The Saints of Storm and Sorrow

In this fiercely imaginative Filipino-inspired fantasy debut, a bisexual nun hiding a goddess-given gift is unwillingly transformed into a lightning rod for her people's struggle against colonisation.

Perfect for fans of lush fantasy full of morally ambiguous characters, including The Poppy War and The Jasmine Throne. Maria Lunurin has been living a double life for as long as she can remember.

To the world, she is Sister Maria, dutiful nun and devoted servant of Aynila's Codician colonisers. But behind closed doors, she is a stormcaller, chosen daughter of the Aynilan goddess Anitun Tabu. In hiding not only from the Codicians and their witch hunts, but also from the vengeful eye of her slighted goddess, Lunurin does what she can to protect her fellow Aynilans and the small family she has created in the convent: her lover Catalina, and Cat's younger sister Inez. Lunurin is determined to keep her head down - until one day she makes a devastating discovery, which threatens to tear her family apart. In desperation, she turns for help to Alon Dakila, heir to Aynila's most powerful family, who has been ardently in love with her for years. But this choice sets in motion a chain of events beyond her control, awakening Anitun Tabu's rage and putting everyone Lunurin loves in terrible danger.

Torn between the call of Alon's magic and Catalina's jealousy, her duty to her family and to her people, Lunurin can no longer keep Anitun Tabu's fury at bay. The goddess of storms demands vengeance. And she will sweep aside anyone who stands in her way.

"Gabriella Buba writes the way the ocean moves: rhythmic and rolling, with dark currents and a powerful grace. Saints of Storm and Sorrow elegantly weaves the rich tapestry of Filipino folklore into a poignant, harrowing tale of magic and rebellion and sacrifice. Every page is drenched in the pain and hope that characterized our centuries-long struggle. This is fantasy at its finest, but it's also a story about us, and about how my love for you is one with our love for the motherland." Thea Guanzon, New York Times, USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars

Gabriella Buba is a writer and chemical engineer who likes to keep explosive pyrophoric materials safely contained in pressure vessels or between the covers of her books. She writes adult romantic fantasy for bold, bi, brown women who deserve to see their stories centred. She has a Filipino Fantasy short story in the anthology Strange Religion: Speculative Fiction of Spirituality, Belief, & Practice and winter 2022 short stories placed in Sci Phi Journal and PodCastle Fiction and an essay on Filipino Identity and Language in Prairie Fire Press. Gabriella is a Pitch Wars 2021 alumni. Follow her on Twitter @GabriellaBuba.

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