3.5*
Really, I mostly liked this book. It was unique, with what amounts to a road trip on the river, of sorts. It was full of adventure, family ties, and yes, romance.
Things I Liked:
- Loved Caro and Markos, both as individual characters and together. They both have strengths and weaknesses, and when they come together... banter, friends. It's fabulous. The side characters are great too. I loved Fee, wanted and needed more Fee. I love that there is a lot of family dynamics in play during the book too.
- The atmosphere was on point. No question, this book had the feel of a bad situation on water. There was magic involved, and the whole world had such an ominous feel toward it.
- It was engaging, I was never bored. I definitely wanted to know more about the world as the story went on, but the part of the book that was the biggest hit for me was the character development.
Things I Didn't:
- While I liked the book, some of it felt a little too easy- even though the stakes were high, I never got that sense of urgency, it seemed like a given that everything was going to work out somehow.
- I didn't really understand all the world-building and the different kingdoms either. Thank goodness for the map or I'd have been totally lost. I went back and forth quite a bit to try to figure out where Caro and company were headed.
Bottom Line: Definitely enjoyed this book set on the water! The characters were fabulous, and I look forward to reading the sequel!
*Copy provided by publisher for review