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aszramek's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
thepagelady's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you City Owl Press for sharing this magical eARC of The Girl Who Belonged to the Sea Book one in The Azantian Trilogy by Katherine Quinn!
One woman chosen by the God of the Sea.
A king hellbent on saving his mysterious home.
And a forbidden romance that could destroy them all.
Margrete is the eldest daughter of the power hungry Captain Wood. She dreams of her & her younger sister escaping his clutches. When Captain Wood arranges a marriage for Margrete to Count Caspian, it’s the last thing she wants. Hoping to find a way out, she turns to the sea, sending out a prayer to help. On the day of her wedding, she’s kidnapped! Definitely not what she was hoping for.
Margrete awakes to find herself on a boat heading for a land she thought was a fairytale. But she needs to get back to her sister & save her from suffering the same cruelty she has. But can she trust Bash?
Ok first the cover on this book is wonderful! It's a cover you buy just because of that alone! This book blew me out of the water! Sorry I had to say it lol! It was amazing! Katherine Quinn has created a magical world with the high seas forbidden love & a young woman finding herself! I loved Margrete's character! She is stubborn, strong, & watching her character grow was great! The world building made me feel like I was actually there!
I have been wanting to read this book for a while now but there has been so much hype with it I was a little worried that I would be disappointed, but this book has lived up to my expectations & then some! Honestly, just blown away! I can’t wait to see the next book!
From the fantastic characters, to the wonderful world building, & Katherine Quinn’ s magical writing style this book will hold you captive till the very last page!
Happy reading everyone!
One woman chosen by the God of the Sea.
A king hellbent on saving his mysterious home.
And a forbidden romance that could destroy them all.
Margrete is the eldest daughter of the power hungry Captain Wood. She dreams of her & her younger sister escaping his clutches. When Captain Wood arranges a marriage for Margrete to Count Caspian, it’s the last thing she wants. Hoping to find a way out, she turns to the sea, sending out a prayer to help. On the day of her wedding, she’s kidnapped! Definitely not what she was hoping for.
Margrete awakes to find herself on a boat heading for a land she thought was a fairytale. But she needs to get back to her sister & save her from suffering the same cruelty she has. But can she trust Bash?
Ok first the cover on this book is wonderful! It's a cover you buy just because of that alone! This book blew me out of the water! Sorry I had to say it lol! It was amazing! Katherine Quinn has created a magical world with the high seas forbidden love & a young woman finding herself! I loved Margrete's character! She is stubborn, strong, & watching her character grow was great! The world building made me feel like I was actually there!
I have been wanting to read this book for a while now but there has been so much hype with it I was a little worried that I would be disappointed, but this book has lived up to my expectations & then some! Honestly, just blown away! I can’t wait to see the next book!
From the fantastic characters, to the wonderful world building, & Katherine Quinn’ s magical writing style this book will hold you captive till the very last page!
Happy reading everyone!
kariniwonderland's review against another edition
5.0
I finished this book in one evening and I loved it. Did it have some cliche elements? Sure. But you really don’t care because it’s a fun and addictive read. Feisty heroine, a king desperate to save his home, gods, mystical sea creatures and a forbidden romance. It’s a solid start to this new series. Yes, it’s a trilogy! And I am really interested to see where things go from here. Highly recommend! Especially if you’re a fan of enemies-to-lovers romances!
I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.
I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.
anitak88's review against another edition
2.0
Such an interesting concept but unfortunately all of the follow-through was just not there. It was a really short book and I think because of it a lot of the world building and character and relationship development with sacrificed and it really showed because I didn't feel connected to any of the characters I didn't feel connected to the world and unfortunately I didn't feel the connection between the characters whether it was the romantic relationship or the friendships that were formed. Everything just seemed very very rushed and because of it it wasn't as good as it could have or should have been. Because of this I don't think I will be continuing on with the series.
lifeinthebooklane's review
4.0
Had 50 - 70 pages had been edited out of the first half of this book it is highly likely that I would have rated this as 5 stars. Sadly the book suffered from a distinct lack of pace in the first half, enough to have had me considering whether to DNF'ing this at one point. The slower tempo would have been easily forgiven had it been the result of spending time on rich and powerful world building, but whilst the setting was well developed it wasn't comprehensively detailed enough to justify the lack of forward movement for such a significant number of pages.
However that is the only issue I had with what was otherwise a great book. I adored Margrete and Bash, though I wasn't particularly enamoured with his name. Both characters showed good growth during the story, were well rounded and immensely likeable. The chemistry between this pair was absolutely scorching and I was fully invested in their relationship.
Whilst I half suspected some aspects of the story there were simply far too many twists and turns for me to guess, or even suspect, them all. The last third was a non-stop rollercoaster of action and adventure. Despite the shaky start I am sold on this series and cannot wait for book #2.
However that is the only issue I had with what was otherwise a great book. I adored Margrete and Bash, though I wasn't particularly enamoured with his name. Both characters showed good growth during the story, were well rounded and immensely likeable. The chemistry between this pair was absolutely scorching and I was fully invested in their relationship.
Whilst I half suspected some aspects of the story there were simply far too many twists and turns for me to guess, or even suspect, them all. The last third was a non-stop rollercoaster of action and adventure. Despite the shaky start I am sold on this series and cannot wait for book #2.
keyyylo's review against another edition
2.0
Don’t mind me, I just hate insta love… GIRL, IT’S BEEN BARELY A WEEK, GET A GRIP
lenneke's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
books_lover's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
amavia91's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This was recommended to me as an indie romantasy with a conflict between gods of the sea, a mystical island, and an love affair between a pirate king and the daughter of a evil captain. Overall I have no complaints, but the narrative and characters did not stand independently of tropes and I'm struggling to remember details to include here in this review. There are two more books in the trilogy and I will likely not return to them unless I find myself in need of a light narrative to bring me out of a reading slump.
ameserole's review against another edition
4.0
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Is it sad that The Girl Who Belonged to the Sea has been on my TBR for almost a year? I think it is because I finally found the time to jump into this. While this might be the first book within The Azantian Trilogy, I can already tell you that I'm super excited to jump into the next two books.
In this, you will meet Margrete and Bash. Now I absolutely adored, loved, and cherished these two characters. Seriously, I don't think I've ever fallen so quickly in love with someone after meeting them. It was definitely main character insta-love syndrome and I'm okay with that.
Now Margrete's life sucks. She's constantly abused by her own father and dreams of escaping. The only downside if she leaves, her little sister will be subjected to the torture instead. So, when she's thrown into a random marriage, she doesn't think she will be rescued by some pirates. Handsome pirates that is.
Enter Bash. These two were just peas in a pod. They were so similar to one another it was kind of scary. They are both selfless and grow on one another quite easily. Which, yes, made things very easy to ship them together. The constant push and pull within their relationship made it way too easy to devour. I loved their bantering so much and the sexual tension between them made their chemistry very likable.
In the end, I had so much fun reading this book. Silently kicking myself for waiting so freaking long to jump into this book. If I cross paths with the sequel, I will not hesitate to read it right then and there. Definitely need more books within this series and from Katherine stat!
Is it sad that The Girl Who Belonged to the Sea has been on my TBR for almost a year? I think it is because I finally found the time to jump into this. While this might be the first book within The Azantian Trilogy, I can already tell you that I'm super excited to jump into the next two books.
In this, you will meet Margrete and Bash. Now I absolutely adored, loved, and cherished these two characters. Seriously, I don't think I've ever fallen so quickly in love with someone after meeting them. It was definitely main character insta-love syndrome and I'm okay with that.
Now Margrete's life sucks. She's constantly abused by her own father and dreams of escaping. The only downside if she leaves, her little sister will be subjected to the torture instead. So, when she's thrown into a random marriage, she doesn't think she will be rescued by some pirates. Handsome pirates that is.
Enter Bash. These two were just peas in a pod. They were so similar to one another it was kind of scary. They are both selfless and grow on one another quite easily. Which, yes, made things very easy to ship them together. The constant push and pull within their relationship made it way too easy to devour. I loved their bantering so much and the sexual tension between them made their chemistry very likable.
In the end, I had so much fun reading this book. Silently kicking myself for waiting so freaking long to jump into this book. If I cross paths with the sequel, I will not hesitate to read it right then and there. Definitely need more books within this series and from Katherine stat!