Storm Breaker by Nisha J. Tuli

Here is a summary with spoilers for Storm Breaker by Nisha J. Tuli

Poet Graves lives in New Manhattan, a city built on the ruins of an older civilization and controlled through rigid House systems, social hierarchy, and fear of Spark storms. She is the heir to House Fiama and is expected to follow a life determined by duty, obedience, and political alliances. Those rules have been enforced by her father very strictly, and though she loves her mother, her mother has not helped her in the slightest when it comes to discipline. Things have only gotten worse since her brother, Raine, died years ago. Poet’s arranged engagement to Knox reinforces those expectations. Knox is possessive, violent, and concerned more with control and House reputation than Poet herself, and he has more of an interest in other girls than Poet as well. The city survives by harnessing the energy generated from Spark storms, but exposure to the storms kills most people. Poet secretly possesses the ability to survive and absorb Spark energy, making her a Spark Keeper. Poet has been keeping this secret for years and has no intention of telling anyone. Keepers are hunted and executed by the Extinguishers under the authority of General Sol and The Shield. Poet hides her condition from everyone while privately struggling with both physical dependence on Spark and fear of discovery.

Poet has been waiting forever for a moment to enter the Amery Academy. It will be the moment she can get away from her demanding father, though Knox is also going to be at the academy with her. Before she goes, her father tells her that she has a reputation to uphold and needs to be on her best behavior, and that she needs to make sure to be with her betrothed as much as possible. Poet then enters Amery Academy, where students are divided by House allegiance, wealth, and inherited status. Poet attends alongside her friends Trinity and Edward while dealing with rivals such as Winter and Lacey, all of whom are currently in her father’s House, House Fiama. The academy environment forces students to prioritize House interests over personal relationships. Poet continues secretly absorbing Spark energy during storms to maintain stability and conceal her addiction. She does so by sneaking out of the academy occasionally to soak up the storm.

During the first week of school, there is an arrival of a student, a Solitude, someone who was driven out except on one condition: they would be allowed to send a handful of children per year to school in New Manhattan so they could escape their old lives and be integrated into their civilized world. He is later introduced as Rook, and while incredibly good-looking to many of the girls, much of the school is wary of him and not sure what to think now that a Solitude is at the school. Rook also comes from the Wastes outside the city's protective walls and openly carries the appearance and behavior of an outsider. Poet is assigned to work with him academically, forcing continued interaction despite the suspicion surrounding him. Their connection develops through shared isolation and distrust of the systems controlling the city.

Poet becomes determined to join the Storm Breakers, the group responsible for protecting the city during Spark storms. Her father forbids it, but she continues training and preparing for it anyway so when the time comes for openings she will feel confident. During Fiama initiation trials, Poet refuses an order to execute a prisoner, rejecting the violence expected by her House. Instead, she completes Aria's tower trial, enduring dangerous exposure and physical suffering to pass. Several students die during the initiation process, emphasizing how disposable students are to House leadership. Rook also proves himself capable during his own trials, leading to greater trust between him and Poet. Trinity, Poet’s best friend, fails her first challenge, and when Poet and Rook find her, she is in bad shape. They rush her to the hospital to get help. That night, when Poet gets to her room, it is trashed and the word “traitor” is written there. House Fiama now sees her as a traitor for not competing in their trial and instead going for Aria’s. Poet is forced to go find a new room for the night. A girl named Domino offers an extra bed in her room where Poet is able to actually sleep for the night. Though the next morning Knox comes looking for her, determined to know what happened. Knox wants the two of them to act more like a betrothed couple and have more of a unified front. He seems to be in a good mood, so Poet agrees. She then goes to see Trinity with him, but they both run into Rook, where things get heated between him and Knox. Rook gains the upper hand, but then wisely stays hidden from Knox for the next couple of days.

It has been days since Poet has been able to get to a storm, so she sneaks out to do so. Though after the storm, she realizes that someone was there watching everything. They run away before she is able to figure out who it is. On her way back to the academy, she sees there is a problem. Three of her classmates are dead, and she sees their bodies. Rook is there and takes her away and comforts her.

The next day, one of the generals comes to talk to the school about the attack. She says that it is the Solitudes coming over and doing the attacking and that it is becoming a problem. The general then wants to talk to Poet by herself. She mentions that they need strong Storm Breakers. Poet decides she is going to sign up the next day when classes start. The classes are brutal. Even on day one, a student dies as they are hooked up to electricity. Rook has also joined. When it is Poet’s time for her test, the person conducting her test seems suspicious of her, but does not say anything. The next day, Knox finds out about Storm Breaker classes and is furious, but Poet claims she is doing it in honor of her dead brother, Raine.

The second test takes place, and it leads to Poet pledging herself to Aria against House Fiama's wishes. The decision isolates her from her family and escalates Knox's abusive behavior. Poet tells her mother first, who is furious about what drama this will cause, and tells her not to tell her father because she will tell him herself. This leads to radio silence from both parents for weeks. Trinity, dealing with injuries and emotional strain from failed trials, joins Aria's Extinguisher squad and becomes increasingly loyal to the authorities hunting Keepers. Poet instead grows closer to Domino and Journey, students marginalized by the academy system. During a Storm Breaker game, Poet gets hit by a storm and Rook sees how she handles the Spark. She then realizes that he was the one who saw her that night, and she begins to think that he might be similar to her. They start sharing their secrets with each other, and it turns out that both are able to handle Spark. Poet's addiction to Spark exposure becomes more dangerous as enforcement against Keepers intensifies throughout the city. Also during this time, Knox comes back for a fight with Poet, wanting her to go back to House Fiama and saying it is not too late to fix everything. He says she needs to go back to being the woman she was and listen to her father. Now that Poet has tasted freedom, she does not want to, so she refuses.

At the House parties with House leaders, Poet finally sees her parents. She goes right up to them, and it causes a scene, especially when her father publicly disowns her if she is not willing to come back to House Fiama. Realizing it is far too late with her parents, she leaves and pledges herself to House Aria. Though the House leader wants a word with her before she is allowed to celebrate. She is suspicious, and if Poet so much as puts a toe out of line, she will be taken out of the House. Rook has also joined the House. With all of that done, Poet is ready to party with her new friends. Right before the party, she and Rook kiss for the first time, though Domino interrupts them, and as Poet is leaving she thinks she hears Rook say he regretted the kiss. That night they party all night until Extinguishers come and take one of their classmates and ruin the party. Despite it all, Poet feels like she has a new family, a real one.

Life at the academy becomes increasingly violent. Cadet training involves physical punishment, dangerous storm exposure, and brutal competition. Poet is assaulted by other students after coming back from expelling her storm power, and one attack destroys a childhood bear connected to her past. Rook repairs it for her after the incident, reinforcing the trust forming between them. He also offers her a new place to stay, his rooms. The two then become friends, and a little bit more. They go out to storms together, and one night they even share another kiss, then share the same bed. Though the moment is ruined when her mom texts her for the first time in weeks saying how she heard about the Solitude and that it is a disgrace. Rook then says that they should take a couple steps apart, which means for Poet a few weeks away from Rook even though they are roommates. During that time there are more attacks on the school. Knox is also still furious with Poet. He has now been demoted since he could not keep his engagement intact. He blames Poet for his fall and hopes that she regrets everything. Rook and Poet finally get close again when Poet goes out to a party, gets drunk, and Rook comes in to dance with her and take care of her the next morning, which ends up leading to another kiss.

Poet eventually succeeds in the Storm Guard final examination and earns a position among the city's protectors, along with Domino and Rook as the top three students. They automatically get to go into year two. Though part of the exam was to have their blood checked, somehow both Poet and Rook were able to pass, and they have no idea how. Outside the academy, the city experiences increasing unrest as Keeper executions and disappearances become more common. Extinguishers introduce new technologies designed to identify infected or hidden Keepers, making concealment increasingly difficult, this being the blood test that they somehow passed.

Poet, Rook, and Edward, Trinity’s old boyfriend that she broke up with when she left House Fiama, eventually plan a break-in at The Shield during the annual masquerade ball and a simultaneous Blood Storm. Using a stolen key card from Poet's father, they infiltrate restricted systems and uncover evidence hidden by the city's leadership. Though things go terribly wrong from the beginning when Trinity publicly identifies Poet as a Keeper. Poet is shocked to have her best friend betray her like that. All three of them are forced to start their plan earlier. Poet and Edward go to the top of the tower and hope that Rook will eventually catch up. While together, they learn Poet's brother Raine was a Keeper and was not killed by Solitudes as officially claimed. Instead, General Sol removed him with the cooperation of House leaders and The Shield. The files expose years of lies used to justify the persecution and execution of Keepers. Poet also discovers that Rook was connected to the events surrounding Raine's disappearance. It makes her realize she knows nothing about Rook. Edward is able to find the security cameras, and they find Rook, so Poet texts him and he ignores the text, once again showing Poet that he is on his own agenda.

Eventually they all get together, and Edward leaves, but Knox attacks Poet and Rook during the escape, attempting to reassert control over her through violence. Poet fights back rather than submitting to him. Poet and Rook escape across rooftops and hidden routes before fleeing through tunnels leading outside the city walls. Though during the attack Knox is able to paralyze Poet and stab Rook, leaving the two in rough shape. Rook is forced to carry her through the tunnels while little by little Poet is able to get her body moving. But with each minute Rook looks worse and worse. As they get closer to the Wastes, the attackers get closer to them. They make it to the end of the tunnel in time. Rook closes and seals the tunnel up, leaving the attackers behind and letting the two escape just in time. Though Poet has a moment of panic. She has left New Manhattan for the first time in her life, she left her life behind, and she is now in the Wastes.

In the Wastes, Poet discovers that much of the city's history was intentionally falsified. She remembers the conversation she had with Greta, a Hollow connected to Poet's childhood nanny, who revealed that Poet's father committed murder to protect the secret of Poet's Keeper identity. Poet also learned that Raine survived earlier attacks before being taken by General Sol. She put the conversation to the side, not thinking much about it, but now in the Wastes it all comes back to her. The Wastes themselves are not the savage wasteland described by New Manhattan propaganda. Instead, organized groups, hidden networks, and surviving Keepers exist beyond the city's control. Rook's ties to these groups and his hidden loyalties create additional tension, but Poet continues relying on him as they travel deeper into exile. While upset with Rook, he is still very injured, so Poet stitches him up and then lays next to him overnight. Though they are rudely awakened when soldiers arrive and tell them that, by demand of Commander Fisher Sterling, they are under arrest.