We Unleash the Merciless Storm is the much anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed, We Set the Dark on Fire.
We Set the Dark on Fire introduced readers to the troubled, dystopian world of Medio where poverty is rife and political uprisings are frequent. If you are one of the lucky few living out of the grips of poverty, societies hierarchy creates a clear misogynistic distinction between men and women. The overwhelming female oppression at the hands of power hungry men begins from the first page as we are introduced to Dani and Carmen, graduates of the Medio School for Girls.
In Medio, girls compete at school and are trained to be the perfect wives. There are two streams, the Primera’s who run the house and their husband’s business affairs and the Segunda’s who share their beds and give them children. Dani is the star Primera of her year and as such is married to the most powerful young man in Medio. It is at her graduation where she is recruited by the resistance group La Voz to attempt to free her world of the immense inequality.
We Unleash the Merciless Storm picks up from the cliffhanger Tehlor Kay Mejia left readers with and throws the reader into the world of the resistance as we follow La Voz spy, Carmen. With her cover blown, she is forced to return to the only family she has ever known leaving the woman she loves behind.
La Voz fights for the freedom and independence of the oppressed class on the other side of Medio’s border wall and its members sacrifice all to defend their cause. They adopted Carmen when she was a child after the death of her parents and she became one of their best soldiers with a respected position within the organisation, despite her age.
The cost of membership to La Voz is total and complete devotion. The cause is your life and no other person or organisation can be held in higher esteem. When Carmen returns after years in Medio she finds things are not as they once were and her beloved leader is being influenced by a new recruit who is set on putting her people, including Dani, in danger. Carmen must make a decision: stay and regain her position within her La Voz family or return to Medio to save the woman she loves.
“I’m sorry, Carmen thought again. To the last piece of her old life. To the girl she had lived it with. A girl who deserved better than violence and deception and betrayal.”
We Unleash the Merciless Storm takes the reader beyond Medio’s walls into the unknown world of the resistance. The familiarity gained throughout the first novel is lost from the very first page not just because the physical location of the story has changed, but also the narrator. Carmen replaces Dani as the storyteller this time round and Mejia uses stories of her past to impart knowledge and history about La Voz and of Carmen herself to the reader. Previously, she is seen as vapid and vain with a secret that burns under her surface, but here the reader learns just how strong, brave, and powerful she really is.
As one of the most promising resistance fighters, at the age of twelve, she was sent to infiltrate a society that has been groomed to hate her. She did so alone, leaving her pseudo father, brother, and sister behind. Carmen not only fooled the people of the capital but she excelled in her mission and became the most highly sought after Segunda of her year, all while serving as a spy. Her passion and unfaltering belief in the cause gave her the strength she needed to survive in a place surrounded by people who would rather she didn’t exist and she always expected her homecoming to be one of victory and triumph. She never expected to return broken and on the run.
“We built? Were you there, Alex? Surrounded by people who would kill you or worse if they knew who you were? Being groomed like a farm animal to be sold to the highest bidder?”
Inequality is rampant in Medio. It is witnessed between men and women, rich and poor, and by the location of your birth. A theme that we have seen in our own society in recent times. Mejia has given readers two deeply passionate heroines that have faced this inequality head on and won. These powerful latinx women inspire and encourage a change in their world and our own.
Throughout the book, Carmen’s character is constantly changing and evolving. No matter where she is, she lives a double life. While in Medio, she is a politico’s wife and a resistance spy and when her world shifts and she returns home, she realises that she is still being forced to pretend. Carmen’s realisation that both she and the organisations loyalties have changed is the turning point in the novel. It sets Carmen on a course back to the capital in an attempt to not only save Dani but also the cause she’s fought for her entire life.
“An outlaw in the capital, a fugitive from the most powerful force on the outer island, Carmen couldn’t risk crossing the wall at any of their normal checkpoints. Not alone. Not unprotected. Not with both sides of the island likely screaming for her head.”
Not to be outdone in this narrative, Dani presents a unified force alongside Carmen and we see her grow into the woman she was always destined to be. No longer striving to be the perfect Primera just to make her parents sacrifice worthwhile, she is on a mission to improve the world to carve a space for all in Medio. Dani is, at times, resistance personified.
“Because it’s where I belong, Because it’s where I choose to be. Because I believe.”
Each chapter begins with an excerpt of the La Voz Membership Pledge. This contributes a few important things to the story. On the surface, it provides insight into the life of a resistance member. While the majority of the members seem to be soldiers for the cause, there is a percentage of members who support in other ways. It is interesting that each membership pledge has a meaning for both types of members, showing there is a place for everyone willing to fight for the cause. On the other hand, it also demonstrates the rigidity of the regime and how it discourages independent thought.
“Whatever my specialisation, I will be a weapon-wielding soldier of La Voz, prepared to risk life and limb in service of the resistance.”
With hindsight, you see that these excerpts from the membership pledge also hint at the events within each chapter. This is a fun realisation that really added to the reading experience.
“I pledge my honesty to my brothers and sisters in the cause; no lie or mistruth will I utter in their presence.”
We Unleash the Merciless Storm is an incredible sequel to a fantastic debut. It is a direct continuation of We Set the Dark on Fire, so if you are yet to pick this series up yet, I highly recommend it. Set in a dystopian world that both horrifies and fascinates readers it shares issues with our own society today including inequality, immigration and misogyny with a sprinkle of toxic masculinity. The strong female characters are complex, each with their own secrets, and the bond between these two women grows throughout until the conclusion of We Unleash the Merciless Storm where they become an unstoppable force. The romance that blooms between them is a beautiful representation of f/f romance and offers a shining ray of hope in the bleak setting that is Medio.
While there is currently no released news regarding any further books in this series, I have a strong hope for at least one more book because although the book ends with a sense of finality there are a few loose ends that I would love to see wrapped up completely.
We Unleash the Merciless Storm is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of February 25th 2020.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
In this nail-biting sequel to Tehlor Kay Mejia’s critically acclaimed fantasy novel We Set the Dark on Fire, La Voz operative Carmen is forced to choose between the girl she loves and the success of the rebellion she’s devoted her life to.
Being a part of the resistance group La Voz is an act of devotion and desperation. On the other side of Medio’s border wall, the oppressed class fights for freedom and liberty, sacrificing what little they have to become defenders of the cause.
Carmen Santos is one of La Voz’s best soldiers, taken in when she was an orphaned child and trained to be a cunning spy. She spent years undercover at the Medio School for Girls, but now, with her identity exposed and the island on the brink of civil war, Carmen returns to the only real home she’s ever known: La Voz’s headquarters.
There she must reckon with her beloved leader, who is under the influence of an aggressive new recruit, and with the devastating news that her true love might be the target of an assassination plot. Will Carmen break with her community and save the girl who stole her heart—or fully embrace the ruthless rebel she was always meant to be?
