lives with their daughter, partner, and two small dogs in Oregon, where they grow heirloom corn and continue their quest to perfect the vegan tamale.

Reviews for We Unleash the Merciless Storm

[xaverie_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm a little disappointed in some ways.

[Chaotic Virgo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3 to 3.5 stars! It’s nothing haven’t read before. But it’s good text for introducing issues of resistance and its importance to young adults. Also, it’s about two girls in love with each other. That’s always cool. It could’ve done with better editing in terms of story structure and some phrasing. But yes, over all. It’s fun and is definitely better than Book 1.

[Airun 357 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was the perfect way to end the year :')!!!! Omg thank you author for existing :'

[Abhay Kumar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a perfect sequel. PER.FECT. sad that the series ends here, i wanted a book from ALEX'S perspective next. mythology is perfectly infused with a story of rebellion against capitalism and oppression. themes of immigration present. and it's so gay. like really gay. i love it so much.

[Quinta Langestraat · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wayyyy better than the first book, loved it soo much

[Liza De Fries · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

“The real revolution was here. In the place where girlhood met womanhood. In the bonds of a sisterhood that would never be torn apart.”

If you’re looking for a duology where girls fight tooth and nail to fight every cage pathetic men and the patriarchy try to lock them in, this is it. If you want a story about a revolution that is dark and gritty and real, but still hopeful, this is it. A perfect antidote to the bleakness of the real world.

Told from Carmen’s point of view, we see a very different young woman to who Dani met in We Set The Dark on Fire. Before Carmen trained to become a Segunda, she was raised as a warrior. She was taught loyalty to the cause comes above all and emotions make you weak. Struggling with her growing feelings for Dani and her loyalty to the cause, Carmen must find a way to either reconcile the two, or lose one of them forever. War brews as Mateo’s power grows, and the new tactics of the Resistance leading to more failures than victory.

I absolutely adored this book. It was sharp, witty, fast faced, a political thriller and epic love story all in one. It is truly such a celebration of women and their strengths, smashing the cultural myth that you can’t have beauty and brains, and that being feminine makes you weak. Carmen’s development as she learns her Segunda training taught her more than just how to be a good wife, it give her a whole new arsenal of weapons just as deadly as any knife was amazing. She’s such a chaotic gay, full of passion and feelings and absolutely reckless and sometimes terrible decisions that had me yelling, and she’s all the more stronger for it. Dani is the head to Carmen’s heart, but her passion and love and loyalty are no less strong for it. They were taught they had defined roles as Primera (all brains, cold, rational, unemotional) and Segunda (all beauty, softness, emotions, comfort) and it was working together that made them good wives to their husbands. Dani and Carmen truly smashed these gender roles to pieces.

We unleash the Merciless Storm is about women reclaiming their power in a world that tries so hard to deny it to them. Carmen, Dani, Jasmin and Alex are the actual loves of my life and I loved how Alex and Jasmin featured so heavily in this book and the development and the plots they got. Also, I ship it. @ Taylor novella on them please?

I thought book 1 was good. Book 2 blew me out of the water. Carmen and Dani’s love story, Carmen’s found family with Sota and Alex. Carmen in general. I’m still reeling from when REDACTED died and honestly I was so hoping it would be a lol jokes! moment. Devastated when it wasn’t.

The ending was so raw and full of hope and sisterhood and honestly this was amazing.

[Sophia S · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When's part 3 cus I kinda need it now please.

[oldandnewbooksmell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

We Unleash the Merciless Storm is the sequel and ending of the duology fantasy series, We Set the Dark on Fire, this time told from Carmen's point of view. Being raised by the resistance group La Voz, Carmen had become one of their best spies by the time she was twelve, but she's been away on a mission for the past 5 years and when she returns home, a lot has changed. Her beloved leader, the man she looks at who raised her, is under the influence of a new recruit, one who is a big influence for the assassination plot of the girl who Carmen loves, Dani. How will Carmen save the girl she loves while still fighting for the community she holds so dear?

The ending of a great duology! This time, the book is from Carmen's point of view. I quite enjoyed being able to see Carmen's take on the world around her and get to know more about her life and upbringing, especially her relationships with Alex and Sota.

Though it was a bit slower in my opinion, especially since it was a bit repetitive about how much she loved Dani before getting back to her. The novel tended to pick up and then slow down frequently. I wish it was in both Dani and Carmen's POVs - Dani had a lot going on during this as well and though we get some of the information, I would have liked to read about it first hand.

The book does wrap up some questions that were left unanswered in the first book. There are a few points that I thought were stretched a tad bit (I'm going to forgive the fact characters seemed to have a rapid healing rate), but none of them were anything that ruined the book for me. I still read it up as fast as I could.

This duology is a good example of some badass women who don't need to follow, or rather, be owned, by a man to do great things. All the women were strong, fierce, and determined to do what they believed to be right, no matter the struggles. It also had a quite a few positive, loving lesbian couples shown in the novels and that sometimes is hard to come by.

[m_mozeleski · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh my gosh.

What a brilliant follow up to the first. What gorgeous writing.

The things this story made me feel. Ugh. More detailed review to come, but what a brilliant tale.