April 2020 Book Club: Storm Glass

Storm Glass by Jeff Wheeler

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Clean


Theirs is a world of opposites. The privileged live in sky manors held aloft by a secretive magic known only as the Mysteries. Below, the earthbound poor are forced into factory work to maintain the engine of commerce. Only the wealthy can afford to learn the Mysteries, and they use their knowledge to further lock their hold on society.

Cettie Pratt is a waif doomed to the world below, until an admiral attempts to adopt her. But in her new home in the clouds, not everyone treats her as one of the family.

Sera Fitzempress is a princess born into power. She yearns to meet the orphan girl she has heard so much about, but her father deems the girl unworthy of his daughter’s curiosity.

Neither girl feels that she belongs. Each seeks to break free of imposed rules. Now, as Cettie dreams of living above and as Sera is drawn to the world below, they will follow the paths of their own choosing.

But both girls will be needed for the coming storm that threatens to overturn both their worlds.

This was our book club read for April and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The chapters switch back and forth between two girls, Cettie and Sera, who live vastly different lives. Cettie is in an orphanage and is being mistreated and neglected by the woman who is supposed to be her caretaker. Sera is a princess who is very dissatisfied with her life, because she isn't given the freedom to interact with other children, or leave the palace grounds. In the beginning I liked Cettie a lot more than Sera. Sera came off as spoiled and unappreciative of the things she had, but she was also ignorant and sheltered about the rest of the world, and I could sympathize with her wanting the freedom to do more. She grew on me over time. It takes a good portion of the book before their stories intersect, but it is worth it.

While the plot of this book was ok, I think where it really shines is in the world building. The way the more well-to-do lived up in the sky and the lower classes lived on the ground, reminded me slightly of Wool by Hugh Howey, and the way the wealthy lived on the upper levels of the silo in that series. There is some mysterious power that keeps the cities in the sky afloat, and also affects a lot of other things, but we don't get much info on this. It seems most people are pretty ignorant of these so called 'mysteries' and I am eager to find out more. I'm sure more will be revealed in the next book. This book did feel mostly like a setup story, but I could say the same thing about Wheeler's other book that I've read as well, The Queen's Poisoner. I don't think it's a bad thing though. One thing I was not expecting is how Wheeler has tied his worlds together into the same universe. Sort of like Sanderson has done with his Cosmere. This series is set in the same universe as Legends of Muirwood, and the Kingfountain series. This makes me want to read all three of these series now. With only three books down out of two of them, I have a lot more reading to do!