Tehlor Kay Mejia's conclusion to the We Set the Dark on Fire duology is as thrilling and elegantly written as the first book.
As second wife to the future president of Medio, Carmen Santos covertly worked for the rebel group, La Voz, to take down the corrupt government. She also secretly fell in love with Dani, the soon-to-be president's first wife. When her cover was blown, Carmen had to leave Dani behind amid violent political upheaval. Carmen is torn as she considers the life she had with Dani, but she is "a soldier first and foremost... obedient. Soldiers didn't let their commitment slip. Not even for a moment." She is disturbed, though, by the direction La Voz is taking. Its leader, El Buitre, is spellbound by a fiery new revolutionary of whom Carmen is suspicious. Worried about Dani, Carmen sneaks off to return to Medio's capital, where she discovers her ex-husband, Mateo, is now in power--with Dani by his side. This new development is more than she can bear, and with the flames of revolution licking at her heels, Carmen must figure out a way to win back her love while staying true to La Voz and its people.
In We Unleash the Merciless Storm, Tehlor Kay Mejia expands the world of Medio established in the first book and exposes more of Carmen's layers and her complicated past. Carmen's struggle to save Dani is fast-paced, the plot full of arresting events that mirror current political and racial divides, and readers will surely root for the couple as Carmen fights for a happy ending. Mejia writes an utterly captivating and thoroughly satisfying ending for the two young women, while leaving the world of Medio open for a potential return. --Clarissa Hadge, bookstore manager, Trident Booksellers & Cafe, Boston, Mass.