An epic adventure with pirates, princesses and dragons – what a trio, I was sold the moment I read the blurb! Honestly wow, what a story this was. A great combination of spice and sincerity, with forbidden romance and found family as key tropes. Anacostia is a screenwriter with a background in filmmaking, so it is no wonder I felt this could be made into a film. Also, she is a real one for growing up with The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I have a lot of respect for people like that.

This is Book 1 of The Guardians of Farlight Isles series.

I raced through this because it was so good! Anacostia has a way with words that made me want to join in the swashbuckling adventure. Some moments really made me feel like “this needs to be a film”. It was fast-paced and I loved the storyline, how strong Maeve is as a character who only gets stronger as the book goes on, the chemistry between her and Leviathan, the friends made along the way, and the secrets that get revealed though all quite predictable.
I loved the wording/descriptions, in the first chapter especially. Very poetic. There is a good mixture of funny, serious and steamy moments.
The name of the ship is clever as The Ollipheist is akin to the Irish word Oilliphéist meaning sea serpent/monster. The only negative thing: there was not enough action for this book to be as long as it was. I accept this is the case as it is Book 1 of a series, and a starting book is always a lot slower as it introduces the world, themes, people, the overall plot. I am very eager for Book 2! ( )

I’m so glad I came across this book - what a fun, surprising, sea-faring adventure! Pirates and sea monsters and villains, oh my.

The story grips you from the first few pages and the author does a fantastic job of making it feel immersive - you can feel, smell, and visualize what’s happening (but those details don’t weigh the story down at all). The pacing is fast and the bread crumb reveals about characters and plot points had me flying through this because I was so intrigued and HAD to know what was next. A few points I literally gasped and said *WHAT* out loud.

Probably my favorite element was the crew. There were so many unexpected layers to this cast, they were very diverse and such a strong found family 😍 I loved how natural it was that there were queer and disabled people, and various races (elf, merrow, human, leviathan, and other sea creates, etc) in this world. I’m really looking forward to learning more about them all and their stories.

This was a romantasy with a fast burn attraction and slow burn romance between two feisty and fierce characters. 🤌🏻 Lots of open door spice (🔥🥵), but the author does an excellent job with content warnings in the beginning of the book so you know what you are getting into (or want to skip).

I enjoyed this wild ride so much I didn’t want the story to end and can’t wait for the next installment!

This is an honest, spoiler-free review of an advanced reader copy provided by Hot Tree Publishing, the author and LibraryThing. ( )

This was an extremely interesting book that I flew through. I only have a few things that I am critical of. One was that the King Should have been killed, you are pirates, and as such should act like it. The second is that I think a few scenes should have been condensed down or edited to make more room for the main plot of the book as we still don't have answers to a lot of the main questions in the story. Overall though a very good read!

I adored this book on the first reading, but that may change on the second reading so stay tuned. I will let this breathe a little before I attempt a second read-through, review will be up in a few days. I suspect I will still love it though.

*Second Read through*

Mae and Levi are now on my list for 2024's best couple. Their interactions are always entertaining and engaging. The lust is there, but it doesn't override their critical thinking skills which I love. There are plenty of contentions between the two that propel the story forward, however, it is at the cost of the pacing and narrative flow of the story. The story has to kick into high gear to justify the time spent between the two leads. Also, important details like Mae's past and Levi's role in this world are glossed over to focus on two things; the looming threat in the distance and spicy interludes between. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed much of the book, but I couldn't help but think this book should have been split into two books instead of one. Wraith, The Twins, and especially Mae and Levi would have greatly benefitted from more development especially more time spent at sea. 4.5 stars, can't wait to continue the rest of the series.

Thank you Early Reviewers, Anacostia Miller, and Hot Tree Publishing for the advance copy. ( )