When we say you’re not ready for what May has in store, we mean it! Seriously, this month’s book releases aren’t holding back, and we’re only in the first week. For all our dystopian readers and lovers, we bring you two highly anticipated dystopian novels.
Let’s start with Nisha J. Tuli’s newest novel, Storm Breaker! Set in 3064, New Manhattan is now the last inhabitable place on Earth. Poet Graves enters Amery Academy with the expectation of fulfilling her duties as the Scion’s daughter. But her dream lies elsewhere: becoming a Storm Guard. Poet must decide whether to risk her future for something (and someone) she was never meant to have.
Next, we have Suzanne Palmer’s latest dystopian novel, Ode to the Half-Broken! Also set in a post-apocalyptic New York City, this book takes the perspective of a broken-down robot named Be. Be wakes up in a bathtub with a missing leg and barely a clue how they got there. With the help of a chatty cyborg dog and a human mechanic, Be sets out to reclaim their leg.
We at THP welcome the recent resurgence of dystopian fiction and love that this trend has continued into 2026. Here is our latest dual book review of Storm Breaker by Nisha J. Tuli and Ode to the Half-Broken by Suzanne Palmer!
Book Overview: Storm Breaker
Content warnings: death, electrocution, physical and mental abuse, parental abuse, addiction, graphic language, physical violence, blood, alcohol, trampling via crowd, accidental death, death by falling, parental abandonment, classism, sexism, bullying, discussions of murder (Please read at your discretion!)
Summary: For nineteen-year-old Poet Graves, New Manhattan has always promised safety—if she obeys. Raised within the ruling Houses and betrothed to a powerful heir, she enters Amery Academy knowing her future has already been decided.
But Amery is nothing like she imagined. Its trials are brutal, its loyalties conditional, and its rules designed to expose weakness. As Poet struggles to survive, she must hide the truth that could get her executed: the storms don’t fear her—they answer back.
When a dangerous outsider from beyond the city walls enters the academy, Poet is drawn to him despite everything she’s been taught to believe. He threatens the life she’s been promised. And choosing him could cost her not just her future, but her freedom.
Our Review
Dystopian romance is so back! As fate would have it, Storm Breaker by Nisha J. Tuli features a pair of star-crossed lovers. Poet Graves grew up in House Fiama of New Manhattan, betrothed to an heir who would strengthen her father’s rule. Society has been divided into four houses, each one responsible for a pillar that sustains human civilization. Rook Athira, a Solitude, grew up in the dilapidated wastelands outside of New Manhattan.
Their first year at Amery Academy comes with cruel trials and even crueler classmates. Poet begins to question everything Society has ever taught her, from the dangers of Keepers to the truth behind her brother’s death. Not to mention the dangerous secret she must hide about her true abilities. That she doesn’t hide from the storms wreaking havoc on New Manhattan—she embraces them.
Against everyone’s expectations, Poet trains to become a Storm Guard. She puts herself in the line of sight of the very people who could discover what she actually is, but she’s willing to risk it all. For her brother’s wrongful death, for her own daring dreams, and for a mysterious outsider who tears down all her defenses. We were beyond invested in Storm Breaker and raced all the way to the cliffhanger ending before we even knew it!
Release date: May 5
Order Storm Breaker here!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NISHA J. TULI:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | WEBSITE
Book Overview: Ode To The Half-Broken
Content warnings: death, murder, suicide, violence, torture, mental abuse, animal abuse, bioterrorism, bombings, serious injury, car accident, guns, warfare, weapons, vomiting (Please read at your discretion!)
Summary: Thirty years ago the world nearly ended.
Be was there, but the old robot has since settled into a life of isolation in the abandoned New York Botanical Gardens, determined to forget their role in that cataclysmic conflict.
But then they wake up in a bathtub. And their leg is missing. And the only one to ask for help is a very chatty cyborg dog. Be may want to forget the world, but it seems the world hasn’t forgotten them.
Forced out of solitude, Be embarks on a quest to reclaim their leg, accompanied by that talkative (read: smart-ass) dog and a human mechanic with nightmares of her own. Their motley crew soon discovers that recovery from the war is uneven and faltering, and Be begins to suspect a malicious hand trying to rekindle old conflicts. In order to stop them, Be needs to come to terms with both their own past and who they have become. Being left alone is no longer an option, and peace may be impossible.
Our Review
Next, we have Ode to the Half-Broken by Suzanne Palmer. We’re back in dystopian New York City, only this time we fast forward to the 2060s. Our main character Be has self-exiled in the New York Botanical Gardens for the past 21 years, following the Conflict that threatened to wipe out the world as every human and machine knew it. Be wakes up with a missing leg and only a talkative cyborg dog named Atticus to help them find a way to make it home and plan what to do next.
This unlikely duo teams up with Murphy, a human mechanic, and Charp, a drone, on their quest to find and reattach Be’s leg. But they soon discover more sinister plots at play, with Be and their dark past at the center of it. Their crew travels around what’s left of Northeastern U.S. in search of answers and the ringleader behind the mechas, or robots, that have their targets set on Be.
We’re big fans of the dual narratives between Be’s point of view in the present and the key players’ perspectives nearly thirty years prior. More pieces started to click together with the more context we got, especially once we learned of Be’s origins. With danger lurking around every new encounter and old grudges coming to light, Ode to the Half-Broken will have you lose track of time as you read.
Release date: May 26
Preorder Ode to the Half-Broken here!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SUZANNE PALMER:
WEBSITE
What do you think of these new dystopian book releases? Are you drawn to the dystopian romance in Nisha J. Tuli’s Storm Breaker? Or are you interested in the post-apocalyptic dystopian world in Suzanne Palmer’s Ode to the Half-Broken? Let us know on Twitter! You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram!
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