What a comeback!! I was looking forward to the second book in the Nameless Republic series since I'd read the first book so I was excited to snag an arc, tho it took me a while to actually read this. One thing I felt that the book lacked was proper pacing. This was a slow burn story and not in a good way. However, I absolutely loved the heist as a plot and it was so much fun to read it. So many new characters in this one and they all added their own charm to the narrative. Overall, this was a very engaging read and now I need the conclusion ASAP!!

Thank you Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for the free eARC of "Warrior of the Wind" by Suyi Davies Okungbowa.
I wish I can say the same things about the second volume of "The Nameless Republic" as the praises I had for "Son of the Storm".
The author graciously included a recap of the first volume, but I deffibetely recommand a re-read if it has been a while since you experienced the "Son of the Storm".
This instalment slowed the pace to a crawl.
Everyone is traveling or intending to travel and I just could not get investend into it.
So I need to re-read the first volume, the return to this one with a ton of patience and a ready mind because I love this African-inspired setting.

I wasn't a fan of the first book in this series but this one is well done, epic and exciting.
A vivid and intriguing world building, a fast paced and action packed plot featuring well developed characters
it kept me hooked and turning pages
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

"Warrior of the Wind" is somehow and awesome and disappointing continuation of "Son of the Storm" by Suyi Davies Okungbowa.

I looked forward to reading the second installment in the Namesless republic. The first book had such an intriguing world building that challenged the real world concepts of colonialisation and discimination against marginalized people. And on a wider scope that continues in "Warrior of the Wind" but I somehow lost the connection to the characters.

But why is that? On the one hand we had Lilong and her character development is really confusing. There is still the urge to go back, there is still the urge to get her family treasure back to her father. But there is so much "I give you my stone, I won't give you my stone, I don't trust anyone" and she is like a candle in the wind as long as the plot needs her this or that way. I hadn't had the feeling that much consideration went into her motivation and that made me really sad.

On the other hand we have an even more problematic trope with Esheme. I already had a bad feeling at the end of book one when she got pregnant and had through her baby power of the red ibor stone. But in book 2 she got pregnant again and again to stay able to wield that power. As getting autonomy over your own body can be a strong motivation and feministic move I had one problem: again the story reinforces the point of "man gets power thrown at him, women has to "work" or to be in a specific state that she can get power" - and that is something I really dislike.
And in the end Esheme suddenly gets all "emotional" and thinks about keeping the possible last child? I was frustrated at the end of the book and that felt not great.

Danso is another point altogether. In the first book he was consequently selfish - and that is okay because even with a marginalization he has privileges he never reflected, but in the end he had a lot of stuff to think about. But in the second one he continued to be selfish even if he told himself and us as readers that he doesn't want to be selfish anymore. I was really happy that there were more perspectives in this installment.

I really wanted to love this book. But I realize again that I am more of a character driven reader than a plot driven reader. I think I will read the last book in the trilogy because I really want to know what Suyi Davies Okungbowa makes out of this great concepts. And so I hope that the second book simply has a second book syndrom for myself and I will love the third book again.

Thank you so much for the chance to read this book via Netgalley - even if I had to sit on my thought for a little while.

Warrior of the Wind is the second book in The Nameless Republic series by Suyi Davies Okungbowa, so if you haven't yet delved into this world, you really want to start with book one, Son of the Storm. While Son of the Storm is a story that stuck with me, I was a bit fuzzy on some of the names and details as it's been a while since I read it. Guess what? There is a handy summary of the story so far at the start of Warrior of the Wind, that filled in any blanks I may have had. I wish this was more common practice - it's the bookish equivalent of a quick season recap for your favourite series, and it's amazing how much detail it unlocks!

Back to The Nameless Republic and its second installment, Warrior of the Wind. Having escaped from the city state of Bassa, Danso and Lilong now live in the vagabond colony of Chabo. Lilong's dream of returning home with the Diwi seems impossible, until the Gaddo Company makes an offer she can't refuse: resources for the journey east in exchange for breaking into a prison.

I absolutely love a prison break or heist plot, so this development was exactly the bait to hook me. I loved being back with Danso, Lilong, and Esheme, and enjoyed the new perspectives that have been added. This is a masterfully plotted story with ancient magic, ruthless politics, and a multilayered society, set in a vibrant world.

Warrior of the Wind by Suyi Davies Okungbowa 4/5 stars

Let me start this review by telling everyone to pick up Son of the Storm NOW because it is one of my all time favorites and very underrated fantasy books!!
You know I am all about the vibes and the best way to describe book one is Strange the Dreamer meets Black Panter aka our main character Danso is Laszlo meets T'Challa.🙌

Warrior of the Wind is the sequal to Son of the Storm and I highly enjoyed being back in the West African inspired world full of culture and lore. We follow Danso and Lilong where they left off after book one and during their travels in this book we explore more of the world, magic system and characters.
The reason this book is not a 5 star for me is because we have less of Danso and Esheme's POV compared to the first book as the author is expanding into even more perspectives. It definitly broadens the story but I missed being in the heads of my favorite characters: my sweet baby, and my evil she-devil. The character development in this book is really good where we see Danso opening up to his travel family and Esheme going further of the rails for power.
Plot-wise there is less action in this book as it is more of a heist story where our main characters are trying to break their ally ouy of prison. However, Suyi really blows everything up at the ending that AGAIN leaves me wanting for more!

This book has it all: found family, oppression, heist, and the obsession with power.

I am so grateful for this e-ARC and really hope more booklovers will pick up this series! If you need any more convincing look up the character art on the authors IG page designed by Diana Dworak it is EPIC!!

The story starts immediately after the previous instalment ends. Esheme continues to struggle to assert her rule with Nem trying to actually manage the day-to-day running of the empire, while Danso and Lilong are in hiding but planning to back to the latter's home and begin addressing the issue that gave rise to the whole story in the first instance. We also encounter some old characters (mainly Oke), as well as new ones (mainly Kangala, the warlord/businessman), and learn more about the desertlands and the islands. We also see a bit more of the swamplands and understand some of their lives and frustrations. The story, though, is essentially that of emerging political discrod and the fraying of the empire that Esheme built up, caused, in many ways, by Esheme's immaturity and lack of governance skills.

The book follows the previous one's style closely, and is well paced and dynamic in its writing. The characters are again vivid and energetic, with a healthy balance of emotional angst sprinkled with altruism enveloped by self-preservation. The dialogues are punchy and credible.

I particularly liked some of the new characters that emerged, with Kangala and his children being the main novelty. They came across as exceptionally colourful, supplementing the previous set of protagonists with a shrewd and ruthless dominant figure.

The main thing I disliked was the immense difficulty in linking this book to the previous one. The synopsis of the previous book presented at the beginning of this one was either badly written or insufficient. I felt like the author left me alone in the middle of the desert, asking me to remember the way back home after being shown it only once. It took me a long time to get into the rhythm again, and the first 20-30% of the book were unnecessarily painful as a result.

I also liked the story itself less. While naturally there is less newness here vs the previous book, this book deals a lot more with political stability and power struggles. While this, in itself, is ok, it's not really new or interesting, and I can't say it was super well executed. I struggled also with the rather simple motivations of our main characters, and I felt they lacked the depth that some of the decisions they make requires (especially in the last scene of the book).

Overall, I highly recommend it to anyone interested in fantasy with a strong African theme. It's a well written book that reads well, and, while it won't necessarily be memorable, the little that remains are pleasant echoes of an overall enjoyable experience.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Warrior of the Wind by Suyi Davies Okungbowa was a wild ride and peak epic fantasy adventure. I consistently was on the edge of my seat, never knowing what the next page would bring. Because I was familiar with the characters and writing style, I enjoyed the sequel more than its predecessor.

I appreciate the inclusion of a recap of the first book, a list of characters, a map, and a glossary – I finished the first book a year and a half before starting this one, and these were excellent for refamiliarizing myself with the series.

First, off let me say I love the characters, I even love the ones I hate because they all have their own motivations that make it hard not to see their side of things when you are reading their point of view.

The storyline kept me hooked throughout and that ending had me mad (in a good way) I will definitely be picking up the sequel.

Thanks to Netgally, Orbit Books and the autgor for providing me with this ARC!!

3.5 stars. This was a really fun read and a good start to what could be a really compelling world. Very intrigued to see where the story goes next.