The Sea King (Weathermages of Mystral, #2)

by C. L. Wilson

[stacey_is_sassy]

I needed to read it lickety-split…

After reading The Winter King and meeting Dilys Merimydion, I was REALLY looking forward to reading The Sea King. While I really enjoyed this story, it drove me a little bonkers too.

My back, my back, I can’t feel my back!! Slight exaggeration but I don’t think I’m cut out for reading long stories. I thought I was being smart waiting until I was on holidays to start this one, but I’m not sure anymore. I’m not the kind of reader that willingly spreads the joy of reading a book over days. Well, this book, it’s bloody long. I tried sitting up in bed, lying down in bed, lying on my belly in bed, lying on my side in bed, sitting on the side of the bed and even tried a chair. Maybe, if I had been at work and forced to take breaks, it wouldn’t have been so bad. Considering the length, it would have taken me weeks instead of days to read it, though.

I’m sure you’re all thinking, *Sassy, why didn’t you take breaks?*

I DID!! Well, I did, sort of. I stopped to say hello to my family a couple of times and I did eat and sleep as well.

But, I can’t leave them hanging for too long. You know, unless I read it, things don’t happen. Poor Dilys will still be waiting for Summer to get with the program and accept him as her mate. Hesitating would mean those 7ft tall, muscly, sexy and sweet men wouldn’t have found women to court and fall in love with. If I wasn’t dedicated to going on, more ships would have sunk, more slaves would have been captured and lives would have been lost. See, I need to read OR THEIR WORLD WON’T GO ON!!

Yep, I’m one heck of a dedicated reader. I’ve even got the broken back to prove it.

While I enjoyed The Sea King and the journey to everlasting love for Dilys and Summer, it was drawn out a little too much for my taste. Honestly, there wasn’t much wrong with the story, I’m just not a fan of waiting for stuff to happen. Watch my eyes roll as I wait for the heroine to stop being a nincompoop. See me cross my arms in impatience because I hate the delay of the hero realising that his enemy is closer than he thinks. There’s only so much “courting” I want to witness before I think they should just get to the good bits. If you hadn’t guessed it yet, I’m a wee bit impatient.

There's plenty of action, adventure, mystery and intrigue. I was sucked into the story from the very beginning, and while it takes a little longer than I'm used to, I couldn't help but be enthralled to the end. The characters are interesting with magic, skills and abilities that aren't always obvious until we see them in action. I loved finding out all the things that Dilys can control with his water abilities. Seeing Summer gain strength in her powers was as surprising to her as it was to the reader. I felt like she was learning with us, what she was destined to achieve. Then there was the Calbernaian's...

Seriously, if Calberna existed, I’d be putting in a suggestion to set up a Husband Camp, lead by their men. These guys, well, they’re pretty much perfect. HOT, sweet, loving and devoted, while also being fierce, strong, determined and HOT. I mean SERIOUSLY…their training to become men involves learning ALL ways to pleasure their mate and keep them happy. HOW COOL IS THAT??? Dilys is just one of the many men who were desperate to look for his mate and had to leave Calberna because the men outnumbered the women. WOW!!

I really did enjoy The Sea King. C.L. Wilson is remarkably talented and makes her characters come alive. I admit, a few times I was taken out of the story because of the spelling and grammar mistakes. This is a long story so I expect a few, but then again, it's a published book (Avon), so a little more care should have been taken to remove these errors, especially considering it was professionally edited.

The Sea King brought out all my emotions and at times I couldn’t help but sniffle, grumble, snort and squirm. The highs were high and the lows were low. There is one particular part of the book that is quite dark and I struggled with my feelings. Summer is subjected to pain, torture, humiliation and degradation. Some readers may struggle with it a little as well. I thought it was written well and I was able to move on from it.

I will definitely be back for more adventures with the Weathermages of Mystral but I think I need to come up with a better plan of attack…my back can’t take it. All suggestions on how to read long books comfortably would be greatly appreciated. I think I’ve got a bit of time before the next book in the series comes out, though…