Cover Image: The Sunken City

The Sunken City

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Member Reviews

The Sunken City is a beautiful story that begins with the life of Amare-the sole female on a ship full of Pirates. Orphaned as a child and raised on a ship, life at sea was all she knew. She dreamt of being the Captain of the Moonshadow one day- the very ship she called home. However, there were two things pirates did not like aboard their ships-woman & magic. And so, Amare tries hard to downplay her womanhood, learns how to fight with daggers and works around the ship.
A series of events causes everything to go awry, and Amare wakes up to find herself underwater where an entire kingdom exists, magic exists and her father exists. As Amare navigates through the life she is thrown into, friendships are born, love blossoms, dangers are met, and she slowly realises that nothing is as it seems to be.
The Sunken City is a truly enchanted and captivating story that you cannot but help fall in love with. We slowly sink into this new world and learn about it along with Amare. The story lingers with you long after you finish reading.
What I liked about the book is the female protagonist who knows her way with the dagger, the world-building which was not quite what I had expected and Lukas.
I would definitely love to read the next book as so many things are left unanswered.

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I started this being told it contained many cliche tropes - however despite that this book was GOOD, like REALLY REALLY GOOD. I felt for our MC Amare and was even more drawn to her because of her surname (Bellamy - yes, like the one from 'The 100'). She was a badass, loyal, magical, earnest and to top it all off a PRINCESS (cannot get any better than that, seriously)

The ending was unexpected 🥹

Definitely recommend if you are into:
-Badass heroines
-YA fiction/romance
-Found families
-Pirates
-Magic
-Disguised MCs
-TWISTS
-Love triangles

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I tried so many times to get into this one, but it just wasn't for me. It was well written and had good elements to it, I was intrigued by pirates and the promise of an underwater world, but the modern switch caused a bit of a whiplash, from the old fashioned world that the story started out in. Also there were things that I didn't personally enjoy, but I know others who do. Probably better for teens than a thirty year old. I got a decent way through, but in the end it just wasn't one that I felt I could write a fair review on.

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This was fabulous: an incredible introduction to the series, building up fascinating worlds above and beneath the sea and an eclectic cast of characters that I can't wait to see more of. While the romance didn't entirely work for me yet, the friendships that Amare has started to build stole my heart. I can't wait to dive into the next book.

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"The Sunken City" by Emma V. R. Noyes is a captivating underwater adventure that immersed me in a world of mystery, magic, and exploration. This novel is a thrilling blend of fantasy, discovery, and the allure of hidden secrets.

Noyes' writing style is immersive and vivid, painting a rich picture of the underwater world and its mysteries. The characters in the novel are diverse and multi-dimensional, each with their own motivations and desires that contribute to the complexity of the story.

At the core of the narrative is an enthralling journey that takes readers beneath the waves to uncover the truth about a lost city. The author skillfully weaves together elements of fantasy and adventure, creating a narrative that is both exhilarating and thought-provoking.

"The Sunken City" successfully balances the excitement of the quest with the emotional depth of the characters' personal growth. The exploration of themes like bravery, friendship, and the power of determination adds resonance to the story.

In conclusion, "The Sunken City" is a mesmerizing and thrilling read that invites readers to dive into a world of wonder and mystery. If you're seeking a book that combines fantasy with a captivating adventure, this novel offers an immersive and enchanting narrative that will keep you hooked until the very last page.

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From pirate to princess... though she never loses her spunkiness/attitude.

This book seems a little far fetched as an orphaned child (or so she thought) gets dragged under the sea, turns into a mer-human, and is brought to her father's palace to find that he is now the ruler of an underwater kingdom. Then she falls for her father's handsome, and annoying, right hand man... only to be kidnapped by witch pirates who oppose her father's rule. The story seemed a little too predictable and included a love triangle that seemed unnecessary/overly emotional.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

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This book is basically the Sarah J. Maas book of pirate/mermaid fantasy, but not in a good way. What started off as an interesting and strong premise--a girl raised by pirates learns there’s much more to her life and bloodline than she originally thought--turned into a cliche, trope-y, predictable story with an unnecessary and annoying love triangle that made me want to roll my eyes.

In addition, the world-building and magic is not thoroughly explained, making the story feel like two stories smashed together. It just came across really odd that the Sunken City was this technologically advanced society underwater that read more like a YA contemporary than a fantasy story with pirates and merpeople. I was excited for a fantasy story with pirates and magic and the like and I got a girl spending her days partying with her new friends and making ridiculous life decisions to avoid responsibility and the truth of who she is.

And then part way through, the story changes AGAIN to have this completely different narrative about what is actually going on and who the real bad guys are and what powers the main character possesses. I found myself so confused and frustrated that I wasn’t able to enjoy the cooler aspects like the witch magic and the underwater pirate world and even the new side characters who seem awesome.

The Sunken City was not what I expected from the cover and premise, and I wish it had been written better and had more time to flesh out some of the better aspects to make it less cliche and trope-y overall.

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I absolutely love the cover art. It looks so magical. The beginning started out really well, but the middle waned. Some of the text felt off, like the author's use of % instead of spelling out percent. I honestly skimmed a bit of this book waiting for the action to pick back up. I did really enjoy the detailed descriptions and can't wait to see where the story goes in the next book.

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The Sunken City had an intriguing premise, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. I love movies about pirates but this wasn’t my thing.

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I was quite busy when I read this and so I have only read the first few chapters before the title was archived. So I can't judge the whole book but what I did read made me want to buy the book to know what happens next :D

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Who doesn't love a good pirate story? Following the story of Amare, born and raised on a pirate ship, we learn about magic, her secret past, and the lengths people will go to get answers. A quick, fun read.

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I am a major fan of pirate story! I love a swashbuckling girl boss! I have to say that this novel did not disappoint! The story was very fast-paced and full of adventure! I’m excited to read the sequel! I recommend this novel for fans of Air and Ash, Midas’s Daughter, and Ahab’s Daughter!

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This was an absolute pleasure to read and I loved every minute of reading the book. I loved the plot and the characters. The cover itself is gorgeous and the characters are absolutely well written. I think everyone should give this a read

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Let me just start by saying I waited far too long to read this book! I absolutely loved everything about it. I fell in love with the characters especially Lukas. If you love pirates, magic, and a love triangle then this book is for you. After I finished this book I blew through the other two books in the trilogy and they are both as good as the first.

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I've been wanting to read something like this, and I was pleasantly surprised by this fast-paced pirate adventure! I really loved the premise because of how unique it was, and a badass FMC! Wasn't a big fan of the love triangle, but I would still recommend for the fantasy alone!

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I had a really hard time reading this. The writing did not flow at all for me. Maybe in time I will be able to read it.

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Thank you for the opportunity to read an eARC of this title. Our organization uses language and content guidelines to select our annual book award lists, and upon a word search this book did not meet the language criteria for us. We do not finish books in this case. Thank you!

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I LOVE pirate adventures so naturally I was invested in this one! The writing style felt a bit off, but other than that I enjoyed the story and the characters. The change in setting was also a bit weird, but it the actual underwater city itself was cool.

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DNF at 41%

While The Sunken City seemed like my cup of tea, it ended up being a disappointment.
The writing style is nice and I actually enjoyed because it was able to engross me from the very beginning. However, when the setting shifted to the actual Sunken City, things didn’t go as I expected. The MC became more and more insufferable, and her interactions with the new characters felt cringy at times! The way her and Finn acted towards each other was unbearable because it felt like the author wanted to push in our faces how much they despised each other from the moment they met, but for some reason it didn’t feel genuine at all. They had no reason to hate each other that much. I also found the explanation the author gave us for the underwater people being more technologically advanced than regular humans a bit ridiculous.

After reading almost half of the book I realized I wasn’t really that interested in Amara’s story.

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