A review by lisakn
The Seafarer's Kiss by Julia Ember

3.0

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first: this book was a rollercoaster. And not in the fun way. It was more like watching the relationship between two moody teenagers, ready to turn on each other and switch up their attitudes fast enough to give you whiplash. The pacing was off and especially the beginning was a little off. It wasn't super well timed either, often throwing stuff into the story out of nowhere, unexpected and maybe even unnecessary. I also had a hard time connecting to any of the characters. This wasn't helped by the fact that the characters felt inconsistent, doing or saying X only to turn around and do or say something that contradicts that later.

However: it was a pretty entertaining book with own voices representation. It features a community that both accepts and encourages bisexuality and people exercising their sexuality, it featured an f/f romance, and it has a non-binary character. And none of it felt forced! It was also fun to watch Ersel grow in the ways she did show some development, and watching her trying to outsmart the gods and take control of her fate was good too.

Over all: pretty decent and a quick read, though its shortness becomes its downfall as it might have been vastly improved by using more pages and taking more time to smooth everything out and maybe add some more world building