A Storm of Silver and Ash by Marion Blackwood
Summary:
What would you sacrifice to save your friend? Your soul? Your humanity? Your life?
The Oncoming Storm is a name whispered in awe throughout the Underworld. She’s known as a master thief and a lethal knife-wielder – some even say she has the skills of an assassin. All of it is true. She’s also a sarcastic smartmouth with the social graces of a bull.
You will find her running across rooftops, sneaking in the shadows, and breaking into houses. That is, if she’s not busy getting ambushed and blackmailed into a seemingly impossible mission. Grudgingly caught in a dangerous power struggle, the Oncoming Storm must leave behind the world she knows and maneuver through scheming assassins, calculating elves, and desperate royals.
Before her adventure is over, she will have loved, saved, killed, and double-crossed those around her. The only question is, who? The clock is ticking, and before time runs out, the Oncoming Storm must decide who to trust and who to betray…
When the fate of a kingdom falls on the shoulders of a sassy thief, who will she choose to save? The Oncoming Storm, or Storm, is one of the best thieves in her guild until she’s blindsided not once, but twice by someone she doesn’t suspect. Her adversary is cunning and far more connected then Storm realizes, and before long she’s blackmailed into a dangerous mission.
Holyyyyyy cowwwww! I fell in love with this book immediately! Anyone who’s read Throne of Glass or Six of Crows will connect with Storm and the plot of this book right away. Celaena is one of my all-time favorite book characters, and I think she and Storm would become best friends in a heartbeat. From the sassy female MC, to the plotting and intrigue, to the heart pounding action scenes, I was totally hooked.
Right off the bat we’re introduced to Storm, a young woman with many skills - and mysteries. I think what I loved most about Storm is how much we watch her grow throughout the novel. She starts out as a sharp-tongued thief who wants nothing more than to do her job and spend time with her best friend, Liam. But when her plans get upended, we learn that there’s a deep ferocity to Storm and that there’s nothing she won’t do to protect those she loves.
Written in first person, it’s so easy to get inside Storm’s head and experience the world as she does. You support her allegiance to Liam, distrust for the assassin’a guild, and hatred toward the king. And you even get to experience her run in with journeyberries! Again, I always love sassy, strong, and dedicated characters, and Storm fit those criteria perfectly.
The world Blackwood weaves is a familiar one - the poor being forced to do what they can to survive while the rich are viewed as the bad guys. But... not everything is as it seems there are several blackmailing and side-swapping moments in A Storm of Silver and Ash which were so exciting because I didn’t see them coming. And at times when I was expecting one outcome, the story surprised me with a new twist. I didn’t get the full connection to the title until the very end, and although I should’ve seen it coming a bit sooner, all the pieces come together perfectly.
Marion Blackwood has written a debut fantasy that is both familiar and unexpected, and the characters will stay with readers long after the story ends.
To learn more about Marion Blackwood and A Storm of Silver and Ash, check out her website here.