Synopsis
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 forces Isla home, she realises she can no longer escape the duty she’s been running from. Selkie raiders plague the island’s coasts, and when they strike at Blackwood Estate, Isla has no choice but to flee with her hot-headed brother and their brooding swordmaster.
To reclaim her home, Isla will have to set aside her grief and join forces with an exiled selkie searching for a lost pelt. The heirloom might be the key to stopping the raids—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 abandoned and a 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, she must decide where her loyalties lie if she wants to save what’s left of her family—and find the belonging she’s been searching for.
Review
Isla felt the change in the ship the moment they hit Beira’s Passage. There was something different about the roll of the deck, the way the hull bucked and swayed. These were more than choppy waters; the waves were hungry for timber and said, throwing themselves high into the wind like rising walls.
This was a buddy read for me in João F. Silva’s discord and I had a great time with this one. I had the hardcover and it contains a bonus prequel short story that introduces the character and world. I really enjoyed that too. It immediately made me realize I should read more nautical fantasies. This one has selkies and giant sea serpents and you might guess wrong which one is the scarier one. I also don’t think I’ve read a fantasy book featuring selkies before so that was a nice twist.
“It was not in a selkie’s nature to show mercy.”
Speaking of ships, I love the way Scrimgeour writes about the ships and the seas. I was caught in a storm in the pacific ocean off the coast of Alaska last year and I was terrified but I never had the words to describe it. Scrimgeour describes how a ship behaves and feels in a storm perfectly. Her writing of atmosphere also deserves special mention. It complements the horror vibes and ominous tones of this book very well. When Isla is running in the dark for her life at Blackwood estate, I’m there and when she is struggling to stand on a rocking ship caught in a storm, I’m there and when she is held at gunpoint in an underground cave, I’m there. The writing was so strong and so vivid that I was transported to the scene every time. And I am properly spooked about selkies now too.
Her character work is very strong too. Coming into the story after having read the prequel, I was already sold on Isla but even if I hadn’t read the prequel before, it wouldn’t have taken long for me to be invested in her journey. All the characters are written very well, everyone has their own backstory and motivations for the way they behave. The relationship between the siblings was also written super realistically that me and João were joking it doesn’t look like the author is writing fiction there. I think it is the mark of great writing when the author is able to elicit strong emotions, especially when it is hate. I guarantee that there is a certain character that will leave all readers seething with their behavior. One other thing that warrants mention is how well handled the internal conflict within Isla is with the external conflict driving her journey. Similar to The Last Ranger by J.D.L Rossell, the destruction of the ingrained bias theme is realized superbly and realistically.
“Dark be the water, and darker still the creatures that lurk within.”
Overall, I really enjoyed this one and it has a very different flavor to it compared to the usual epic fantasies. It does fall into some tiny pitfalls of the first book syndrome and I feel it could have focused on the plot a bit more but it’s still a very strong outing. I’ve already bought a physical copy of book 2 and can’t wait to start it.
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