Book: We Unleash The Merciful Storm by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Published February 2020 by Katherine Tegen Books|320 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: We Set The Dark On Fire #2

Genre: YA Fantasy

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.

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, taken in when she was an orphaned child and trained to be a cunning spy. She spent years undercover at the Medio School for Girls, but now, with her identity exposed and the island on the brink of 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? 

I liked We Unleash The Merciful Storm but not as much as I wanted to.  I had a really hard time getting into it, and I definitely didn’t like it as much as the first book.

I initially started reading it, but had to put it down until I could re-read the first book.  I had no recollection of who was who and what had happened, and there was no way I was going to get through this book without a re-read.  Once that I done, I jumped back into this book, but I just didn’t find this book as engaging as the first one.

This book focuses more on Carmen, and her time with La Voz.  And away from it too.  We don’t know what’s going on with Dani for most of this book.  Which is fine, but I just didn’t really care.  It’s more about the resistance to the government, and I wasn’t expecting resistance to be so…boring and uninspiring.  I really hate saying that, because their reasons for protesting are completely valid.  But…I felt like it took a backseat to Carmen trying to prove that her faith and trust in Dani as a La Voz operative was a good thing.

They’re definitely resisting, and I appreciate that, especially with all of the protests going on right now.

I did like the quotes at the beginning of each chapter!  They’re all from La Voz, and it was really nice to see what they believed in.  It’s like the quotes from the Primera handbook we see in the first book.

I just wish we saw more of what was going on with Dani.  Carmen’s story is definitely important, and I’m glad we got to see her story, but I feel like a dual-POV would have worked really well here.  We could have see what was going on both Carmen and Dani, and I feel like some chapters from Dani’s POV would have given some insight into some of the things mentioned in this book.

The ending felt a little off to me too- it both rushed and unfinished, like there’s going to be more.  If there is going to be another book, I’d be curious to see where it goes.  Things are wrapped up enough, but I’d like to see how things work out for Dani and Carmen.

I wish we had more resolution with Dani’s family.  It comes up in the first book, but was completely forgotten in this one.  I just wish that had gone somewhere.  It felt like such a big deal, and then nothing came of it.  Something would have been nice but I guess we’ll never know.

Still, it was nice to see how everything worked out.  And it was nice to know how things worked out for Dani and Carmen.

3 stars.  I liked We Unleash The Merciful Storm but not as much as the first book.