Reviews with content warning for Confinement - In Deeper Waters

Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens

57 reviews

adonis_march's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Now, BookTok likes to recommend this as a fluffy wholesome gay love story… while the relationship between Tal and Athlen is very wholesome, well-built, and refreshingly healthy, oh my god no it is not!

In the best way possible, In Deeper Waters is like investigating what the events of Avatar The Last Airbender would be like from the perspective of Zuko’s grandkids. It begins incredibly slow, and the writing style takes a bit to get used to. Especially in the beginning, some of the choices used read a la an above average Wattpad/AO3 fanfic.

HOWEVER, by god was Talisen’s emotional arc incredibly well-written and engaging. There are painfully realistic spirals and turns that could be seen as an extended metaphor for inherited mental illness or personality disorder. The rest of the characters also became hopelessly endearing, overcoming any challenges in prose.

All the pirates were evil though, so points off. (Not really, but again, it was recommended to me as a gay pirate novel and it’s really not about pirates at all).

The ending was going to decide if this came down to a 3/5 or a 4/5 and I can assure you, it stuck the landing.

While it’s not for the light, fluffy mood that people recommend it, still a fun, enjoyable read once you push through the beginning!

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writewithapendragon's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Lovely setting and story, sweet romance between characters. Somewhat predictable plot but still enjoyable!

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nyssa_jo's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

3.5

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the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A romance between a merman and a magical prince on a pirate ship is pretty adorable and a fun love story! I liked Tal and Athlen, though I feel the chemistry between the characters was a bit rushed!

The plot felt unresolved or unexplored in a few ways, which left me with a lot of questions.

Are we assuming Athlen's family is dead? What happened with the sea floor? Why would Athlen be the only survivor? What is happening with Vanessa? Is Isa Queen now?

I would have appreciated more time or a second book being added to give details to those parts of the plot!

Still, it's a very fun read!

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anni_swanilda's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.0

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aexileigh's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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sssssoup's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

5.0

If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. Everything about it is executed so well and I have no complaints with it all. The characters, the worldbuilding, the plot!!! It’s all so wonderful, I was smiling while I read!

The writing style itself was so fun to read. It had a lot of description, but it felt balanced with the dialogue and it didn’t feel overly flowery. The plot was also very well done. It has a lot of moving parts and I was impressed with how everything got resolved. You could argue that the ending was too convenient, but it made sense and felt natural to me, so I’m not complaining.

I also really liked the characters a lot. The progression of Tal’s arc was very well executed and I really liked seeing how he changed over the course of the story. I also felt like

the romance between him and Athlen was very well written as well. It felt more natural and realistic than most romance subplots I’ve read in other YA books. It didn’t feel forced or rushed like romance often does (in my opinion) and it was really nice to see something where they didn’t jump straight from meeting right into being in love.

I also liked the worldbuilding and how the author took time to really explore the world’s history. I think it would’ve been nice to have a map, but I was still able to understand without one.

Overall I just really really loved this book!! It’s definitely a new favorite of mine, and it exceeded my expectations by miles. The messages and themes in it as well as the ending really made me smile and I think it’s an important book that a lot of people would benefit from reading. I will definitely be thinking about it for a long time and will be recommending it to everyone I know!

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