Intrigue - magic - mystery - romance - adventure - all under the sea! Imaginative and addictive adventure with a good thread of romance and secrets - and yes, pirates too. A definite fun winner!

Pirates. A prophecy. Magic. A love triangle between a princess and two handsome brothers. All of the ingredients to a fun and adventurous read. The Sunken City was a delightful and surprising story and I am looking forward to reading the next book.

I am very conflicted about this book. Give me pirates and royalty and underwater kingdoms and I am THERE for the ride! The book began really strong, with a good premise, well fleshed out characters, and a solid writing style. Unfortunately, as we began to reach the halfway-ish point, the tone changed so drastically that I felt like another author had jumped in.

When Amari finds herself unexpectedly in a land she didn't know existed, surrounded by elements that must be part of a dream, she realizes that not only can life never be the same, but that the is no going back. Amari will explore a world of wonder and horrors trying to find the truth about the past. The secrets she uncovers point Amari to a future that could make her Queen of Atlantis or Queen of the damned. Noyes take on mythical water creatures and tales of Atlantis are refreshingly new and adventurous. Her characters are multilayered and discovering each new secret with Amari is exciting. I can't wait to find out what happens next!

DNF'ed at 25%.

Part One of this book was absolutely adventurous and entertaining. I loved the prose and the characters. Amare's narration felt so conversational and gave a level of kinship with the reader right off the bat allowing for the reader to feel close to her. The lore and superstition was also a major plus. I found Amare's relationship with her Uncle Omar endearing and could've read an entire book of the adventures with the crew of the Moonshadow.

Unfortunately as soon as Part Two begun I felt the tone of the book change drastically. I felt as if I went from reading a clever young adult novel to a very cliché juvenile book. The dialogue between Amare, Finn, and Shoa was cringeworthy and read incredibly young with a lot of "ohhhhhs" and run on sentences (while I understand that is suppose to show us the character's personality it feels very out of place in a book). The banter went from clever to middle school.

I desperately wanted to enjoy this book and contemplated pushing through, but ultimately the dialogue really was too off putting. It just wasn't for me.

Raised among pirates Amare never knew what it was to have freedom and when she goes through the Sinking - becoming someone who can breathe and thrive underwater - her hopes for freedom are realized... until they aren't. Being "The Lost Princess" comes with some strings attached, strings that are starting to feel more like the bars of a prison cell.
Noyes creates a stunning new world to get lost in with strong, confident female characters and of course the morally grey characters we all come to root for. I cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of this series.

The Sunken City

The book revolves around Amare Bellamy, who's orphaned as a child and raised on a ship by the most dangerous pirates in the Caribbean.

One day after a storm plunges her into the depths of the ocean, Amare wakes up in a magical underwater kingdom. The Sunken City.

She then finds out that her father is the king, and she's his only heir. How is she going to fit in as the princess of a place, she has never heard of?

Along her journey she meets a lot of people. Among them are:
● a seer
● two brothers. One is good, and one isn't.
● And more

My opinion
There's a lot of hype about this book as it's described as a book that's perfect for Pirates of the Caribbean fans.
I didn't feel like the hype of the book met my expectations. When I see people's reviews on Goodreads, there's only five star reviews... Did we read the same book?

I feel like it's an average book. I loved the idea, but the execution lacked multiple things.

First of all the Pirates of the Caribbean vibe was only present in the first 8 chapters. The rest of the book takes place in the underwater kingdom. This leads me to my next point, which is the difference between the society on land vs the society under water.

The society above water is old fashioned and Georgian like, whereas the society underwater is very modern. This shift between the old fashioned words to modern slang words was weird, but it wasn't what brought down my assessment.

The big issue was the amount of clichés and the lack of depth in the characters.

● Suddenly a Princess of a whole kingdom (I know it's a fantasy book, but what are the chances that her father is the king?)
● Pirate queen (every time they said it, I cringed so hard)
● The plot twist was predictable to (a cliché revelation - if you know, then you know)
● Two brothers and a love triangle (what is this, the Vampire Diaries? No offense I like the show, but come on. If it was written better then I could jump onboard the train, but no. It honestly felt rushed and towards the end Amare become more and more like Elena.)

Furthermore the lack of depth of characters like Shoa and Finn made it hard for me to care about them at all. We got to know a little more about Lukas and Amare but I still couldn't find it in me to relate to them at all.

Despite my critique the book isn't awful. It's alright, and as I said before, I did like the concept of the book. The mix of magic, pirates, merfolk (the sereia) and the human world are unique
All in all, it's an okay book, and I give it 3 stars. The cover is gorgeous, the idea is interesting, but the execution felt a little weak.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book. The opinions expressed are entirely my own. Remember that opinions can vary, so you may like this book more than I did

First, I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I devoured this book! It was a light, easy read that was fast paced and kept me interested the entire time.

Yes, it has some cliches like, (spoiler) she falls in love with the first boy she meets, she is the "chosen one" of their prophecies, etc. and there were some things I had issues with when it came to pacing. She made BFFs instantly, she goes from pirate to fish to fish pirate within a few pages practically. . .

but. It was still fun to read. I honestly liked the characters, though their depth was never too too deep. especially the best friends. They never get much character development. I do, however, like Lukas. He is the typical "bad " love interest option which, of course, means he is the one meant for her. Again, there are several cliches and typical of this genre occurrences.

I liked the setting but would have loved to explore it more. They mention other cities and other kingdoms but you never hear much more about them. They also do not explore much of the underwater kingdom. Only the teen hangout spots really. Also, it was weird to go from an older setting out of water to a modern one in water. I feel like it would have been better to either. . have it in the same time setting or.. . just make things much different since it is a magical underwater kingdom.


overall, I really did enjoy it for a light read. I even grabbed book two and read it in one sitting. lol

I will never say no to a book about an underwater city. Plus this cover just pulled me right in and drowned me. The writing is gorgeous and lyrical, and the world building is breathtaking. I was also pleasantly surprised to pick up this YA fantasy and discover a romance plotline as well (enemies to lovers AND an arranged marriage trope? yes please!) I can't wait for the next book in the series, The Fallen Witch.

I enjoyed this book so much is was such a fun read and I had to order it right away its absolutely gorgeous

I absolutely loved every bit of this story. Pirate stories are becoming closer and closer to being my favorite types of stories and now we mix it in with a little but of magical lost princess? Count me in! I need the rest of the story now

I said this was going to be my next 5 star read and I was right! After reading the ebook from net galley I HAD to get the physical copy because I loved this read and the cover is just stunning.

genre: YA
pages: 371
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
spice rating: 1.5/5

The Sunken City is a YA fantasy series involving pirates, an underwater world, magic, and prophecies. This was one of those reads where I couldn’t wait to see what happened but at the same time didn’t want it to end; it ended on a cliffhanger so I had to get the newest book in the trilogy (The Fallen Witch) right away! The storytelling in this was just 🤌🏼💋 *chefs kiss*. The prose is simply breathtaking and vivid and I found it so easy to fall into this world and devour it. For being YA, I was surprised this book had the steamy moments that it did and I would consider raising the rating from 12 years old, as it felt a bit more mature than that. The storyline was very unique and I loved how she tied in the setting of being in the Caribbean to the names and terms she uses throughout the book. You can tell that the author appreciates the culture (and pirate tales), and a glossary with pronunciations would be really helpful for this book, like I saw there was in The Fallen Witch. The character development in this series is a slow burn but I can’t wait to read the 3rd of the trilogy to see just how much Amare has grown into herself and become the badass woman and leader that she’s set up to be in spite of her inner turmoil and anxiety, rage, self-confidence, and depression.

Read this if you like: found family, enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, strong female lead, mental health awareness, pirates and undersea kingdoms, treasure hunts and quests, magic, and plenty of banter.

I loved it! I was in a water book mood with Atlantis and fantasy. And yes this was it. Now i want it as an real book.

Loved the characters and how they develop in the book and the magic just a good book.

I absolutely loved this book! It was such a fun read and I really enjoyed the plot and setting of the book. The author did a great job keeping the story moving which I have to have in a book. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know!

No longer an arc….should probably be taken off! It was a great story that I started and Aww that is was not an arc and the swine booked was published tody.

I was hesitant to start the Sunken City because it takes me time to get into a fantasy world, but once I do get into it, I generally love it. The same happened with Sunken City because, as of now, after finishing the book, I cannot wait for the sequel. As soon as Lukas entered the story, my heart was gone. The world description and character development, everything was just so good. The betrayals and plot twists were a bit cliche, but something I hope builds up the plot for the next book. It is a trend in fantasy books where the second book is often way better than the first one because the author focuses on the world and character buildup rather than the plot in the first one. Since I think the second book will be more focused on the plot, I think I would be able to give it 5 stars.

With the tropes for the next book, like Marriage of Convenience (I'm still confused about which brother I like, lol), yes, I'm super excited. I do want more of Lukas because I know his motives aren't evil. I know he loves Finn more than anything and won't do anything, which causes Finn to suffer. (Elder Brothers who protect their little brothers by becoming the villains>>>>>>>>>>>). I have more questions about this book, but they might act as spoilers, so I'm just going to wait for the second book.

I love a pirate themed book and this one did not disappoint! It follows Amare, a teenage girl who grew up on a pirate ship after losing both of her parents. When she finds herself being called into the sea, she learns that a whole underwater city exists and her supposedly dead father is actually the king, making her the Lost Princess. As she tries to acclimate to her new life underwater, she finds herself in a world full of forbidden magic, witches, demons, prophecies, new friends, and multiple love interests.

I loved the whole underwater city setting and all of the magical elements. I liked Amare as a character and seeing her adjust to a new way of life - she had to suppress her womanhood growing up for her safety and has no idea how to be a teenage girl. I also liked the side characters and the friendships she builds. There’s also a love triangle between her and two brothers - Finn, the kind hearted right hand man of the king, and Lukas, the morally grey villain…I think I know who we’re all rooting for.

I think my only issue was that some of the actions of the characters didn’t always make sense to me. Finn and Amare’s relationship developed in kind of a strange way and Amare’s feelings for him didn’t feel believable. Lukas was also pretty confusing and I’m still not sure how I’m supposed to feel about him. It didn’t take away from the story too much though and I am looking forward to reading the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I read this with my eldest granddaughter and we both loved it. Beautiful immersive settings and a protagonist we would both like to be. Needless to say that we have already pre ordered the next in the series. We can't wait to find out what happens next.

"On the day I ruin my mortal life, I think I've struck gold." Emma V.R. Noyes, The Sunken City.

Amare cannot be a witch, especially since she's been raised on a pirate ship and pirates loathe witches. However, circumstances change as a deadly storm leads Amare to the Sunken City where magic is real but is outlawed by the King, a man who claims to be her father. As she struggles to transition from swashbuckling pirate to a princess of the sea, she finds love from two unlikely places and in order to survive the evil hidden in this underwater kingdom, she must question everything she was previously led to believe.
This story was unlike any I've ever read before. I've read many a pirate book and so I expected that this book would have nothing new to offer me but I'm grateful that I was wrong. The original plot, endearing characters and plot twists that keep you glued to the page had me wishing for the second book as soon as the first one ended. I adored all of the characters but especially Shoa and the members of the pirate crew. I hope that there is more of them in the books to come. As a Caribbean national, I also appreciated the references to the specific Caribbean countries and I also greatly adored the gorgeous book cover.
Unfortunately, there were some aspects of the book that could have been improved. The majority of the book is very dependent on descriptive language and while immersive descriptions can be beneficial, it felt tedious to read through and at times became excessive and repetitive. The writing overall also felt very juvenile and was reminiscent of a young girl's diary instead of a novel. The main character also behaved very childish and immature and so I did not find much enjoyment from her character. I also observed some typos but since I received an ARC that could have been changed pre-publication and wont be judged.
To conclude, I'm rating this book a 4/5 because despite its few flaws it was an entertaining and gripping read. I would recommend this book to those looking for a light, fun, easy read, those who like the Shatter Me series and to younger YA readers.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a review. I chose to read this book and everything stated in this review is my own, honest and unbiased opinions.

Amare Bellamy loves being a pirate. She's grown up on the ocean under the care of her uncle, captain of the Moonshadow. But buried treasure and one storm change her life forever. Amare awakens to a whole new world hundreds of feet below the waves and the claim that she is the Lost Princess. Trapped in a new world so very different from her own and between two very different brothers, Amare must come to terms with who she is, a role that has been thrust upon her, and who she will choose to become. Pirate, princess, or just a lost girl?

This book was an incredibly fun read that hooked me in from the first sentence. There were so many twists and turns that keep you guessing throughout the whole novel. The world of The Sunken City was so much fun to discover and I cannot wait to see other lands and underwater cities explored in future books. There were a few aspects of life under the water that were hard to understand but I loved discovering more things about this new world. Amare herself was a great protagonist that I couldn't help but root for. She was strong while still being flawed in a believable way. My only disappointments were the love triangle and what felt like the lack of a climax at the end. But overall, I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a fun and easy read.