The Buzz
Aislynn @ Port Jericho recommended this series and I was so intrigued by the daeva and water dogs relationship that I knew I wanted to read it too. When I received a gift card The Midnight Sea was one of the books that I purchased. And I'm so glad that I gave Nazafareen and Darius a chance to win over my heart!!
I like the cover and the title. It fits with the world very well. The cover design doesn't blow me away with how spot on to the story it is but it looks professional. You would never suspect this is an indie author! Scrolling on Amazon you would jump to read what this is about, which makes for a good cover.
The Premise
The Midnight Sea is an alternate history fantasy that quite blew me away from the first chapter where we first meet the Druj, undead creatures who prey on humans. Nazafareen lives to avenge her little sister and she gets her chance when she joins the King's elite Water Dogs. I really loved the idea of this elite group of soldiers using a certain kind of Druj, called daeva, to battle the larger undead host. It wove together culture from this time period with fantastical magic and a mystery that we didn't even know we wanted.
Set right before the fall of the Persian Empire during Alexander the Great's time, The Midnight Sea gives readers a glimpse of what this time might have been like if plagued by an invading undead army on one side and a charismatic king of the other. Nazafareen wasn't supposed to be in the middle of this war. She's from a small mountain tribe who barely survive, but the death of her sister changed everything and brought her to Darius. I really loved that their relationship was all business at first. Being in each other's heads brought them closer and their own choices too care of the rest.
The magic involved in The Midnight Sea was fascinatingly different. There is this aspect of slavery to the daeva that was quite dark and brutal with their cuffs that forge the bond with their water dog but also binds their magic. We only get glimpses of this dark world through Nazafareen's experiences with Darius but it totally grabs you by the throat. As we shifted from hunting down the escaped daeva with Ilyas, Nazafareen's captain, and the drama from that epic battle events get really nasty. I'm talking another level of dark and brutal. It's satisfying but also torturous!
My Experience
The Midnight Sea doesn't have your typical info dumping which was such a pleasure!! We cover a lot of time as Nazafareen starts when she was 12 years old and watched her sister die and takes us through joining the Water Dogs, training with and without her daeva and finally bonding with him. I don't typically enjoy this type of narrative where things are summarized but Kat Ross utilized this style with skill!! She pulled out specific scenes and moments that highlighted everything about the world and related it to Nazafareen's specific experience. It totally captures you for when we transition to a more typical moment by moment narrative when they go after the escaped daeva.
Nazafareen's captain, trainer and friend is Ilyas. He is bonded to Tomas, a daeva whom he has a rather rocky relationship with. Ilyas quite captured me, just as strongly as Nazafareen and Darius did. I didn't realize what a strong part of the story he would turn out to hold but its deliciously morally grey and his descent into madness was such a great foil to the partnership and slow burn love that Nazafareen and Darius developed. We need more mental health storylines like this one in fantasy!
I also loved learning about the daeva through Darius and his back history. I enjoyed Nazafareen's friendship with another water dog. The diversity was so subtle but wonderfully incorporated!! We have a M/M relationship and a mute daeva who uses sign language, plus some handicaps with various characters. The history of the magic and how it was twisted was quite depthful! It's always a good sign when its clear an author has thought hard about their world.
The Midnight Sea is an engaging alternate history fantasy set in the Middle East. The daeva magic, forbidden, slow burn romance and the rich culture and history make this a must read if you enjoy books that are unique and different! Indie fantasy at its best!!
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Clive Butterfield
This is one of the best free books I have read on Kindle.
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Recensione a cura del Blog "The Reading's Love"
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