I picked this up for Australian square on r/fantasy book bingo cause I saw how well it did in the SPFBO, then put it down when I saw it labelled as Grimdark somewhere and then picked it up again when I saw one of the main characters was a whoressasin and I loved the shit out of it! Didn’t want it to end.

For those who avoid grimdark: Like I said, I normally stay away from the genre, but I really enjoyed this book. It’s got a lot of death and violence and beheadings, sooo many heads get cut off, but usually post-mortem, and one rape. I think what made it not bother me that much was how far removed it is from my reality and that I really loved the characters, they were interesting and  there was enough light grey in there to make it work. 

For those who like grimdark: I guess you’re fine 

Structure & main characters 

There are 3 point-of-view characters, Rah the young leader of a group of nomad warriors, Cassandra a whore and an assassin who hears a voice in her head, and Miko the ambitious young princess. Each chapter is a follows one of them, which is interesting as we get too see both sides of a conflict.

I really liked the story from the beginning. It starts distant, with the wandering warriors (Rah), moves to a personal perspective (Cassandra) with hints of a plot and foul play, then shifts to the imperial/political plane (Miko). I like how hints, mentions of names, become useful soon enough for me to still remember them, how pieces fall together to form a big picture, the worldbuilding trickles in. 

If I had to pick a favorite it would be Cassandra, but all three main characters were great and towards the end I loved Miko more than Cass.  Rah is young and still naive in many ways, always tries to do what’s right according to his people’s traditions but he sees things pretty black and white and can’t deal with the idea of compromising those traditions. He’s the most altruistic of the lot, usually doing what he thinks is best for his people, but fails to take into account what they want and think. 

Miko is fierce, she made me go “hell yeah!” the most. She also starts young and naive but deals better with disillusionment. She’s constantly dismissed and finding out there was a lot she didn’t know, but she thinks fast. She’s got a good mix of wanting power for herself and thinking of the interest of her people, though she leans more towards the power, when you compare her to some of the other politicians involved she’s a saint. 

Cassandra is great. She’s the veteran, been at this for a while, knows her shit. But still she gets dragged into a plot way over her head. I think they voice in her head really helps, because of the way She criticizes her, it makes her seem less jaded, I normally hate the jaded seen it all done it all know it all assassin type, and she’s not like that. Cassandra wants to always only look out for herself but ends up softening slightly here and there, but ultimately a whoressasin’s gotta do what a whoressassin’s gotta do. 

We Ride The Storm is part of a series, but it sort of both ends on a cliffhanger and is a complete story in itself. One stage ends another will begin for each of our main characters, I want to read the next one but I felt this one did have a conclusion. 

The setting & world 

The setting is East Asian inspired, set in a secondary world. Three cultures clash, the nomads, horse riding warriors who normally roam the glasslands but get caught up in the conflict between two great nations. The Chilteans, who are monotheistic and have roman names and an army organized in legions (a bit weird tbh but ok). The Kisian Empire, where most of the story takes place, either in their impressive and highly decorative castles or around their besieged cities. 

There’s not a lot of magic or fantastical elements, it’s pretty much all humans here, with a few individuals that show mysterious and powerful magic, that will probably be further explained in the series. 

I really liked the writing, I highlighted so many passages that I thought were either smart or funny or wise. Especially in Miko’s perspective I liked the recurring theme of the world changing in an instant. 

Bingo square: Australian author (hard), twins (hard), self published (though it has been picked up by a publisher, just not published yet), four word title,  if looking to replace a square it fits non-western setting from 2018, 

I was thinking when I read certain parts reminded me a bit of two other books I’ve recently reviewed, if you like the idea of a female assassin getting caught up in complicated plots try Fortune’s Fool by Angela Boord, or if you want an eastern inspired setting that’s light and mysterious on the magic try The Fire Eye Refugee by Samuel Gately. 

As a final thought, I leave you with some of my very eloquent notes: 

• Hmm this is not gonna have a lot of magic – well oh shit that’s powerful stuff
• So it begins 34% pam pam pam 
• Whoresassin is bae
• Really likes her beheadings
• Realistic army size
• An actual good reason for titty clothing!gasp! 
• Miko might be bae. 
• Aaaaaaahhh Miko is bae!