“The stars in his eyes aren’t only crafted by adventure. They’ve been formed by years of loneliness. Of looking up into a sky full of dreams and never being quite able to reach it.” – 3.25/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: soldiers, islands, mead, fugitives, magic, barracudas, dolphins, mermaids, fights, Soul magic and rum. 

Set in a kingdom where danger lurks beneath the sea, mermaids seek vengeance with song, and magic is a choice.

She will reign.

As princess of the island kingdom Visidia, Amora Montara has spent her entire life training to be High Animancer — the master of souls. The rest of the realm can choose their magic, but for Amora, it’s never been a choice. To secure her place as heir to the throne, she must prove her mastery of the monarchy’s dangerous soul magic.

When her demonstration goes awry, Amora is forced to flee. She strikes a deal with Bastian, a mysterious pirate: he’ll help her prove she’s fit to rule, if she’ll help him reclaim his stolen magic.

But sailing the kingdom holds more wonder — and more peril — than Amora anticipated. A destructive new magic is on the rise, and if Amora is to conquer it, she’ll need to face legendary monsters, cross paths with vengeful mermaids, and deal with a stow-away she never expected… or risk the fate of Visidia and lose the crown forever.

I am the right choice. The only choice. And I will protect my kingdom.

I thought I would like this more, but it didn’t impress me. The story was okay, but I didn’t care a lot about it. It’s not the most memorable book of all time, but it was entertaining.

The characters were a little bland for me, and to me as a reader, characters are what make great stories come to life. The world building and plot was good, but it didn’t grab me. I guess I wish the story gave me stronger emotions, because I felt almost nothing. No excitement, no rush, no wow moments. I’m neither disappointed nor blown away.

One thing I really disliked was the narrator of the audiobook version. I don’t think I have ever disliked a single audiobook narrator, but it finally happened. I just feel like the person who narrated it didn’t capture the essence of the book and almost made the book kind of goofy. The voices and tone of the two male characters sounded childish and goofy and unfortunately that reflected poorly on the tone of the book and on my experience as a reader.

Maybe I’ll try the physical or ebook version of the book in the future. I’m currently listening to the second book and I’m glad to say the narrator is different. Hope reading the second book will be better.