Synopsis:
There is much to be done when the kingdom isn’t looking.
Iona Strider is a ruthless pickpocket cursed with a disobedient shadow. Violent, too. Worse, she can’t remember who cursed her, or why. But she does know one with each passing day, her control of the shadow dwindles.
In her relentless pursuit of answers, she winds up stealing from the wrong man: Captain Liam Blackwater of the Wraith. A man who, according to legend, might just turn the Silver Seas red.
Blood-bonded together by a dishonest mistake, Iona begrudgingly teams up with the handsome rogue to embark on a bloody, swashbuckling quest in the hopes that she can break the curse of her shadow once and for all.
Alas, it’s never that simple. Especially when Liam and Iona can’t keep their hands off each other.
But as they carve a path through the realm, disastrous secrets of the kingdom are revealed, and when shocking revelations of her true past come to light, Iona must decide whether she is to become the kingdom’s villain, or something else of her own making.
Review:
I read this book as a judge for Fanfiaddict for SPFBO XI. These are my personal thoughts and do not represent the thoughts of the whole team.
Emily Blakeney’s Blackwater is a tale of two halves for me. The first half of the book was a rollicking ride, taking me on a journey with Iona Strider through a fantasy world complete with TARDIS-like pirate ships, dragon-sized mysteries, and loads of shadows and teasers to keep me reading. If the entire book could have kept up the momentum of the first half, I’m not sure I’d have many complaints. As it is, the second half is good, but the story spins into a romantasy and the pace slows way down. I still had a great time and will gladly sign up for a sequel with Iona and Captain Liam Blackwater.
Don’t get me wrong — the sexual tension is there throughout the first half and I could see the turn from enemies to lovers coming from way off — but, the pace of the book took a shift into a lower gear, sidelining the fantasy quest by Blackwater and Iona while their feelings took center stage. Overall, I think Blakeney did a good job merging the romance and fantasy, but as the story slowed down, it did bring a couple other things to my attention.
The book is first-person POV from Iona’s perspective…until there are dream/flashback sequences and then stories shared by a few of the crew that are separate chapters told from their POV. Some of my favorite books are first-person and for the most part it works here, but it also limited a little of what Blakeney was going for and what she could share in the novel. Because of that, a few of the side characters felt a little flat.
But…those are nitpicks. This is a strong release and a worthy semifinalist in the SPFBO this year. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the work that Emily Blakeney put into her two leads is top-notch. Iona Strider, along with Captain Blackwater are highly developed, and that work really shows in the final pages of the book as everything comes to a head. The plot is well-constructed, even as the pacing takes a step back when the romance begins to bloom. And I really enjoyed how the (sentient?) pirate ship Wraith messes with Iona when she first comes on board.
Emily Blakeney has a strong novel with Blackwater. I doubt I would have picked it up if it was not for SPFBO this year, but I’m happy I was given the opportunity to read it and I’ll be keeping my eye out for future releases by Blakeney.
Leave a Reply