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A review by sol_journal
Sea of Souls by N.C. Scrimgeour
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
*Thank you BookSirens! I received this ARC for free and am voluntarily leaving an honest review!*
Posted to: BookSirens, Goodreads, and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 7 August 2023
4.2 (rounded down to 4) out of 5 stars.
This is my first read from N.C Scrimgeour, but the summary seemed interesting and by the end of it, I was *hooked*. I saw the title on BookSirens and figured I’d try it as I liked the maritime theme in ‘The Isles of the Gods’ so I figured I’d try another sea-based setting.
This did not disappoint.
Scrimgeour has amazing detail and scene setting. It was a little slow for me at the beginning and I struggled find the rhythm of it, but once I found my footing, I couldn’t put this one down (roughly started around the midway point). I think I really enjoyed the magic system here too, along with the lore mingled in.
There’s a nice little romance that’s pretty obvious to pinpoint out from the beginning, but I personally didn’t like it all too well. Spoilers here until the end of this paragraph!!! Darce guarded the royal family (and I think he is roughly around 6 years older than Isla if I understood the mention of it well). That’s not weird, it’s kind of my favorite trope when it’s done right (legal age gaps, ya know?), but there wasn’t much a build-up for the chemistry there. They go from Isla being the ‘wolf cub’ who was an annoyance to keep in line and Darce being this overbearing guard to suddenly they’re catching each other’s gazes and being over-protective in a different sense than before. I *did* like the implied dynamic though, don’t get me wrong, just think the flow of it could’ve been a bit smoother or painted out more.
There were a few times where some relationships were kind of fleshed out more and other times, the bonds kind of implied to have grown from what they endured together. It wasn’t too rough, but the little jumps were there. There was also this secret to why Isla hated/felt uncomfortable with other nobles that was always mentioned, but avoided every time. We kind of find out why she dislikes one character eventually, but it doesn’t really make up for much of the disappointment and hate she’s bringing up a lot before (or maybe it did, but it happened during the slower bits where I was still finding my footing within the story’s pace and writing). I also wish we’d know more about the Sea Kith, as the ones we do get to see are so interesting that I was left wanting to know more about the relationship they end up having with our main group.
Overall, though, I think I will be excitedly awaiting the second book to this! There was a twist towards the end that I didn’t entirely guess, but it left me wanting more. There was enough resolved, yet enough left behind to still unravel, and I think it’s safe to say I’m a fan of whatever else is yet to come from this selkie story!
Posted to: BookSirens, Goodreads, and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 7 August 2023
4.2 (rounded down to 4) out of 5 stars.
This is my first read from N.C Scrimgeour, but the summary seemed interesting and by the end of it, I was *hooked*. I saw the title on BookSirens and figured I’d try it as I liked the maritime theme in ‘The Isles of the Gods’ so I figured I’d try another sea-based setting.
This did not disappoint.
Scrimgeour has amazing detail and scene setting. It was a little slow for me at the beginning and I struggled find the rhythm of it, but once I found my footing, I couldn’t put this one down (roughly started around the midway point). I think I really enjoyed the magic system here too, along with the lore mingled in.
There’s a nice little romance that’s pretty obvious to pinpoint out from the beginning, but I personally didn’t like it all too well. Spoilers here until the end of this paragraph!!! Darce guarded the royal family (and I think he is roughly around 6 years older than Isla if I understood the mention of it well). That’s not weird, it’s kind of my favorite trope when it’s done right (legal age gaps, ya know?), but there wasn’t much a build-up for the chemistry there. They go from Isla being the ‘wolf cub’ who was an annoyance to keep in line and Darce being this overbearing guard to suddenly they’re catching each other’s gazes and being over-protective in a different sense than before. I *did* like the implied dynamic though, don’t get me wrong, just think the flow of it could’ve been a bit smoother or painted out more.
There were a few times where some relationships were kind of fleshed out more and other times, the bonds kind of implied to have grown from what they endured together. It wasn’t too rough, but the little jumps were there. There was also this secret to why Isla hated/felt uncomfortable with other nobles that was always mentioned, but avoided every time. We kind of find out why she dislikes one character eventually, but it doesn’t really make up for much of the disappointment and hate she’s bringing up a lot before (or maybe it did, but it happened during the slower bits where I was still finding my footing within the story’s pace and writing). I also wish we’d know more about the Sea Kith, as the ones we do get to see are so interesting that I was left wanting to know more about the relationship they end up having with our main group.
Overall, though, I think I will be excitedly awaiting the second book to this! There was a twist towards the end that I didn’t entirely guess, but it left me wanting more. There was enough resolved, yet enough left behind to still unravel, and I think it’s safe to say I’m a fan of whatever else is yet to come from this selkie story!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent