sea related

Review: The Last One by Will Dean

~ megs14malloy

The Last OneThe Last One by Will Dean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Last One, the latest release from Will Dean, is the epitome of a book you want to go into blind. Trust me on this, the less you know about the story, the better.

I first heard of this book via my friend, Holly’s, review. Within her first two paragraphs, I learned this was set on a cruise ship and frankly, that was all I needed. I was sold.

Cruise Ship + Thriller = Something I’m Gonna Read.

I requested this one from the publisher and was so excited when they approved me for a copy. I started it pretty quickly after that, because it seemed like a perfect Summer Thriller.

Spoiler alert: I was right.

I was immediately intrigued and by the 8%-mark, my jaw was on the floor. What the heck had I gotten myself into?

Dean wastes no time getting the ball rolling. It went in a direction that I never in a million years would have expected. It was giving me eerie, Twilight Zone vibes and I was over the moon about it.

I read this so quickly. I couldn’t put it down once the suspense sets in. I had to know what was at the heart of this story and even after I found out, it didn’t answer everything. In fact, it got even more perplexing.

I just had a complete blast reading it. Fun, fast-paced, original and entertaining as heck. I also liked how, without giving too much away, it shined a light a bit on modern life; the way we function day-to-day as humans.

Finally, that ending. Oh my word! That was great. I love a story that can leave me with a little sinister smile on my face at the end and this one absolutely did.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for an out of the box Thriller, especially if you think a Cruise Ship setting sounds enticing.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This one was ever more fun than I expected.

I’m looking forward to picking up more from this author!

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Review: Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm (SEA #2) by Julie Kagawa

~ megs14malloy

Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm (Fiction - Middle Grade)Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm by Julie Kagawa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm is the second book in Disney’s Middle Grade Adventure series, Society of Explorers and Adventurers. I read the first book, Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl, just before its release last year, at the start of 2022. I absolutely adored it.

Unsurprisingly, Kagawa was able to capture my attention right away, as well as my heart, with her fun characters and pulse-pounding action. The vivid imagery can’t be beat.

As a side note, if you are unaware, Disney’s Society of Explorers and Adventurers, known as S.E.A., is a fictional organization sprinkled about various attractions at Disney Theme Parks. Google it!

The organization is said to be comprised of scientists, travelers and researchers, who traverse the globe continuing to explore the world’s oceans and exotic lands.

In this novel, Shinji is officially a member of S.E.A., along with his friend, Lucy Hightower and her mechanical mouse, Tinker. They are residing at S.E.A. headquarters, where Shinji is working to understand his new powers and struggling a bit to grow into them.

Before he is able to do that though, S.E.A. has another potential adventure on their hands and Shinji and Lucy are included as part of the team. Let’s go!

A sunken ship, thought to belong to the long-extinct Natia people, has been discovered in the South Pacific. It’s a race against the clock as the members of S.E.A. try to get there before their rival, the evil Hightower Corporation, can find it and plunder the artifacts.

Even though the kids are traveling along with veteran S.E.A. members, like Oliver Ocean and Phoebe Mystic, nothing goes as planned. It’s obstacle after obstacle as the team struggles to reach their final oceanic destination.

After Shinji accidentally awakens another guardian, a giant mythological storm boar, wild weather released by this boar threatens to ravage the coast of California.

Shinji needs to learn to control his powers and figure out how to appease the storm boar before its too late, but the odds seem to be stacked against him. Stress!!!

Kagawa knows how to deliver an entertaining sequel. Almost everything that could happen on this adventure does. There’s an erupting volcano, a nearly sinking ship, breaking into Hightower Headquarters, fighting off robot guards and flying into a storm, to name a few.

The humor Kagawa brings to the story too makes it charming and fun. I love these characters and it was interesting learning more about them, as well as more about the organization. We also meet some new characters and learn more about Hightower.

I thought the conclusion to this was heart-warming and it left off in a great spot to continue on with the series. I am really hoping for a third book.

I definitely recommend this series to Readers who enjoy an engaging Middle Grade Adventure. You cannot go wrong with Kagawa’s writing. Top shelf, beginning to end.

Additionally, the audiobook is fabulously narrated, so I do recommend that as a format. It was how I read it and I felt like I was there with these characters. I was at the edge of my seat the whole time!

Thank you to the publisher, Disney Hyperion and Disney Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This was a ton of fun.

I love Shinji so much. He has all the qualities one would want in a hero. It fills my heart!

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Review: Fractured Tide by Leslie Lutz

~ megs14malloy

Fractured TideFractured Tide by Leslie Lutz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

17-year old, Sia, has been scuba diving her whole life with her parent’s charter business.

She’s used to diving with the tourists, exploring reefs and shipwrecks. There is always something new to interact with in the quiet depths.

It’s quite a serious position for her to be in as well. There’s a lot to be responsible for. Not all the tourists have a lot of experience and getting people to follow even simple instructions can be a challenge.

With Sia’s father currently incarcerated, it’s up to Sia and her mother to keep the family business afloat. On one particular dive, Sia is exploring a sunken craft with some customers when disaster strikes.

Attacked by a mysterious monster of the deep, a customer ends up dead and Sia blames herself.

Making matters worse, they need to call for help when their boat is incapacitated. Another vessel, full of students on a science expedition, comes to their rescue. Sia, her mother and the surviving tourists board that ship.

It’s now that the real fun begins. Again it seems something is after them. The boat sinks and Sia finds herself washed up on a deserted island.

Eventually teaming up with a handful of other survivors, Sia and the others must figure out the secrets of the island and a way to make it off alive. This is no normal place.

Fractured Tide is a unique YA Horror story with an enticing set-up. I was surprised when I discovered that this is told in epistolary format, which is a narrative style I enjoy.

In this case, it is told through journal entries that Sia is writing for her father. It’s a full accounting of all the events happening on the ill-fated trip, including her thoughts and feelings on what is taking place.

I felt like this was a great way to tell this story. You’re literally learning everything as Sia is relaying it and you really only know what she knows, or interprets about the events going on around her.

In the synopsis, this book is compared to Lost and I would 100% agree with that. Especially considering towards the end, I had no clue what was happening; still don’t.

Honestly, I would have preferred more answers. I was a little confused for almost the entire second half and don’t really understand the end much at all. I mean I have theories, but it’s really a shot in the dark.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy this story overall. I found it to be refreshing. I love Horror stories set at sea, so this one was fun in that regard.

I would definitely be interested in picking up more books by Leslie Lutz in the future. I hope she stays in this YA Horror lane, as she is clearly very talented at writing claustrophobic, uncomfortable narratives.

Yessss, that is absolutely a compliment!!!

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Review: Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

~ megs14malloy

Daughter of the DeepDaughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Would you be shocked if I told you this was the first book I have ever read by the fabulous Rick Riordan?

Well, it’s true. I can’t believe it either, but it’s true.

Luckily for me, I picked the perfect book to start with. I mean, honestly, this book has it all. I loved it.

Ana Dakkar is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a school for all things of the sea. Ana’s older brother, Dev, is also a student at the school.

Due to an accident taking her parent’s lives two years ago, Dev is all the family Ana has left. He means everything to her. They are very close.

The pinnacle of Ana’s freshman year is a weekend trial at sea; think of it as a very serious field trip.

Ana has no idea what lies in store for the weekend. She can only hope that she’ll be successful, but all of that goes out the window when the Freshman class witnesses a violent and tragic event. They’re lucky to be alive.

They learn a rival school, Land Institute, may be responsible, but why? What could possibly be behind such vicious animosity?

Ana and the rest of her classmates are now on their own. They need to figure this all out and somehow out smart and out last their enemies. Along the way, they learn a lot of school history and Ana learns some quite interesting things about her own heritage as well.

Daughter of the Deep is such an exciting, fast-paced and heart-warming story. I loved the connections to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, as well as the setting and overall vibe.

Riordan grabbed my attention from the very beginning and that never changed. I was completely engrossed in all that was evolving on the page.

I adored this cast of characters, how they grew to rely on one another and really became an excellent example of a found family. You want to be with them; one of the team.

Additionally, although the circumstances for our characters are quite serious, there was a great vein of humor running throughout this story. I found that aspect extremely engaging; it kept me focused.

I’m not sure what the plan is for this. If this will become a new series or not. I certainly hope it will be. I cannot imagine this being the last I read of these characters. They’re all so fantastic and there is so much more room for them to grow. I want more!!!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney Audio, for providing me with a copy of the audiobook to listen to. The narrator was terrific and I feel like audio is great format to take in this story.

Keeping my fingers crossed that this will not be the last we see of Ana and friends!!!

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Review: Seafire (Seafire #1) by Natalie C. Parker

~ megs14malloy

Seafire (Seafire, #1)Seafire by Natalie C. Parker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**2.5-stars heavily rounded up**

As Caledonia and her best friend, Pisces, are on an island searching for provisions, everyone aboard the ship they call home is slaughtered by the corrupt warlord, Aric Athair, and his army of soldiers, known as Bullets.

After the tragedy, Caledonia and Pisces are left to fend for themselves. It’s a devastating loss, the one silver lining being that they still have each other.

Years later, Caledonia finds herself Captain of her own ship, the Mors Navis, with Pisces operating as her First Mate.

The two women head a crew of girls, who have also lost loved ones at the brutal hands of Aric Athair and the Bullets.

Together these women are hellbent on stopping Aric’s murderous reign once and for all.

But after Pisces gets briefly taken captive and then freed by a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia has to question all she thought she knew. Bullets are never to be trusted, right?

I’ve had Seafire on my shelves since it first released in 2018. As part of my effort to check off some of my backlist, I decided to pick it up in December 2021.

The Prologue was incredible and the first few chapters had me extremely interested, after that however, it completely went off the tracks for me.

I almost feel like I wish the beginning hadn’t been quite as strong because ultimately, I was let down.

The non-stop dramatic conversations between Caledonia and her crew just started wearing on me. I know you need drama in order to progress a plot and I’m the first to admit I love drama, but this seemed like Caledonia being stubborn and over-the-top for no reason.

Her character ruined this for me. I was becoming annoyed with everything she did. I barely even remember the second half because I just wanted her out of my life.

I can absolutely understand why some Readers may really enjoy this. It definitely had some great sea-faring vibes and I did enjoy the steampunk feel of the ships and technology they were using.

Who knows? Maybe I was just in a bitchy mood and I’m being dramatic and over-the-top about the whole thing.

I’m really glad that I gave it a shot. I would pick up more from Natalie C. Parker, as I believe she did a great job in creating the world for this story.

As far as this series is concerned, I am done for now and will be donating my copy of the first two books to my local public high school.

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Review: Along the Saltwise Sea (The Up-and-Under #2) by A. Deborah Baker

~ megs14malloy

Along the Saltwise SeaAlong the Saltwise Sea by A. Deborah Baker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Along the Saltwise Sea is the sequel to Seanan McGuire’s, writing here as A. Deborah Baker, 2020-release, Over the Woodward Wall.

These novels, which are loosely-related to her tour de force of SFF, Middlegame, are perfectly suited for the young at heart.

The story follows two children, Zib and Avery, who upon encountering a giant wall where it shouldn’t be on their walk to school one day, go up and over, thus finding themselves in a different world; the Up-and-Under.

In the first novel, the children travel through a magical forest while following the improbable road, making friends and enemies along the way.

In this installment, Zib and Avery, joined by their new friends, Niahm and the Crow Girl, are exhausted from the continuous stress of their travels. Their hope is to find the Queen of Wands, who may have the answer on how to get them home.

Unsure of how much more they can take, however, they collectively decide they can’t go on right away. They need to rest. Children need to rest.

As luck would have it, they discover an abandoned cottage. It’s pristine, with everything in place that they would need. Sure, it’s a little ominous, but they can’t resist.

They stay the night. Zib and Avery eternally grateful to have a comfortable bed in which to sleep through the night, as well as fresh running water.

Unbeknownst to the children and their companions, the cottage actually belongs to a powerful pirate Captain, who believes they now owe her a debt for trespassing on her property and using her things without asking.

The group agrees to board her ship and work for her for one week in order to pay off their debt.

It certainly extends their adventure, but does it get the kids any closer to finding their way home?

Y’all, I absolutely LOVED my time reading Along the Saltwise Sea!! I’ll admit, I was a little nervous going in, because it has been a long time since I have read Over the Woodward Wall.

I was concerned I wouldn’t remember enough of the story for this one to make sense. That was completely silly of me. I should have trusted McGuire.

This novel has the perfect amount of refresher at the beginning to let the Reader fall gracefully back into the story. It was seamless and probably the best transition between books I have ever read.

Further, I am absolutely obsessed with the narrative voice of this series. It has that classic, whimsical fairy tale feel, meshed perfectly with modern inclinations on how to be a good human.

I say this because, I feel like fairy tales are intended to teach lessons and consequently, Zib and Avery are also learning lessons throughout their journey in the Up-and-Under. Fortunately, the lessons aren’t outdated. They are perfectly tailored for today’s world.

I love all of these characters so much. Avery and Zib are as opposite as opposite can get, but have learned to love and appreciate one another not just in spite their differences, but because of them.

The setting of this one, mostly on the pirate ship, was just so fun! I love stories set at sea and this one captured everything I love about that atmosphere.

I cannot wait for the next installment of The Up-and-Under. I am not sure how long this series is slated to be, but I am hoping it goes for as long as the Wayward Children series. At least!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. It was an absolute delight!

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Review: Namesake (Fable #2) by Adrienne Young

~ megs14malloy

Namesake (Fable, #2)Namesake by Adrienne Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Namesake is the conclusion to Adrienne Young’s, Fable duology; a Seafaring Fantasy story with action, adventure and heart.

After the cliffhanger ending of Fable, our protagonist finds herself once again, separated from the one’s she loves, as she is used as a pawn in a rival trader’s scheme for power.

Just as she was beginning to find the place she felt she belonged, more challenges are thrown in her face.

On her new ship, she runs into an old acquaintance. A close friend of her parents, who she thought was lost forever.

In her struggle to return to the Marigold, and the handsome Captain she left behind, Fable ends up learning a lot more about her Mother, particularly her earlier life; some of it surprising, to say the least.

This story takes the plotting and scheming to a whole new level, as the different trading organizations in this world vie for power and position.

I really enjoyed watching Fable’s evolution as a character over the course of these two books. Although she has always been a fighter, she was fairly helpless in the beginning in a lot of ways.

She was used so often as a pawn in other people’s games, but as she grew and discovered her own power, she became a force to be reckoned with. She became like the center of a whirlpool, sucking everyone in around her.

Overall, I am so satisfied with how this turned out. It was really a lot of fun. I enjoyed the complexity that Young brought to this one, which I felt was lacking a bit in the first novel.

In my opinion, Fable deserves the world! She discovered so much about herself, that she didn’t understand before. I feel like with that understanding, she was able to become who she was truly meant to be. My baby bird has left the nest.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

I really enjoyed it!

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Review: Dark Shores (Dark Shores #1) by Danielle L. Jensen

~ megs14malloy

Dark Shores (Dark Shores, #1)Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In a world divided in two, East and West, where neither side knows the true existence of the other, one people, the Maarin, control the in-between.

The Maarin are a seafaring people who recover lost and stolen goods and trade along the coasts. They are the only people living who not only know the existence of both East and West, they are also the only people who know how to navigate the savage seas between the two.

Living under the mandate of, East must never meet West, all this goes astray when young Teriana, heir to the Maarin people, exposes deeply held secrets to her dear friend, a part of the Celendor Empire, Lydia.

Now higher-ups in the Celendor Empire have conquest on their mind and they will do whatever it takes to discover the route of the Dark Shores. Taking Maarin and her crew prisoner, she is now forced to show them the way or risk all of her people’s lives.

Strong armed by Marcus, Commander of the 37th, a legionnaire for the Celendor Empire, she does the only thing she can do; she shows them the way. Not all is smooth sailing on their voyage however and Teriana and Marcus end up forging an unlikely alliance in order to make it through.

I thought this was such an interesting story. You can definitely feel the ancient Roman inspiration for the Celendor Empire and I love the mystery of the Dark Shores themselves. The relationship between Teriana and Marcus is good, although a little instalovey, not too bad.

In addition to a bit of romance, there is quite a bit of political intrigue in here which I am always down for. There’s nothing better than good ole-fashioned blackmail for political gain to keep a plot progressing!

I had a lot of fun reading this and definitely plan to pick up the next book. This one left off in a great spot with a horrible villain still on the loose. I’m not sure how long this series will end up being but I am seriously hoping for at least three.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Teen, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I had so much fun reading this and really would like to hear more people chatting it up. If you like ocean-related content, Roman-inspired worlds, unlikely alliances, political backstabbing and meddling gods, pick this one up!!!

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