Synopsis
The Winter Sea series continues as a prisonbreak to save Benedict leaves him, Sam and Mary trapped in a desparate race for survival in enemy territory. Expect epic adventure, intrigue and espionage, and fleet battles on the high-seas, perfect for fans of Adrienne Young, L. J. Andrews and Naomi Novik.
Samuel and Mary are thriving as privateers on the Winter Seas. As they navigate the complexities of their growing bond, in a world that would see Mary as chattel to be traded, the pair are forging a new, better way to live, under the sails of Hart.
But when their latest prize brings tales of Benedict’s capture by Mereish forces, they must make an impossible choice: to serve their nation or save Sam’s brother.
Thrust into a mission of intrigue and infiltration, they seek to break into the most secure prison on the Mereish Coast. But as they sail deep into enemy territory, they find themselves hunted by a cunning and mysterious new foe—an enemy who seems to know their every secret, and who will kill to keep their own.
As the Black Tide rises, and fleets take to the water, Samuel, Mary and Benedict are on a desperate race for survival—both their own, and the free nations of the Winter Seas.
Review
Hello again dear reader or listener, I hope your summer is going well! And if you’re in one of the countries that have only been seeing rain, my condolences.
With thanks to Titan Books for once again granting me an arc, this time to the next entry in this series, come along with me while I share my honest and happy ramblings.
Now, where to begin? With a warning for veeery mild spoilers for book one, I suppose. Though I’m not going to go in any detail and I’ll avoid some names so fear not! Brace for it though, it’s gonna be a long one. I’m not even a bit sorry cause I need to rave.
In Dark Water Daughter, Long introduced the reader to this magical and unforgiving world she’s created for the Winter Sea, she brought action and nuance to multilayered characters, be they primary or secondary.
She also gifted us a mesmerizing magic system, interwoven with political intrigue and impeccable character work and chemistry. The high stakes never ceased and the pace of the story was optimal to keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time without tiring you out.
I’m happy to say, then, that Long kept at it, sailing majestically into a relentless and action packed sequel that had me hooked (and only a tiny bit stressed – who am I kidding, the last 25% had me sweating) from start to finish. Sophomore slump? Long doesn’t know her.
In fact, I would only leave this out of my hands because I was needed for chores or to walk the dogs.
Black Tide Son begins about a year after the events of book one, since Long wrapped up that main story very nicely, with more looming on the horizon. Something she also does with book two but more on that in a moment. I admittedly had a bit of a hard time at the very beginning because it had been a year since I read the first and I was trying to remember some of the secondary names and events, however said struggle didn’t last long at all because the author wove in seamless recaps in those first chapters that caught me up with everything I needed and I was ready to keep going full tilt once again.
Amping up everything I loved in book one, tensions where higher, problems bigger, foes more inscrutable and insidious, but our characters were stronger as well, more sure of their respective powers, but also still not overpowered and invincible. Everything and everyone leveled up accordingly, to put it another way, while also meeting new struggles or the worsening of previous fears. And once again, the specific events of this book wrap up most satisfyingly (with an excellent epilogue to boot -Omg the unexpected pov had me cheering) but leaving over the final struggle that is yet to come in the final book which I’m already *dying* for!!
Mary, our badass and sassily practical queen once again served in any which way possible, and I loved how she developed into a more confident and rounded up character than who we met in book one. From brave but unsure and flawed young woman, who we rooted for like hell anyway, she well and truly embodied her Fleetbreaker title in this sequel. No stranger to sacrifices, she bore the brunt of a lot that happened in this story but she did so in ways that not only showed her development brilliantly but still highlighted all those qualities we loved in her from the beginning and allowed her to be the stalwart support Samuel and others needed for this story. And the sass is still hella strong which we always approve of.
Basically, when it comes to Mary, I’m just the Pedro Pascal meme of stupidly grinning at her in admiration because she is very much the MVP.
As for Samuel, the tired man just needs a hug and a stiff drink. Finally a privateer captain of his own vessel, and redeemed from previous false accusations, he is at last able to shed part of the weight that haunted him in book one, properly revealing a capable tactician and honorable captain who is no longer bound by blind duty but has also grown and learned what it takes to survive in this world without sacrificing one’s values. His misplaced idealism was cracked in book one and any vestiges of it were shattered with this one. I also loved seeing his background be the primary focus in this installment as well as his internal growth and fears. Also the lack of worry or self consciousness about leaning on Mary in times of need. My poor shipper heart isn’t strong enough for this man and all the respecting women juice he drinks. Moreover, the amount of comedic relief we get from his gentlemanly ways, and how unimpressed Mary and other characters are by them, is good for the soul honestly.
I had missed these characters so much and I only truly realized the extent of it when I saw them again on the page, facing new struggles and building relationships I had hoped for in the first book. Long does a slow-burn oh so well and I hated it as much as I loved it. Seriously this book was killing me softly a solid 80% of the time and not just from a romantic perspective but an intrapersonal and platonic one as well.
Moreover I’m the biggest sucker for villain decay. Even more so when it comes for characters I never expected might redeem themselves, which even then, was way more nuanced than a simple redemption arc.
That’s some insane skill right there and I truly applaud Long. It is possibly one of the best parts of this book.
Why? Well, Long makes her characters work for it! It’s not a simple “oh there’s an even bigger bad on the horizon and this character’s previously horrible actions seem small in comparison, so let’s pretend they didn’t happen and let’s forgive and forget”.
Oh no. They’re held accountable, they themselves fight their own redemption because they don’t see a need for it, and the others they have harmed don’t let bygones be, they work (however begrudgingly) to rehabilitate in a manner that I could get behind fully. And I’m notoriously difficult on forgiveness, dear reader.
It’s a rare author that doesn’t simply demand of their reader to go on and accept that this character is now one of the good guys and they need to deal with it.
I was ecstatic to say the least, my feels were going through the wringer and I concurrently felt as vindicated as those that had been wronged in the previous book did.
It was simply majestic. Long has earned a life long reader in me from this bit of character work alone and my words here today cannot possibly do this character arc justice.
I’m wrapping this up, I promise.
Finally, I have a single, teeny, tiny, and very personal peeve with this book. Indeed, while all of the above worked wonders, with the action, the naval battles, the jailbreaks, the ambiance and the plot pace, feeding yours truly to near perfection, one small resolution that had been built up for the whole book, felt a little rushed and glossed over. I realize this might’ve been to save on the word count or even down to personal preference of the author, which I’m in no way judging. But after all the teasing and building expectation throughout the story, a scene which I was rooting for the whole time was very tight and not even fade to black as much as it was nearly skipped ahead entirely. While I should’ve been cheering for this moment and I did in part, I felt a little let down and rushed. But oh well. The rest was so good, that I can live with it and other readers might not even care as much as I did!
If you made it this far, huzzah! To keep with the naval theme, you see? Thank you for humoring the ravings!
If you haven’t read Dark Water Daughter yet run, just run, and if you have read it and are wondering whether the sequel will live up to the awesomeness of the first, I’m here to tell you that yes, yes it does and more. So much more.
H. M. Long raises the bar on what epic high seas fantasy and character work are supposed to be. And she does so spectacularly, by grabbing you by the proverbial lapels and flinging you into edge of your seat action, humor, and so much heart.
Black Tide Son comes out tomorrow, July 9th!
Until next time,
Eleni A. E.
P.S: special mention goes to Charles, the eternally lovable and iconic side character who, in this book, gets even more of the subtle hints of character depth that I always love.
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