ARC Review: In Deeper Waters

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we were both very excited about this next book. And it’s no little help that the cover for it is absolutely gorgeous. And you can get your hands on it in just under a week! So, without further ado, have a read of why we think you want this book!

A young prince must rely on a mysterious stranger to save him when he is kidnapped during his coming-of-age tour in this swoony adventure that is The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Pirates of the Caribbean.

Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his family’s kingdom for the first time. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their crew discovers a mysterious prisoner on a burning derelict vessel.

Tasked with watching over the prisoner, Tal is surprised to feel an intense connection with the roguish Athlen. So when Athlen leaps overboard and disappears, Tal feels responsible and heartbroken, knowing Athlen could not have survived in the open ocean.

That is, until Tal runs into Athlen days later on dry land, very much alive, and as charming—and secretive—as ever. But before they can pursue anything further, Tal is kidnapped by pirates and held ransom in a plot to reveal his rumored powers and instigate a war. Tal must escape if he hopes to save his family and the kingdom. And Athlen might just be his only hope…

In Deeper Waters

F. T. Lukens

Goodreads

Rep: bi/pan mc, mlm li
Release: 20th April 2021

Charlotte’s Review

If you’re looking for a quick, standalone fantasy read with a very sweet romantic subplot, then look no further than In Deeper Waters. At just over 300 pages, it’s the perfect book to get read in a single afternoon*.

*Timings may vary.

In Deeper Waters follows Tal, the youngest son of a queen (and fourth youngest child of five) who, on his coming of age tour, ends up kidnapped and ransomed, on account of his magic and to incite a war. He also meets a mysterious stranger, Athlen, who comes to be the only person he can trust in his quest to stop the war.

Like I said at the start, this book is quite gentle. And, while it may be sort of high stakes theoretically, it’s not very tense (this may or may not be a selling point, but I kind of liked it). I mean that in the sense that I never really worried whether someone wouldn’t survive the book, so I could just sit back and relax and enjoy the whole thing.

And it was a highly enjoyable book. I think, perhaps, if I’d read this when I was a fair bit younger, closer to the protagonist’s age maybe, I’d have enjoyed it even more. But it was a fun and fairly light read. And the plot was fast-moving. If you’ve followed my reviews at all this year, you’ve probably watched me get increasingly bored by the pacing of many YA fantasies, but that definitely wasn’t the case here.

I think the best part of the book was in the romance, which is, as I mentioned earlier, very sweet. Actually, I think the author hits completely the right tone with it as well, since both the main character and the love interest are only sixteen. It has very much an innocent first love feel to it, and that’s lovely.

Really, then, if you’re looking for the kind of fantasy you can get absorbed by, lose an hour or two in reading, and come out with a gooey smile plastered across your face? You won’t want to miss out on this one.

Anna’s Review

In Deeper Waters is the kind of book I was destined to enjoy. It’s fantasy, yes, but it’s very heavily focused on romance, and if you know anything about me, it surely is how much I love when that happens.

This isn’t to say that nothing else happens, apart from two boys being into each other. It’s quite the opposite actually, it’s action-packed. It’s just that even with everything that’s going on, with kidnappings and ransoms, and a threat of war, there’s always this undercurrent of love. The romance feels like the central part of the novel, even though it technically really isn’t.

I think it’s the love that ultimately makes this a very gentle book. Not even the romance, but love in general. Because yes, Tal has a family that he loves fiercely and who loves him back to death; there are friends becoming a found family; there are people just willing to help others. To balance out every dramatic thing that takes place, there’s at least one tender scene, overflowing with love.

In Deeper Waters might not be the kind of book to keep you at the edge of your seat with anticipation (the vibes are pretty clear from the start: there will be a happy ending), but it sure is one that will make you feel safe & welcomed. And, most importantly, loved. It’s a story you want to read on a rainy day, so its softness would warm you (and your heart).

So, have we convinced you that you want to read this book?

• 

•