brealawton 's review for:

Blood on the Tide by Katee Robert
3.0

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with a digital arc of this book!

*light spoilers*

Blood on the Tide is the second book in Katee Robert's swashbuckling fantasy romance series, and it follows bloodline vampire, Lizzie, and selkie, Maeve. Readers see Lizzie as a secondary character in the first book, Hunt on Dark Water, and in another series by Robert, Court of the Vampire Queen. The story starts off with Lizzie reluctantly working with the rebellion to take down the Cwn Annwn, biding her time until she can return her family's stolen jewels. Together, she teams up with Maeve, a selkie who has had her skin stolen. Along the way, the two grow closer and closer as their goals seem to shift.

I don't really have any strong opinions about this book. I generally like Katee Robert's works because they are enjoyable and easy to read. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it is a fun palate cleanser. In this book, I enjoyed learning more about the other types of creatures in this world, like selkies and shapeshifters. I also enjoyed getting to see Lizzie have a bit of a soft spot.

I feel this book needs to be longer. The relationship between Lizzie and Maeve wasn't drawn out enough to make the strangers to reluctant allies to lovers arc feel earned. I also didn't see much about the war or others involved in it. Just when I felt the book was starting to get good, it ended. This book could have done well with another 100 pages, giving the events more time to breathe and teaching the readers more about the world as a whole. Overall, this story doesn't stand out to me very much; it was rather forgettable. 3/5