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elyse12's review against another edition
5.0
*4.5*
This companion was so amazing! I loved this new story so much, I want more!
This companion was so amazing! I loved this new story so much, I want more!
rachel_brisson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
annie76's review against another edition
4.0
I'm sad that I didn't know about this series before! From what I gather, this is a standalone novel set in the universe of a trilogy by the author. After reading this, I'm definitely going to check those out!
This was described as "Island of the Blue Dolphins" meets "The Hunger Games" and that's pretty apt. The world is magical and the people we meet are interesting. I would've loved some additional detail, but I suspect part of that is not having read the other series set in Renthia.
If you enjoy the stories of young people changing the world, overthrowing power hungry jerks, and bonding with "spirits" to keep them from destroying, well, everything, you should give this book a go!
This was described as "Island of the Blue Dolphins" meets "The Hunger Games" and that's pretty apt. The world is magical and the people we meet are interesting. I would've loved some additional detail, but I suspect part of that is not having read the other series set in Renthia.
If you enjoy the stories of young people changing the world, overthrowing power hungry jerks, and bonding with "spirits" to keep them from destroying, well, everything, you should give this book a go!
lindakat's review against another edition
4.0
Three and a half stars, rounding up to four.
A fantastical story about grief and loss and healing.
Mayara holds a gift of connecting with spirits, being able to communicate with them, a wonderful gift if not for the fact that once discovered she would be called in for treason and given two choices. Become a Silent One and lose all connection to your old life or chose to survive on an island for a month (with naught but the clothes on your back) one inhabited by spirits of all sorts wanting to kill and probably die as her sister did.
Beautifully written but I expected nothing other from Sarah Beth Durst, amazing world building, likable characters.
A fantastical story about grief and loss and healing.
Mayara holds a gift of connecting with spirits, being able to communicate with them, a wonderful gift if not for the fact that once discovered she would be called in for treason and given two choices. Become a Silent One and lose all connection to your old life or chose to survive on an island for a month (with naught but the clothes on your back) one inhabited by spirits of all sorts wanting to kill and probably die as her sister did.
Beautifully written but I expected nothing other from Sarah Beth Durst, amazing world building, likable characters.
delaneyreadssff's review
3.0
This one was a 4/5 for me!
A huge shout out to Harper Voyager for sending me a copy to read and review!
*All opinions are my own.*
The Deepest Blue is the story of Mayara, who lives in a world where a queen is quintessential to the well-being of her people. There are many malicious spirits, and a queen needs to keep them in check to protect her people. If anyone has the power to control these spirits, they're either recruited to protect the kingdom, or they are sent to take a "test" to possibly become the heir queen. It is a beautiful, island-centered fantasy that is great for fans of The Hunger Games!
We follow Mayara as she gets married at the very beginning to her love, Kelo, but their celebration is interrupted by a storm filled with angry spirits. Their town gets destroyed, and Mayara ends up having to use a power she's kept hidden from nearly everyone on her island, she cant control the spirits. This leads her and Kelo to be on the run, because once she's used her powers, she has two choices.
She can choose to be a Silent One for the queen, or to take a test to see if she can become the heir queen, to adequately control all of these spirits, and protect the people of Belene.
Minor Spoilers below!
The things I loved!
I really enjoyed the setting of this, it's an island-centered fantasy and I loved getting to see where Mayara grew up, and that she loves to dive for oysters. The author does a great job describing whichever setting the characters are in, and islands are right up my alley. I really enjoyed that this "testing" was similar to The Hunger Games, but much more gruesome (in my opinion) because of the ferocity of the spirits that are hunting the girls trying to become the heir queen. TW for graphic attacks in this novel.
The things I didn't love!
Some of the jokes in here felt a bit young for the subject matter. They pulled me out of the story every once in a while. I wished that we'd had another 50 pages before the storm-spirit attack, and that we'd spent more time on during the testing.
I usually don't want books to be longer, but I felt that this book might have benefited from a little more background on the bond of Kelo and Mayara, as well as the relationships of Mayara and the other girls while they are on the Island of Testing.
Overall I really enjoyed this very original story! The setting was amazing, and I loved getting to know Mayara and how strong of a character she is. I'd recommend it to fans of The Hunger Games or to people who enjoy island-centered fantasy (which I'd love to see more of so please send me your recommendations!).
A huge shout out to Harper Voyager for sending me a copy to read and review!
*All opinions are my own.*
The Deepest Blue is the story of Mayara, who lives in a world where a queen is quintessential to the well-being of her people. There are many malicious spirits, and a queen needs to keep them in check to protect her people. If anyone has the power to control these spirits, they're either recruited to protect the kingdom, or they are sent to take a "test" to possibly become the heir queen. It is a beautiful, island-centered fantasy that is great for fans of The Hunger Games!
We follow Mayara as she gets married at the very beginning to her love, Kelo, but their celebration is interrupted by a storm filled with angry spirits. Their town gets destroyed, and Mayara ends up having to use a power she's kept hidden from nearly everyone on her island, she cant control the spirits. This leads her and Kelo to be on the run, because once she's used her powers, she has two choices.
She can choose to be a Silent One for the queen, or to take a test to see if she can become the heir queen, to adequately control all of these spirits, and protect the people of Belene.
Minor Spoilers below!
The things I loved!
I really enjoyed the setting of this, it's an island-centered fantasy and I loved getting to see where Mayara grew up, and that she loves to dive for oysters. The author does a great job describing whichever setting the characters are in, and islands are right up my alley. I really enjoyed that this "testing" was similar to The Hunger Games, but much more gruesome (in my opinion) because of the ferocity of the spirits that are hunting the girls trying to become the heir queen. TW for graphic attacks in this novel.
The things I didn't love!
Some of the jokes in here felt a bit young for the subject matter. They pulled me out of the story every once in a while. I wished that we'd had another 50 pages before the storm-spirit attack, and that we'd spent more time on during the testing.
I usually don't want books to be longer, but I felt that this book might have benefited from a little more background on the bond of Kelo and Mayara, as well as the relationships of Mayara and the other girls while they are on the Island of Testing.
Overall I really enjoyed this very original story! The setting was amazing, and I loved getting to know Mayara and how strong of a character she is. I'd recommend it to fans of The Hunger Games or to people who enjoy island-centered fantasy (which I'd love to see more of so please send me your recommendations!).
andriaerin's review against another edition
3.0
I found that, while I did enjoy this book, it took me a really long time to get through and the pacing was a little all over the place. The first few chapters and the last few chapters were action packed and moved quickly, but a lot the middle was inconsistent with pacing. There would be chapters that felt purposeful and moved the plot along and there would be chapters that seemed like their sole purpose was to reinforce the difficulty of the island test or the danger of using powers or something along those lines. As an adult fantasy novel, I expected more exploration of the magic systems and the world but we got a cursory explanation of the powers and some world building; the world building was stronger than the explanation of the magic system (The role of the magic system was mostly clear, but not the how of it). I enjoyed the book and would recommend it if you like fantasy novels with unique worlds though!
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Loved reading this book again, remembering some of the big twists! It was such a fantastic read, and I enjoyed it so much again! Though I'm still hoping for more from this world!
*First Read December 22nd 2018*
Oh, this was such a great book, we were in the same world, but a different country! Loved it, and things are different-and there's only 1 familiar character. Loved learning about the traditions of the islands, because traditions are really important! Such a great book! Kinda hope we get a book for each country, now!
*First Read December 22nd 2018*
Oh, this was such a great book, we were in the same world, but a different country! Loved it, and things are different-and there's only 1 familiar character. Loved learning about the traditions of the islands, because traditions are really important! Such a great book! Kinda hope we get a book for each country, now!
kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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? No
4.0
First of all, this cover is everything! I'm loving Sarah Beth Durst too much right now. This was like Hunger Games, but 10,000% better?! And with spirit magic? And queens? And islands made of sea monster bones? Only docked a star cuz the romance was kinda bleh. I liked Kelo more doing his own thing and painting sh!t.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Slavery, Violence, and Kidnapping
shays's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this title from the publisher.
The Deepest Blue is a standalone novel set in the world of Durst’s Queens of Renthia trilogy. Not having read that trilogy, I wasn’t sure how well I would pick up on this novel, but I found that I didn’t need to be familiar with The Queen of Blood or its sequels in order to follow Mayara’s adventures. No doubt there were some references that I missed out on, but I was never confused about what was going on. I did gather that one of my favourite characters, Lady Garnah—Queen’s advisor and chief poisoner—was a crossover from the original books, so I look forward to backtracking to read more about her exploits, as well as the world of Renthia. more
The Deepest Blue is a standalone novel set in the world of Durst’s Queens of Renthia trilogy. Not having read that trilogy, I wasn’t sure how well I would pick up on this novel, but I found that I didn’t need to be familiar with The Queen of Blood or its sequels in order to follow Mayara’s adventures. No doubt there were some references that I missed out on, but I was never confused about what was going on. I did gather that one of my favourite characters, Lady Garnah—Queen’s advisor and chief poisoner—was a crossover from the original books, so I look forward to backtracking to read more about her exploits, as well as the world of Renthia. more
femke495's review against another edition
Dnf at page 124*
This is definitely not a bad book!
But unfortunately it’s just not what I wanted out of it.
This is definitely not a bad book!
But unfortunately it’s just not what I wanted out of it.