Storm from the East, the second book in Joanna Hathaway’s Glass Alliance series, is a book of two parts: the slow, agonising build of war and then the break-neck twists and turns of betrayal, surrender, and loss in the war’s aftermath. Hathaway crafts a deeply intricate look into the realities of war and deftly balances hope and love within her story.
Athan and Aurelia have always been on opposite sides of the war, but never more so than now. Athan is proving himself an ace fighter pilot as he and the Safire army wage an unsanctioned war towards the capital of Resya. Aurelia has left her palace life in the North and finds herself in Resya, where she learns there is much more to the war going on and uncovers long buried family secrets. Determined not to succumb to helplessness, Aurelia teams up with a local journalist and beings reporting on the horrors of war in an attempt to bring a long desired peace.
Much like the first book in this series, Storm from the East spends a great deal of time in the first 300 or so pages, building up the world and the war. While there are a few heart pounding plane battles and shocking revelations, the first half of this book is fairly dense. It is a testament to Hathaway’s research and knowledge of the World Wars, but some readers may feel bogged down. The complexities to this world are interesting, but they do not make for a fast-paced read.
Through the eyes of Athan and Aurelia we see the war unfold on two different fronts, that of the soldiers and the civilians. Athan is in the thick of it, engaging in battles and watching his comrades and enemies die. His descent into the horrors of war is a terrifying thing to behold. We watch as he slips from being a young man in love and trying to do the right thing, to a battle hardened man fighting for his life while questioning his place in an unsanctioned war. Aurelia tries to shed her youthful and luxury filled life from the North and fight for the peace she wishes so desperately for. But the further she digs, the more complex and murky her world, and the war, becomes. Watching Athan and Aurelia grow into these people separately, and then togethe,r is heart wrenching.
While Athan and Aurelia are the focal point of the novel, the side characters provide a richness that brings out the depth of the story. The Dakar brothers are an exploration into military families and the good and bad that entails. We are introduced to many Resyans in both noble and commoner roles, who give a face to the land that is being stormed by the Safire. On the opposite side, Athan shows us the soldier side of war through the fellow pilots and infantry he meets. Bringing so many characters into a story could muddy the waters in a normal novel, but Hathaway balances them all perfectly and reminds you that at any time, as in war, they could be tragically ended.
The story truly picks up at around the 300 page mark, and from the moment our two young lovers are reunited, we don’t get much space to breath. From the electric moments shared between Aurelia and Athan during the short escape from their harsh realities, to the heart wrenching betrayals, the reader is subjected to non-stop action and drama. Right up until the last lines of the novel, Hathaway continues to draw more secrets and tragedy from the story.
Though slow to start, Storm from the East proves itself a soul stirring story of the horrors of war and two young lovers torn apart by their conflicting worlds. Fans of historical fictions and in depth world building will find a new favourite in the Glass Alliance series.
Storm from the East is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Battles, revolution, and romance collide in Joanna Hathaway’s stunning, World Wars-inspired sequel to Dark of the West
Part war drama, part romance, Storm from the East is the second novel in Joanna Hathaway’s immersive, upmarket YA fantasy series that will appeal to readers of Sabaa Tahir, Marie Rutkoski, and Evelyn Skye.
War has begun, and the days of Athan’s and Aurelia’s secret, summer romance feel a world away. Led by Athan’s father, the revolutionary Safire have launched a secret assault upon the last royal kingdom in the South, hoping to depose the king and seize a powerful foothold on the continent. Athan proves a star pilot among their ranks, struggling to justify the violence his family has unleashed as he fights his way to the capital—where, unbeknownst to him, Aurelia has lived since the war’s onset. Determined to save the kingdom Athan has been ordered to destroy, she partners with a local journalist to inflame anti-Safire sentiment, all while learning this conflict might be far darker and more complex than she ever imagined.
When the two reunite at last, Athan longing to shake the nightmare of combat and Aurelia reeling from the discovery of a long-buried family truth come to light, they’ll find the shadow of war stretches well beyond the battlefield. Each of them longs to rekindle the love they once shared . . . but each has a secret they’re desperate to hide.
