Reviewed: August 25th, 2023
Released: August 4th, 2023
Genre: Folklore Fantasy
Format: ARC ebook
Dark be the water, and darker still the creatures that lurk within…
Free-spirited Isla Blackwood has never accepted the shackles of her family’s nobility. Instead, she sails the open waters, searching for belonging on the waves.
But when tragedy calls Isla home, she realises she can no longer escape the duty she’s been running from. Selkie raiders have been terrorising the island’s coasts, and when they strike at Blackwood Estate, Isla is forced to flee with her hot-headed brother and brooding swordmaster.
To avenge her family and reclaim her home, Isla will have to set aside old grudges and join forces with an exiled selkie searching for a lost pelt. The heirloom might be the key to stopping the bloody conflict—but only if they can steal it from the island’s most notorious selkie hunter, the Grand Admiral himself.
Caught between a promise to the brother she once left behind and an unlikely friendship with the selkie who should have been her enemy, Isla soon realises the open seas aren’t the only treacherous waters she’ll need to navigate.
As enemies close in on all sides, she must decide once and for all where her loyalties lie if she wants to save what’s left of her family—and find the belonging she’s been searching for.
Sea of Souls is a dark fantasy filled with selkie folklore, ancient magic and high-seas adventure. Perfect for fans of Scottish-inspired settings and dark mythological creatures.
Helen’s thoughts: 4/5
An engaging tale about selkies and and the draw of the sea, mixed with plenty of scottish myth and folklore.
Isla escaped the chains of the land and fled to the sea, only a letter from her mother calls her home. But for Isla, returning home only emphasises how out of place she feels. Fleeing the horrors of an attack on land, she joins forces with a selkie to try and stop the vicious cycle of killing between humans and selkies alike.
Isla is a wonderful character, and the dour Darce a suitable foil, though I did get frustrated with him always trying to dominate her. Her brother, Lachlan, I feel is going to be her weak point. Guilt from leaving him, drives many of her decisions, but the politics, twists and sweeping betrayals keep you hooked. And that ending! Nooo! That was not at all how I thought it would end!
If you love scottish folklore and adventure on the high seas, then this is the book for you!
I recieved an ARC, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
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If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
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