Though Lunurin did not dare speak or even think the goddess’s name for risk of drawing her eye, she knew the statue over the altar was no Codicían saint.
From Saints of Storm and Sorrow
SYNOPSIS
María Lunurin has been living a double life for as long as she can remember. To the world, she is Sister María, dutiful nun and devoted servant of Aynila’s Codicían colonizers. But behind closed doors, she is a stormcaller, chosen daughter of the Aynilan goddess Anitun Tabu. In hiding not only from the Codicíans and their witch hunts, but also from the vengeful eye of her slighted goddess, Lunurin does what she can to protect her fellow Aynilans and the small family she has created in the convent: her lover Catalina, and Cat’s younger sister Inez.
Lunurin is determined to keep her head down—until one day she makes a devastating discovery, which threatens to tear her family apart. In desperation, she turns for help to Alon Dakila, heir to Aynila’s most powerful family, who has been ardently in love with her for years. But this choice sets in motion a chain of events beyond her control, awakening Anitun Tabu’s rage and putting everyone Lunurin loves in terrible danger. Torn between the call of Alon’s magic and Catalina’s jealousy, her duty to her family and to her people, Lunurin can no longer keep Anitun Tabu’s fury at bay.
REVIEW
So, one problem I had with reviewing Saints of Storm and Sorrow was that I would open the book to refresh my memory, get lost in reading, and forget to review! I believe this is already a pretty clear indicator of my feelings. I am truly and utterly obsessed, which means I can choose one of two options: pester everyone around me who even just tangentially likes fantasy to read this one, or finally write the review: naturally, I chose both.
The story begins with Lunurin as a teenager being sent away from her family after a tragedy that is not espounded until later in the story. We immediately get hit with sky-high stakes and the crushing weight of a power that causes far more trauma than trumph for little Lunurin. Unfortunately, not only does Lunurin have a special connection with the goddess of storms Anitun Tabu. She is also mestiza, the unclaimed daughter of one of the Codicían colonisers who are oppressing her people, and a powerful man of the cloth at that. Lunurin’s world is not friendly, not to her powers, not to her heritage, and she has to find relative safety where she can, but her core is strong and fiery. We can’t help but feel awe and compassion for this heartbroken girl who, aboard a ship in the middle of a storm, refuses to do the bidding of her demanding divine patron.
Years later, Lunurin has perfected the art of fitting herself and her powers inside the tight habit of a novice nun in the convent of the Codicían colonisers. She is in love with fellow novice Catalina, who, as much as Lunurin’s POV puts her on a pedestal, seems to act mostly as the heroine’s foil and the voice of her sense of unworthiness. Lunurin also takes great risks to save people who get on the wrong side of the Codicíans, relying on the help of steadfast friend, tide-touched healer, and strong ally Alon, bearer of The Most Powerful Crush in Aynila and beyond.
So, us readers get hit right off the bat with foundational trauma, the ugliness of colonisation, star-crossed love(s), and the emotions of a girl who sees all fault and no goodness in everything she does. Then, the precarious balance deteriorates because of course, and EVERYTHING happens to Lunurin at the same time. This book is a rollercoaster, and the reader can’t relax for a moment. The action is relentless, and we love every minute of this suffering.
The fact that the story is told through the two interwoven POVs of Lunurin and Alon provides us with amazing insight into their feelings. We soon realise that they are both not-entirely-unreliable-but-definitely-biased narrators in different ways, and their biases balance each other in a rather endearing way. Their interactions made for some of my favourite scenes in the book, some of which keep making me cry no matter how many times I read them.
This book is a testament to the power of balance in historical-inspired fantasy, and really, all writing that entails worldbuilding and lore. Gabriella Buba regales us with an incredibly vivid scenario, directly inspired from history and painfully realistic, all the while being steeped in magic and legendary creatures. The way she weaves the magical systems and stories-within-the-story in her character’s actions, thoughts, and memories make it so that it never feels like exposition and never slows down the plot. We want to learn more and more about the three goddedsses, the sea snakes chasing the moon, the incredible connections between different kinds of powers.
As someone passionate about history, I relished the appendix explaining the inspirations for the book. I love that it was first written as homage to the statue of a forgotten goddess, and that so much of it references and celebrates indigenous communities and their fights against colonisers. Lest we forget that people never truly resign to oppression.
As someone who has felt the burning anger towards injustice multiple times, though usually from a safe position, I love that Saints of Storm and Sorrow is dedicated to and celebrates angry women. Like Lunurin, may we all learn to harness our rage as a beacon to point towards unbearable injustice and a weapon to lift ourselves and others up, as opposed to pushing it down inside ourselves, where it breeds self-hate and eats us up.
CONCLUSION
Saints of Storm and Sorrow is a beautiful coming of rage tale of a woman and people growing into their power to fight for decolonisation. The way it incorporates myth, tradition, and history makes the reader want to look for more. More from this author, and more knowledge on the history and tradition of the Philippines overall. The writing is vivid and flows like water, soft and smooth, then rising in waves. You just let it carry you, hoping to never reach the shore. I love this book obnoxiously, but then again, I never claimed to possess any chill.
BONUS QUOTES
To all the girls swallowing down their fury like broken glass.
This dedication from Gabriella Buba won me over even before the first page.
Only suffering came from listening to angry gods. They were old elemental beings of storm, sea, and land, with no grasp of the human consequences that came of wielding their powers.
Setting the scene? More like Let me sit down, I need to know what this means.
“I can’t cut my hair. I’m sorry. But it gets so tangled when I wash it alone.”
Yes, tangled. It certainly didn’t trigger storms and flash flooding.
Lunurin taking hair troubles to a whole new level.
Ten years I’ve humbled myself. I have cut myself down and swallowed every offending sliver. The time for that is past.
The way I was cheering when I reached this spot.
His words were soft, bloody things.
So simple and short, yet so evocative.
A serious obstacle when sharing quotes from this book is not the lack of good bits. In fact, it’s probably one of the most highlighted books in my kindle right now. The problem is avoiding spoilers. I would share far more, but I would hate to ruin the experience (and what an experience!) that is reading Saints of Storm and Sorrow for the first time. Not that there isn’t value in rereading it. I’ve been doing plenty of that. However, the constant suspence and breath-holding of that first read is incredible.
Magnolia Fay Writes 
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