4.5 stars

This was a great start to a series (trilogy?). I'm not sure if it was intentional, but as I was reading the story, I kept thinking Vampire diaries meets Lore and Little Mermaid, lol! I loved the imaginative world of the Sunken City, and okay, so the physics was totally iffy, but it was a fun place to imagine exploring. The ending was a little bit predictable, but the whole story was a lot of fun, so I didn't mind these things. This is both a series that you will HAVE to read in order and one that doesn't really resolve much so you have to continue reading. I suppose you could call this the story of how Amare figures out who she is and how she comes into her powers and it sets it up very well for the next book. Regardless, for a book that I couldn't find in my library (it appears to only be on Amazon), I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it and I definitely want to continue with the series.

I received an advance review copy from the author and NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I adored this book. If you enjoyed Daughter of the Pirate King you will definitely enjoy this. The strong female MC, hidden magic and torn between mother and father. Also the love triangle in this book is one of the only ones I have read where I didn't immediately know who she would choose and to be honest I still don't. I am super excited to read the sequel!

Amare Bellamy is a feisty young pirate with a deep connection to the ocean. Her life has not been easy but she is not one to sit back and whine. She is determined to captain her own ship one day! When she finds an old treasure chest with a magical secret, her life is turned upside down. Quite literally actually. She discovers an strange underwater kingdom and must learn to navigate all the strange new aspects of who she is.

This book is everything that I love in a fantasy story. Pirates, underwater kingdoms, magic, treasure, friendship, romance, intrigue, surprise plot twists and fantastic worldbuilding! I was completely transported into Amare's world and cannot wait for more. The character diversity is brilliant. I really admire how the author is able to stay so true to two very different societies. The human world is in the 1700s with all the societal norms of that time but the Sunken City has advanced in such a way that I feel right at home in the modern world it represents. Each society has its weaknesses and Emma Noyes brings the differences out so beautifully.

All in all a brilliant book and a must read for fantasy lovers.

This is not a love story, there is a romance in the book. This is not an adventure story, though there is adventure in this book. This is not a mystery, though there is a mystery as well. It is all of these things, and more. It almost feels as though the author is trying to put as much as they can into this story.

Amare is an orphan on a pirate ship, in the 1700s. But when she opens a treasure chest, and discovers a magic conch shell that awakens something in her, she feels herself drawn to the ocean, and eventually dives in and transforms into a Sereia (their name for the merfolk that live under the water. Their word for witch is a Mchawi. Apparently the Mchawi are bad. Which goes a along with what Amare has been taught about witchcraft.

The rest of the book is her adventures under the sea, with the Sereia, where she is apparently a lost princess and her father is the king. On top of that, his right hand man, Finn, was supposed to be in line to be king, but now that Amare has shown up, has to protect her.

The part that didn't work for me was that this girl, from the 1700s, is deposited in this realm under the sea that is apparently set in the 21st century, with night clubs, and the current slang, and all that goes with that. Apparently the Sereia are more advanced than humans. And apparently they invented rock and roll before the humans of the 1700s have. What bothers me about this is that the author feels that these mer folks would just invent Rock and Roll, as though it was something of their culture. That somehow they got to it, taking the credit for something that Black people developed.

I will probably read the next book in the series, if just to find out where all the clues are heading.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

I received this book in exchange for my honest review. I honestly didn’t think I was going to enjoy this book. This is due to the fact that I don’t usually read fantasy books but, I love this book! The story and the characters were so well written. I can not wait for the sequel of this book!

I absolutely LOVED this tale of mermaids, witches, pirates, romance, and adventure! Amare was fabulous! She was the perfect character for this story! The love triangle was set up nicely, and I’m rooting for Lucas. Bad boys are the best!
I can’t wait for the next installment!!!! The fallen witch sounds evil!!!!

Amazing story, for the original setting alone. I was completely transported and captivated. I would definitely check out other works by this author. And perfect choice for the cover art!

This was a fun and magical book that I think all age groups will enjoy. I really enjoyed it.

First time trying and hearing of this author. I would definitely recommend this book to a wide rage on my reading buddies and would definitely try this author again.

A unique concept I must admit, a fantasy ya story filled with magic, pirates and a fantastical world that lives deep under the sea. I honestly wasn't to sure how to take Amare the main character, she had a lot of characteristics and quirks that I found enjoyable but sometimes I found her personality a little grating. Some fantastic examples of tge cutest friendships were present and no suprise a lot of adventure was to be had throughout the story.

This debut novel from Emma Noyes has so much excitement and intrigue packed it., found it hard to put down. The author has crafted a unique fantasy world full of pirates and witches and regular old friendships and lovers. While I was reading, I found myself empathizing with heroes and villains alike, always guessing what move was next and always impressed. I can't wait to see what comes next.

I loved this, I couldn't put it down! It was set in such an exciting world and really takes you on a whirlwind adventure. There's plenty of action, a bit of romance and lots of mystery!
I cannot wait to read book 2!

I love books that transport you to another place. This book is full of magic, pirates, different kingdoms and a fight between good and evil.

You get wrapped in the beginning and can't wait to see what is going to happen to Amare. She thinks she is just a pirate but imagine when she wakes up to learn the she is the Princess of the Sunken City.

Everything she thought she knew is a lie. Now, who will she trust. her husband, a witch, or her father?

First of all. Dear NetGalley, THANK YOU! This book was beyond great, it was perfect under every aspect.
I saw the cover on bookstagram and I knew I had to get a copy. You don't know how much happy I was when I discovered you were giving us a chance to read it for free.
Going back to the review, this book has everything that should be in a story set above and under the sea. Pirates, underwater kingdoms, a lost princess, adventure, mystery and a love triangle that makes sense (I feel like the second book will give me great fangirl vibes).
Writing, characters, world building were just awesome and really fascinating; I can't wait to read more about the next installment.

This book was going so good. I loved the build-up to her next adventure and I loved the introduction to the new world, but then the plot seemed to have been thrown out the window, cause I don't know where the story was going after the 60% mark.

Amare also seemed to have changed into a completely different character. Before she was brash and crude and ready to tumble, but the girl, in the end, was timid and easily buckled under pressure. I still don't understand what the skeleton with a sword was for. Everything is so random and disjointed that I have no interest in reading the second book.

This one surprised me. Great world building, magic, fantasy, pirates, conflict, what more could someone want from a read. The writing, full of interesting characters and vivid imagery, kept me turning the digital pages. Great job by Noyes, and I look forward to reading the next installment of this series. Amera is a main character full of inner turmoil and hope for the future that one would expect from this type of work, yet she feels a bit different that just the typical young heroine. The supporting characters, both above and below the sea, are full of life and are fleshed out nicely.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eGalley of this work in exchange

The first section of this novel was INCREDIBLE, the detail and emotion and recollection of major life events as lived on a ship of men was vivid and powerful. But then the main character goes to Magic Land and....it fell apart, the writing was cliche, full of over used tropes, characters seemed to make decisions based solely on furthering the plot. For such a fantastic premise and great start (she's clearly a brilliant writer!) it was a let down

I recommend this book to a teenage audience. The main character is young and fairly self absorbed. At times she acts like a reasonable teenager; at others like a spoiled, petulant child. She finds out that her life is nothing like she thought it was and has the typical teenage reaction of throwing a fit over it. Her new surroundings under the sea are described well and its easy to picture them. I thought that the characters seem well thought out, but it was hard to wrap my head around people living underwater and walking around fully dressed as if they were on land. Not a bad book, but not a favorite either.

What a surprise this one was! I had recently been in a pretty large reading slump before picking this one up and I didn't have many high hopes considering my last YA novel didn't live up to the hype.
Emma V.R. Noyes definitely delivered on this book. There were so many things to love, the main character Amare, the world building, and the romance. It's been a while since I read a book with a strong female main character that is not too overdone. Amare is headstrong, but she is vigilant and intelligent. She doesn't make rash decisions and is more careful which I really appreciated seeing.
I've always loved stories about mer folk, pirates, and the sea and I ate this one up. The world was mesmerizing and it was one that I enjoyed escaping to. The romance was 'chef's kiss' and the enemies to lovers aspect was done very well. I highly recommend this high stakes adventure on the sea for all fantasy lovers!

Pirates, magic, and a city on the bottom of the ocean. This story has a lot going for it.
Amare Bellamy grew up as the lone girl on a pirate ship. She dreams of freedom and adventure, but her Captain does everything he can to keep her safe on board. One day, her curiosity gets the better of her, and within days everything she thought she knew about the world is turned upside down. IN a new world, surrounded by secrets and magic, will she find her place?

I loved the beginning of this book. The time on the ship with Amare explaining to us through her memories and experiences what it was like to be a girl in a man's world was fascinating. I'm a sucker for a book that acknowledges that women have periods so I especially liked that part. I did not love most of what happened once we got to The Sunken City.

So how did this book earn 4 stars if I didn't love most of it? It's really closer to 3.5 but ratings don't work that way here. The best thing about this book is the friendships Amare makes in The Sunken City. Cora and Shoa are fast but loyal friends. They support her while having her back. And when the chips are down, Shoa puts herself in danger for her new best friend. The building of Amare's relationships with the 2 love interests both felt organic and natural, not forced. I'm not a big fan of the love triangle trope, especially when the love interests are related, but I can overlook that. Overall, this author seems to really understand her characters and what motivates them, and characters are my favorite parts of stories.

The worst thing about this book was the worldbuilding. If you can suspend disbelief and don't know much about the ocean, then you might be fine. I however had a very hard time with the "science" of this city that is 267 feet underwater. There's a decent amount of telling, not showing, and what is explained often didn't make sense to me. It seems like there's a lot of magic involved in this city where magic is looked down upon.

This is where I'm gonna really confuse you. I liked the plot. The constant adventure and changing location of this book held my interest. The ever-changing cast of characters helped too. However, I am not a fan of the fact that Amare felt like she was constantly just being dragged along in this book. Hopefully, she gets to have some agency and make her own choices in the next book.

Overall, this is a good YA story about a girl finding the truth of who she really is. It's an interesting world and the characters were multifaceted with their own wants and desires. I just wish Amare got to make choices sometimes.

After her parents died when she was just a baby, Amare was raised on a pirate ship. Her father had been the captain and he and Amare's mother were washed overboard in a terrible storm, and her father's first mate, Omar, became the new captain, and Amare's surrogate uncle. Amare learned early that "the only thing pirates fear more than the Royal Navy's noose is magic aboard their vessel." Women on ships are considered very bad luck, so Amare does everything she can to make herself appear boyish. When she finds a hidden treasure chest buried under the sea and opens it up, her life is changed forever, and she really doesn't know if she likes that or not.

I loved everything about this book! Amare was a strong female lead who was so used to hiding her true self from those around her, she kept everybody at arm's length. It was nice to see her slowly open herself up and make friends, as well as fall in love with two different guys who are polar opposites. The supporting characters were well written and likeable, and the pacing was even and made this a quick read. That leaves us with the world building, which was extremely well done, from the descriptions of life on a pirate ship to the glittering underworld city. Throw in some magic and a prophecy, and this book literally had it all!

I enjoyed this book so much and can't wait to see where the author goes with this story in book 2.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley and Emma V. R. Noyes for the opportunity to read and review this book.