A review by jaynem
The Call of the Sea by Kate Schumacher

adventurous emotional 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

5.0

#ARCreview

The Call of the Sea

The first book in The Grail Cycle, The Call of the Sea is a reimagining of Arthurian Legend with magic and pirates. 

Once, the world was ruled by those with magic in their blood. But once was a long time ago. Jenyfer has lived in Kernou all her life but longs to leave this place before what she is is discovered. Ordes lives his life on the sea, a pirate with The Excalibur that finds himself inexplicably drawn to Jenyfer when their two worlds collide. Arthur is the son of the Chif who wants a different life than the one set out for him by his oppressive father. Jenyfer’s magic is revealed which sets in motion a chain of events that will change the course of Jenyfer, Ordes and Arthur’s lives forever. 

I absolutely adore Kate Schumacher’s writing and The Call of the Sea is no exception. Kate manages to build a great world and put in it interesting and well fleshed out characters that you can’t help but love. Well, you don’t love all of them, but that is more about some character’s actions than anything else. 

Jenyfer and Ordes have great chemistry and I love their banter. They can say so much without saying a lot of words. 

“Hello witch”

“Hello pirate”

It was great to pick out the pieces of Arthurian Legend that Kate uses. Some are very obvious while others are more subtle and not discovered until the very end. I also liked the reveal that this world is part of a larger universe that includes Kate’s other books in The Fires of Aileryan so I look forward to finding out how they are connected. 

Pick up this book if you like:

Slow burn romance

Spice

Arthurian legends

Pirates with sexy swagger

Magic

I can’t wait to see where this story goes in Book 2.