Storm Rising (The Book of the Wars: Book 1) by Ronie Kendig
Lilian's Rating: 4 out of 5 bookmarks

Ronie Kendig really kicks off this series off with an absolutely brilliant start! Storm Rising is one of the most intricate suspense novels I've ever read (note: ever read, and you could definitely say I've read a lot of books haha), and I'm sure looking forward to reading more in this series as well as more of her writing!

When I first heard about this book, I wasn't sure if it would interest me that much because I had never read anything like that before and the whole Book of the Wars and storms thing sort of turned me off to it at first, though I'm not sure why. But I'm glad I took the opportunity to check it out because I really loved it (and the cover is stunning)!

Let's start off with the characters. I'm not sure I've ever read about a character as unique as Iskra. Right from the start, she amazed me with her intelligence and lethal ability as an assassin, but what intrigued me as well was how Ms. Kendig expounded on Iskra's little quirks which pulled me in and showed me her other lovable characteristics. And Leif! I personally love the name Leif, so I started off loving him. As the plot became more intricate, Leif's character was also deepened and slowly I began to relate more to him. I want to talk about Hristoff, Iskra's boss, too though—his behavior absolutely sickened me! See the spoiler note below if you wish to know more detail.

Ronie Kendig

In either the first or second chapter Ms. Kendig started to introduce so many characters (mainly members of Leif or Iskra's teams) and I didn't think I would be able to really enjoy the book because I thought I would have a hard time remembering all of them, but surprisingly it wasn't at all too difficult! It was definitely one of the more difficult things to do as part of the reading but I was very impressed with how Ms. Kendig made it easy for me as the reader to remember who everyone was!

The writing style flowed very well and I found it very enjoyable to read! Ms. Kendig definitely has a talent for writing, and I'm eager to catch a glimpse of more of her series. I do think that a little more faith aspect could have been introduced because I personally got the impression from Storm Rising that God isn't very personal and that He isn't very involved in our lives, which definitely isn't true.

Overall, Storm Rising marks my first book from Ronie Kendig and I couldn't be more excited to devour more of her books! I was very impressed with the intricacy in the suspense aspect of it and I would strongly recommend it to readers over 16. I definitely wouldn't be comfortable recommending it to even mature teens under 16 due to the behavior of one character mentioned above.


Note: Book 2 of the series, Kings Falling, is slated for a March 2020 release.

Spoiler note: To view, highlight the following section with your cursor. [Iskra is often mentioned as having been raped multiple times in the past by Hristoff, and having a daughter because of this. Iskra and her daughter are held captive by Hristoff and essentially slaves of him, and Iskra goes on a mission to trade the prize for her freedom. While she's on her mission, Iskra's daughter is abused by Hristoff, which is mentioned in very slight detail.]




Lilian S. has been a hardcore bookworm since the tender age of 7 and a book reviewer for a couple of years. She is currently a student and in her spare time enjoys singing, graphic designing, and interacting with other Christ-minded readers. A couple of her favorite genres in both books and movies are: Christian contemporary, fantasy, and dystopian. She occasionally enjoys science and historical fiction and likes a good suspense novel as well. Lilian is also an athlete (Ultimate Frisbee, anyone?), a blogger at Green Tea With Books, and founder at reviewer site Stellae Books.


Disclosure: The publisher provided us with a free copy of this book for promotional purposes. A favorable review was not required. This post contains affiliate links.