A powerful and emotionally satisfying finale—Stormborn brings the Seaborn Cycle to a bold and resonant close. ⚔️🌊⛵

Stormborn is a thrilling conclusion to Michael Livingston’s Seaborn Cycle, blending rich world-building, sweeping stakes, and nuanced character development. Picking up immediately after the events of Iceborn, we follow three distinct storylines—Bela, Alira, and Shae—each navigating the aftermath of war and the threat of new magicks that could upend their world.

The world remains as immersive as ever, and I especially appreciated the addition of a new POV from the Stoneguard, which added weight and texture to the growing tensions. The structure of shifting perspectives is handled deftly, with each narrative thread offering something compelling.

Among the three protagonists, Bela remained a standout for me—her quiet strength and sense of duty made her journey deeply compelling. Alira and Shae’s arcs were also meaningful, though didn’t resonate quite as strongly on a personal level. That said, all three characters are well-developed, complex, and ultimately satisfying to follow.

One of the elements I found particularly thought-provoking was how each of the women, raised in a matriarchal society that dismissed men’s value, undergoes a transformation in how they view gender and power. Through alliances, relationships, and shared trials, they begin to re-evaluate long-held beliefs. This thematic thread added real emotional depth to an already high-stakes narrative.

The pacing in the final act is brisk, and while a few threads wrap up quickly, the ending was heartfelt and well-earned. Livingston delivers not just on action and magic, but also on character growth and thematic payoff.

Michael Livingston is now a must-buy author for me. His writing is sharp, immersive, and emotionally intelligent—consistently delivering fantasy that balances epic scope with personal stakes.

Stormborn is a strong recommendation for readers who love epic fantasy with heart, complex female leads, and world-building that never stops evolving. A rewarding end to an ambitious and satisfying trilogy.

~ Helm to the end. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow the story was amazing.
I loved the writings style and plot.
I am still in this book, I think.
One of my favorites.

Stormborn was a thrilling conclusion to a fascinating fantasy trilogy.

The book begins with the three groups of protagonists pretty much as they were at the end of Iceborn. All three groups of characters, Bela, the reader and Kolum, Alira with the survivors of the Bloodborn attack and Shae and Kayden up in the lands of the Airborn are taking stock and deciding what their next actions should be. All three groups are facing a common threat but not everyone sees that this is the case.

The book is written as before with different POV chapters but in this book we have the added insight of the captain of the Stoneguard too. I do love this method of keeping each strand of the story fresh in your mind even though every time a chapter ends and we switch to another POV, I groan inwardly as I really don’t want to stop reading about the current characters.

All three of the story strands are brilliantly written and the world building continues to be excellent. I loved each of the storylines and one or two of the plot twists took me completely by surprise. The pace is never slow but as the events converge towards the climax, it speeds up and the last few chapters are as thrilling and action packed as anyone could wish.

I love all three of the main female characters but for me, Bela is still the real heart of this book and the whole trilogy. It was her dramatic actions to save the ships at the beginning of the first book that set the scene for everything that followed and her POV chapters still have an immediacy that the others don’t quite have. She has lost everything but is still determined to do what she can to save her people even if it means that she can never go home. The scenes towards the beginning of Stormborn when she looks back on all that has happened have a real poignancy.

I loved Alira and Shae too but their storylines didn’t quite grab me in the same way. Alira’s part of the story with the Stormborn in particular was a bit slow paced at times. I don’t mind slow pace in books but I felt that she was the least interesting out of the three. One thing that I did love about all three main characters was the way that their attitudes towards men changed over the course of the trilogy. As inhabitants of a matriarchal society, they were all very dismissive of men and their value to society and it was interesting to watch how each of their attitudes changed as they came into contact with men and worked together with them.

I think that the author’s historical background comes through in the sweep and scale of the action as well as in the conclusion. Without giving too much away, this felt very much like a real life rather than a traditional fantasy ending. There are still going to be difficulties ahead and not everyone is going to live happily after.
I really enjoyed this conclusion to the Seaborn Cycle and am hugely grateful to the publishers, Head of Zeus, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Stormborn by Michael Livingston is the perfect example that an amazing author will always write a masterpiece! Such a good story. Such good characters. So so well written.