Song of the Abyss by Makiia Lucier

A wonderful followup to Isle of Blood and Stone, this novel sweeps the reader into an aquatic adventure featuring strange lands and magic. It's readable alone if you haven't read Isle; the main character this time around was a minor character in that one, and a few of the main characters from there show up as minors in this one, but it's very much it's own story.




I loved the detail, things like the smell of the spices and the dresses Reyna (reluctantly) wears. The mystery was fascinating and I read this in almost one go...had to stop for work, more's the pity, but I got there in the end. The ghosts really creeped me out, too! I wasn't so sure of the instalove, but I've learned to accept and mostly ignore it, as it features in so many books nowadays.

The ending did leave a couple of threads hanging, but that's probably for the best. Although I would like to know if Mercedes was alright in the end! I hope there's more books set in this strange, magical world. I'll happily keep reading.

They came in the night as she dreamt, in her berth, on a ship sailing home to del Mar. After, they would be all Reyna thought about: two carracks painted scorpion black. No emblem on either forecastle, no pennants flying above the mainmasts to hint at a kingdom of origin.

Never a good sign.

As the granddaughter of a famed navigator, seventeen-year-old Reyna has always lived life on her own terms, despite those who say a girl could never be an explorer for the royal house of St. John del Mar. She is determined to prove them wrong, and as she returns home after a year-long expedition, she knows her dream is within reach. No longer an apprentice, instead: Reyna, Master Explorer.

But when menacing raiders attack her ship, those dreams are pushed aside. Reyna’s escape is both desperate and dangerous, and when next she sees her ship, a mystery rises from the deep. The sailors–her captain, her countrymen–have vanished. To find them, Reyna must use every resource at her disposal . . . including placing her trust in a handsome prince from a rival kingdom.

Together they uncover a disturbing truth. The attack was no isolated incident. Troubling signs point to a shadowy kingdom in the north, and for once, the rulers of the Sea of Magdalen agree: something must be done. But can Reyna be brave enough to find a way?