Monday, April 15, 2024

Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long


Dark Water Daughte
r is the first in The Winter Sea series by H.M. Long.  Some swashbuckling fun with pirates, privateers, storm singers, and ghistings (sentient trees often made into the figureheads for sailing ships).

Told from 2 points of view:  Mary Firth, the storm singer and Samuel Rosser, disgraced former Navy, now employed as a Sooth on a privateer vessel.

Storm singers can control the weather, and are highly prized by sailing ships that often enslave them. Mary is powerful, but has received no instruction and has little experience. Mary wants to find her mother, a legendary storm singer who has been missing for years.

The world building is successful and the story grabs your attention when Mary escapes hanging after having been misidentified as a notorious  highway[wo]man. Although she escapes the noose by calling a storm, she immediately falls into the hands of men who auction her off as a storm singer.

Dark Water Daughter is a nautical/magical adventure that has promise as a series.  It wasn't quite as satisfying as I hoped, but it was entertaining.  I plan to read the next book, Black Tide Son, at some point. 

Piratical Fantasy
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I've been catching up on the Cyrus Haven series by Michael Robotham and reading when I get tired in the garden.  Initially, I manage an hour or a little more before resting/reading and starting again, but the periods of work get shorter and the rests longer as the day goes on!  By the end of the day, it is mostly reading.

2 comments:

  1. The world building in this one does sound very fun. I love pirates! And mastheads from sentient trees plus storm singers? I definitely want to check this one out. And I also need to catch up on Robotham's Cyrus Haven series. Maybe this summer...when (if) I have more time to read. :D

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    1. I liked Dark Water Daughter and the adventure. There is never enough time to read everything on our lists!

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