A PIRATE’S DAUGHTERTeriana is the daughter of a trading ship captain. Her people have the sea in their bones, their ships are guarded by demigods of the Sea Goddess, and they are the only ones who know how to traverse the never-ending ocean between the East and the West. A SOLDIER WITH A SECRET Marcus is the leader of the Thirty-Seventh legion, the notorious army that has led the Celendor Empire … Empire to conquer the entire East. The legion is the only family he has, and even they don’t know the secret he’s been hiding since childhood. A DANGEROUS QUESTWhen a tyrannical ruler gains power in Celendor, he kidnaps Teriana’s mother and threatens to reveal Marcus’s deepest secret unless the two of them help him conquer the unknown West. The unwilling pair, distrustful of each other’s motivations, join together for the sake of their families, and must decide how far they are willing to go, and how much of themselves they are willing to sacrifice.
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Richly-woven, evocative, and absolutely impossible to put down―I was hooked from the first lines! Dark Shores has everything I look for in a fantasy novel: fresh, unique settings, a cast of complex and diverse characters, and an unflinching boldness with the nuanced world-building. I loved every word.
I know, I’m late.
BUT IT’S NOT MY FAULT.
I blame Danielle L. Jensen. This woman has brought me so much joy, heartache, ANGZIOTY, and tears. Seriously I cried so hard at the end of Warrior Witch that I couldn’t see the page. So, it is no surprise that when I finished Dark Shores that I immediately started reading Dark Skies and oh boy!
The Dark Shores Series, being the only series by Jensen that I had not read, has been a long time coming. I have painfully been waiting for Gilded Serpent to come out before starting this series. But, when I was able to get an ARC of Gilded Serpent then I immediately (seriously, same day) started reading Dark Shores.
One of the first things I want to give my unworthy slice of advice on is to READ THESE BY THE PUBLICATION DATE!!! In the author notes, Jensen mentions that you can read either one first. This is true; however, I would recommend Dark Shores FIRST!!!
There are several reasons behind why I think this book should be read first.
1. This book does not end on a cliffhanger that is bound to make you crazy like Dark Skies does. So, if you read the other first, you can’t immediately go into Gilded Serpent. Trust me on this, you will want to!
2. I felt this story was a little more predictable. Not in a bad way, and I love both characters, but . . .
3. Lastly, I felt this book lays a solid foundation for the story to unfold.
So, why 4 stars and not 5? It is twofold really. And I want to apologies to the amazing Danielle L. Jensen in advance, because I know Marcus is her favorite . . . but . . . he was not my cup of tea. As a character, he is intriguing because there is a mystery; as to his history that we slowly start to uncover and as to his plan once he reaches the Dark Shores. (And we possibly don’t know everything by the end of this book.) But, he is kind of morally ambiguous. Everything he does is for a reason, but sometimes I don’t always agree with them. Which is great, because I love the conflict. But it does make me question him.
Now, Teriana. I FREAKING LOVE HER. I love her spirit, I love her energy, I love her friendships, and I love her resilience. She is amazing! I am looking to see the dynamic between the two in Gilded Serpent!
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Oh man, I enjoyed this one so much. The entire novel is in this grey area of morality, where the characters are forced to make the lesser evil of two difficult choices. Both of the main characters, Teriana and Marcus, were compelling and sympathetic and extremely complex. Teriana is strong and willful, and although she does complain about things from time to time, she never crosses the line into annoying. I quite enjoyed her snark and sassiness and I’m really looking forward to book two.
Rated 4.5 Stars
Dark Shores is my first book by this author and it won’t be my last as I have every intention of devouring her backlist and the rest of this series. I loved this book. The world building is superb, rich and intriguing, I so can’t wait to explore more of it. The characters are wonderfully flawed. The heroine is fierce but stumbles her way through a lot of it while the hero is an anti-hero with heroic tendencies. I loved his vulnerability and look forward to watching them both develop over the course of this series. I was originally drawn to this book because of the mention of pirates but there’s so much more to it than that, there’s politics, intrigue, betrayal, Gods, magic, a Roman like empire, romance (yes a romance which I’m so looking forward to watching grow under a less than conducive environment) and so much more. I highly recommend this book.
Copy provided by publisher through Net Galley