To Ride a Rising Storm is one of my most anticipated sequels of 2026. I loved To Shape a Dragon’s Breath so much! And so I needed to know what happened in the sequel! And I was shocked! Keep reading this book review of To Ride a Rising Storm for my full thoughts.
Summary
Anequs has not only survived her first year at Kuiper’s Academy but exceeded all of her professors’ admittedly low expectations—and passed all her courses with honors. Now, she and her dragon, Kasaqua, are headed home for the summer, along with Theod, the only other Native student at the Academy.
But what should have been a relaxing break takes a darker turn. Thanks to Anequs’s notoriety, there is an Anglish presence on Masquapaug for the first time ever: a presence which Anequs hates. Anequs will always fight for what she believes in, however, and what she believes in is her people’s right to self-govern and live as they have for generations, without the restrictive yoke of Anglish rules and social customs. And fight she will—even if it means lighting a spark which may flare into civil war.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I’ve been waiting for this sequel for so long! To Ride a Rising Storm picks up where To Shape a Dragon’s Breath picks up. It continues to explore the racism, the suppression of culture and enforcement of power, and how their lives, their rights never seem to matter. It’s a story of propriety, of a very specific set of people determining what’s right. To Ride a Rising Storm takes place in the academy as we learn what basically feels like magical chemistry and we see the ways the rumblings of civil war permeate into the classroom. It’s one thing to talk about philosophy and equality, but only theroretically. There’s this slow build as the politics sway the classroom in big and subtle ways.
You’re right that it’s nonsense, but it’s nonsense that has real power over people’s lives.
We see the ways that they not only treat Anequs, but also the dragons – anyone they deem as ‘different’ and ‘incomprehensible’. In To Ride a Rising Storm we ask ourselves if the world will bend for us or if we can make the world bend. Various characters explore their own places in society and how while Anequs might be fine to stand on society, some of her friends do not have the same privileges. When we force change, there can be growing pains that not only those who need growing will experience. The plot and the intrigue pull the story of To Ride a Rising Storm forward. In some ways, this feels a bit more thought exploration in the ways it discusses academia and the principles of people who keep taking more and more until they can never get enough.
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There’s a sense of meandering at certain parts of the story, but it has an ending that has me looking forward to the next! I love this mix of fantasy and peeks of our world. If you liked the first and are excited by more academia and also figuring out our place as students in the future then this is for you! Find To Ride a Rising Storm on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.