Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst

Sea of Charms (Spellshop #3) by Sarah Beth Durst

I read my first Sarah Beth Durst book earlier this year, and I've since flown through the rest of her books. So, I was incredibly excited to receive an ARC of her newest release—not just to read it early, but to gush about it afterward.

Every Sarah Beth Durst book feels like a cozy hug. They center on characters finding where they belong in the world while building meaningful friendships along the way. Add in magic, sentient plant companions, and a cast of wonderfully unique and colorful characters, and you're in for such a charming reading experience.

I somehow find myself loving each of her books even more than the last. It certainly helps that the Spellshop series continues to have brief cameos from earlier characters.

In Sea of Charms, one of the main characters is Marin, whom we first met in The Enchanted Greenhouse. As a supply runner, she plays a vital role in supporting a remote island community, and this story gives us her perspective while expanding her journey in a meaningful way. Reading this during the summer made it feel even more magical—I could practically feel the sea breeze alongside Marin and her crew. This book was much more action-packed than the previous installments in the series. The crew embarks on several exciting adventures at sea and spends more time in the heart of the city during the revolution. While I've enjoyed every book in the series, this one was my favorite so far because of its fast-paced plot and memorable adventures.

I especially enjoyed watching Marin begin to truly heal and move forward from the wounds of her past. Dax’s wide-eyed wonder as he experiences the world for himself for the first time is heartwarming, and seeing him learn to make his own choices with Marin's encouragement made their relationship all the more rewarding to follow.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Synopsis: Her boat. Her rules. His music. Their hearts . . .

Marin has always belonged on the great blue sea. Betrayed by love, she lives and works as a supply runner, sailing from island to island, delivering an array of goods with Perri the sea serpent and Ree the sailor shrub as her crew.

On one of her routine trips to the capital, Alyssium, Marin finds a revolution underway ― and a friend in the line of fire.

What starts as a rescue evolves into a deal: Marin will keep Dax on as a member of her crew if he pretends to be her boyfriend at the End-of-Harvest Festival back home.

But against her better judgment, Marin finds herself intrigued by his stubbornness, his passion for stories, his charming smile ― and realizes that perhaps she isn’t saving him. Maybe it’s the other way around.

View my Review on Goodreads

Vesselless by Cortney L. Winn

Vesselless by Cortney L. Winn

I was quickly sucked into this romantasy with an enemies to lovers trope. An heiress to the throne and the half-dead king whose throne was stolen by the heiress’s father? Add in spirits lending powers and the Death God requiring the half-dead king to steal the heiress’s soul in order to save his people? Sign me up.

As I mentioned, I was quickly sucked into this book as the writing and pacing were easy to read and engaging right off the bat. I had a hard time making myself stop to go to bed and thus finished it in only two days. The two main characters were developed very well and had relatable conflicts. Nizzara is good and kind and truly cares about the people she will one day lead. She has to play a part to satisfy her cruel father, but she still remembers kind moments with him and loves him at times. She has become a true warrior but refuses to kill, even when it may mean she will die instead in the dueling tournament she must participate in as the heiress. Dagen is a wicked flirt, but is also sacrificing himself to save his people. He starts to realize that Nizzara isn’t as she appears but how can he give up his entire kingdom for one person? I enjoyed how things slowly developed between them as they learned different truths of the other and wow, did it create a complicated ending!

There were a couple of things that made me only give this book four stars instead of five. First, the world building needed a little more explanation at times. I was still confused at the end of this installment on how the soul-bonding happened with spirits and how some become possessed but others don’t. I was also confused by the magic or power as a whole. There are those that have vessels and thus gain a certain magical power. And yet, there are also gem stones that can create power but only in certain ways and they can lose their charge but there is no explanation on if they can be recharged or not? There is somehow a car-like vehicle that runs on these gems but there are still horse-drawn carriages because this world still lacks a lot of modern luxuries or inventions. I didn’t understand how both could be true when there was such a large gap between certain situations. So I was left with several questions and the ending further confused me since it became a bit rushed.

Overall, I still really enjoyed this book and the characters. I know I’ll be picking up the second installment once it’s released, what a cliffhanger to live with until then!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

Synopsis: She’s heiress to the throne. The throne her father stole from him.

Nizzara has always been able to perceive spirits better than the average caster. When she enters a deadly tournament to end her betrothal, she's determined to win without succumbing to the addictive spirit magic she channels or taking a life in the duel ring. Finding herself outmatched, Nizzara must face her fear of power and team up with Dagen—an enemy who is half-ghost and all charm—to survive the tournament.

Dagen, the last King of Zarr, was killed by Nizzara’s father ten years ago. Now a half-ghost—able to phase between his human and spirit form—he is stuck in another realm, hunting wretched souls. When his keeper offers him a chance to reclaim his freedom in exchange for Nizzara’s soul, Dagen takes the deal.

There’s only one catch: she must freely give it to him by the tournament’s end or his own soul is forfeit.

View my Review on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7117528476