The was my first Daniell L Jensen book and it was so good!! I loved the writing style, the plot, the characters, and the world building, it was all just so good! Really, I didn't want it to end.

Dark Shores is an Ancient Rome inspired tale with some seafaring adventures. The two main characters enemies on the same mission working opposite sides to keep the people they care for safe and then throw some sexual tension into the mix. What could possibly go wrong?

** I received an ARC from Macmillan-Tor/Forge via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a historical fantasy set in Ancient Rome. This novel is full of political intrigue and magic! I thought the world-building was very realistic and well-developed. I also like the writing for it is very detailed. Overall, I
Recommend this for fans of Defiant. Full review to come!

This book is so unique. I loved the Roman-inspired culture of the Cel. Also, I thought that the world-building, in general, was great. The description of all the different cultures and ethnicities was thorough without being too tedious, like how some books that cover a broad geo-cultural scope can be. Lastly, I liked Teriana and Marcus. I thought that they had complex personalities and well written character development throughout the book. However, I think that characters like Felix, Bait, Teriana's mother, and even Servius came off as a little one-dimensional throughout the book. Even though they are not the main characters, in the future I would like to see them being more fleshed out instead of just seeming like props to support or hinder the development of the relationship between the main characters. All-in-all, even though I don't think this perfect (if the perfect book even exists), I think that the pros way out the cons and it's definitely a YA fantasy people should add to their must-read list.

I received this as an ARC, and I was anxious to be swept away. Admittedly, I put the book down soon after starting to begin another book. I wasn't hooked right away, and with little time on my hands, I gave it up for a bit. Just last night I decided to give it another try and started where I'd stopped the first time. This time, I finished it in less than 24 hrs.

I adored the choice Jensen made to give readers both Triana's and Marcus' perspectives. So much tension was built as a result!

Although I wished it could've taken off more quickly, this story did build into one with action, suspense, romance. I'll definitely be picking up the next book.

Okay so at about 50% I was thinking this was going to be a 3 star read. If you read my reviews you know characters and setting/atomopshpere are my number 1 while plot is number 2. (Give me slow moving, give me fast paced IDC as long as we get some amazing characters) but by the second half this baby picked right up and made me fall in love with these troubled characters.
The first half of this book sets up this vast world where the east can't meet the west. Maarins are the only people who know of both lands because they are people of the sea. Enter Teriana she is the daughter of the captain of the Quincense ship. They spend their days on sea only coming ashore for trade.
Marcus is our second POV, he is the young commander of the Thirty Seventh. He is seen as ruthless to outsiders but those in his command know different. Marcus is so morally grey. He is a commander, he has killed people and will kill again but the secrets and torment he goes through absolutely destroyed me.
Teriana and Marcus do develop a relationship but it is SO slow burn and believable and I loved it. They are two totally flawed people who find solace in each other MY HEART.
The setting of this book is a fantastical take on Ancient Rome. The descriptions of Marcus' armor and the East sound very reminiscent of that period of time. And I loved it.
There is so much going on in this book I did feel confused for brief periods but a quick reread of some passages cleared most things up and I think a map in the final copy would be EPIC. A few passages got a little info dumpy but it didn't take away from the overall story. There are fights between Gods, political intrigue, war tactic discussions and the boys of the Legion are everything to me. You would assume 'solider boys' to be hard and unforgiving but these boys are soft and funny and they love each other (romantically and platonically) and I think it just sealed the deal on the four stars for me.
So many things go left unsolved so I'm assuming this will be a series. A huge question I have is about Terianas best friend. IF U KNOW U KNOW.
Anyways, tragic characters, epic setting and a world set on war this was SO exciting and I can't wait to read more people's thoughts.

Wow! Just wow! Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book.

We’ve got this world inspired by Ancient Rome and with in it we have villians- more specifically a power hungry senator. We have a fierce heroine, Teriana, who sails the high seas like a real pirate. This story is phenomenal and the characters are just raw and amazingly real. The slow-burn romance had me right there yearning and this book defywpyldnt be complete without that family drama.. am I right?! You have to have more conflict to make for more adventure.

This book was everything I needed to put me back in the fantasy mood!

E-arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying how stunning this cover is and that's what made me want to read this book.
This is how I imagined the sequel of Seafire to be until the ruined everything by re-designing the series.
I hate when authors and publishers do that!
Anyway, the story was very compelling and I like how the characters did not disappoint me with making stupid life choices who usually make me flip the book onto the floor haha.
I thoroughly enjoy this and would recommend 100%!

I really enjoyed this book! It was such a cool concept to have 2 sides of a world that don’t know about each other.
I loved Teriana and her love for her people. I loved that Marcus knew the difference between right and wrong even though he couldn’t always do what was right. He always tried to do the best he could under the circumstances. I think my favorite character was Yedda. I also loved Magnius.
The only thing that made me rate this down a star was a lot of it had to do with religion and politics which I don’t find super enjoyable. But it wasn’t forced or hard to read. It was still a great read. I also found the middle a little slow, but it definitely picked up at the end!
There were so many question unanswered and so many what happened to this character, what will happen next? It is left in such a wrap up in one sense, but in such a cliffhanger I’m so many other senses. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Dark Shores is one of those books that hooks you and totally sucks you in and I loved it. It's like a mash up of ancient Rome and Greece with a bit of magic tossed into it.

Told from alternating points of view (Teriana and Marcus), the story centers around two parts of the world, the East and the West. Each side is not aware of the other side existing. But the Maarin know because they travel between both sides and it's their secret.

Teriana is Maarin and lives on the Quincense (a ship) with her mother and crew. They are a tough people with their own belief system and they aren't ruled by the Empire in Celendor, instead when they visit, they pay high taxes to them in order to sell their wares and trade.

I liked Teriana, and I loved her loyalty to her people and her mom. She's tough, but underneath that she's sensitive and scared and that made her real. She also makes bad decisions from time to time, but that's also relatable as well and I liked all of those things about her. 

Marcus is the commander of the Thirty-Seventh, which is a legion that's become infamous in their power. Marcus has his own secrets, even from his comrades on the ship whom he considers family.

I felt for Marcus because he was given really hard choices and he had to make the best choice he could given his circumstances. He also complained a lot less than Teriana so sometimes his POV was a little more fun to read.

I'm totally into ocean travel books these days, and there's no lack of sea monsters and things happening in this book. There's also magic woven into this story but it isn't front and center, but I have a feeling it may become more prominent the further this series goes.

By far the creepiest part of this book is the area where boats get stuck and the people go mad. I found myself holding my breath in terror while reading through those scenes (and I loved it). 

I found myself swept up in the romance in this story, although in the back of my mind I know that eventually some truths will need to come to light eventually, and I imagine it will play out in subsequent books. I'll for SURE be reading the next book in this series because I need to know what happens!

In a world divided by meddlesome gods and treacherous oceans, only the Maarin possess the knowledge to cross the Endless Seas. But they have one mandate: East must never meet West.
A PIRATE WITH A WILL OF IRON
Teriana is the second mate of the Quincense and heir to the Maarin Triumvirate. Her people are born of the seas and the keepers of its secrets, but when her closest friend is forced into an unwanted betrothal, Teriana breaks her people’s mandate so her friend might escape—a choice with devastating consequences. A
SOLDIER WITH A SECRET.
I really enjoyed this book quite a bit. The plot and storyline was very interesting. There were many twists and turns in this book and this is what kept me reading. I also liked the characters, Marcus was a great character. Teriana was a little annoying but honestly I did enjoy reading about her. I liked how the two characters where different but how they worked well together in the book. Overall I enjoyed this books and I gave it 4 stars, because of the plot and the twists, and it genuinely did keep me interested and kept me reading.

A pirate girl and a commander in an army, both fighting for what they believe in and the people that mean the most to them. But what happens when they mean more to each other, and are fighting for different things?

An action-packed story with a lot of tough decisions for the characters to make. No character truly seemed weak in my opinion, and the story had a good flow that kept you reading chapter after chapter. I'm eager for the next book to come out if there will be one.

First of all - Thank you netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
Now- let's get on with the review!
I went into Dark Shores expecting crazy pirates and fun sea battles and exceedingly good treasure chests - You know everything cliched.
However, Dark Shores surprised me. There was a lot of empire, clan conspiracies, theories even kidnappings and roman influences.
Although i enjoyed all that, and I really like Teriana as a character, something still felt amiss. I didn't feel drawn or invested in the book. I would have liked more fictional elements to it - and hence the rating.
However - if you loveee pirates and would like to experience something with a historical element to it - this is a book you might enjoy!

Sea fairing adventure full of secrets but not your typical pirates of the Caribbean type of plot. We have two povs in this story told by Teriana and Marcus two very different people brought up and two different kinds of environments. One full of life of adventures and the other a life of strictness but both full a very much secrets: I honestly enjoyed how this stories pace went it flowed beautifully and diffinately a story I don’t believe I’ve seen written before I love how this characters are and I love the color presentation I’m excited to see how this series fairs

Pirates. Conquering territories. Ridding the world of injustice! Or are they?
I read this book over the course of a few days and I really enjoyed it! I liked the plot and storyline and the twists and turns throughout.
Marcus is a great character. His point of view was explained so well that I felt that he was such a reliable and dependable character.
Teriana, on the other hand, is just a little brat. She infuriated me so much! She's selfish and yet needy... She wants to save her people but she's also mucking up the avenue that will accomplish that. Her moronic and impulsive decisions are risking so many lives and only realizes it at the end of it all and plays the blame game on herself, and is so pitiful. She then goes out and does something else stupid and risks more lives. And on top of it all, she's the love interest! Why? I don't know. The only thing I've seen that she has going for her is her looks.
I am one of those people who docks a book's rating based on enjoyment. An annoying character - with no redeeming qualities and no real attribution to the story but to muck it up - is one of the things I find annoying. Since this is personal preference I am rating this book 4 stars on paper, but in my heart it's 3.5.
It's docked for the character who is so distasteful, the over use of the word "piss" as well as morally conflicting aspects of character relationships (again, this is my rating and my review, so don't come at me). It is a solid 4 star storyline for me because it kept me thinking when I wasn't reading. I wanted to know what would happen and how things would turn out for Marcus. I would have loved more world building descriptors rather than it being so character focused. I felt that sometimes the world was blank except for a few descriptors like trees and ocean.

Danielle Jensen does it again! i absolutely love her other books and was excited to see what this story had in store for me. I was not disappointed.
Taking ancient Rome, pirates, and a slow burn romance this book brings the reader in with a bang and then keeps the thrills coming. There is magic, kissing, and of course battles. The best part was the fact that while I had to learn a whole new world there is enough cross over from real history that you aren't drowning (get it pirates?) in a new world.
I highly recommend this to any fantasy lover. Its a book you can fall into and finish in one sitting. Leaving you happy that you took the time to read it.

Thank you for allowing me the chance to read this book on Netgalley.

4 stars!

Wow, I really enjoyed this one! I haven't read a YA fantasy that I could get "lost" in for a while, and this was what I needed. I can't give it five stars due to the fact that I have way too many questions left even after it ended - I know this is common where there's going to be a second book, but in my opinion there were certain issues that NEEDED to be resolved in book one in order for the plot to feel complete, and they just weren't.

Still, this was an intriguing and exciting read. I loved all aspects of the setting: the ancient Rome-type city, the boat in the middle of a magical ocean, and the small villages of an island-like continent, in that order. I would have liked to see more of the city at the beginning, and I hope the second book takes us back there, but I understand that the plot required us to "move along," as it were.

DARK SHORES follows the dual perspectives of Teriana, a witty and badass pirate girl who's spent most of her life on a boat, and Marcus, a commander of the Thirty-Seventh Legion (which is basically part of the Empire's army). Teriana is from a group called the Maarin, who sail between the East and the West - two continents that are never to meet. To my understanding, the East doesn't know about the existence of the West, and vice versa, and only the Maarin know about them both. But when Teriana's boat docks in the East and she reveals the secret of the West to one of her Eastern friends, trouble starts to brew. Cassius, an evil consul from the Empire, decides he wants to conquer the West. And he blackmails Marcus into using his legion to do just that.

I have to say, I really needed more closure about the issue of Teriana's friend betraying her trust. You never really find out the circumstances under which this happened. You also never find out what exactly happened to the friend in general. This is one of those issues that I think needed to be revolved in book one, and I'm kind of annoyed that it wasn't very well explained. Anyway, when Teriana's ship is captured by the Empire, she becomes the one who will lead Marcus and his legion to the West (aka the Dark Shores). If she doesn't, her mother and the rest of her people will pay the price.

I really liked Teriana and Marcus. They're both just trying to do their best, but are forced to make a lot of sacrifices and difficult choices. To me, their hate-to-love (ish) relationship was perfect. It was realistic, and shifts slowly over the course of the book. There's no quick shift in sentiment or insta-love, and their reasons for hating one another were legitimate. I saw where Teriana was coming from with her rage, and yet I was still rooting for them. I think they were both likeable characters that you could feel for, even when they did some bad things. I also loved the side characters - men from Marcus's legion - who were funny and sweet and became friends with Teriana. Again, I'm kind of annoyed that you don't find out what happens with them in the end of the book. Another thing that shouldn't have been left for the next instalment.

Anyway, this plot involved a lot of politics and colonization-type sentiments that I won't go into, but that I found interesting. The problem was just that I really, really needed MORE BOOK. I had too many questions left. Who did this? What happened to them? What's going on with this? Give me another hundred pages, please, and there still would have been lots left to include in the next book. I also feel like some of the action sequences at the end were too rushed.

Ultimately, although I clearly had a few issues with the book, I did enjoy reading it a lot. I was really sucked in and I loved the characters. I want to be Teriana's friend, and I want to hold poor Marcus. It was one of those books where you don't really think about the "issues" until afterwards when you're reflecting on it, because you enjoyed it so much at the time. I cannot wait for the next book, and now I'm going to go and pout, because this one isn't even released yet. SIGHH.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I wasn't sure if I would like this book, but the synopsis made me curious and I am so glad bc this book is amazing! It's not my typical genre, but I liked it a lot!!

For me, Dark Shores is something pretty special. It's been a long time since I have been so utterly and completely pulled into a story within the first few pages.  The story felt alive with excitement and so much promise was poured into the opening chapters. With a Roman influence the created world was given a comfortable familiarity, enough to allow an overall vision which meant that the author only had to sprinkle in the details to bring the world alive. I think it was made even better for me that I really clicked with the authors writing, she writes in the way I would speak so I felt really at home in the pages. The premise is wonderfully simple - East must not meet West, and because of this we have more than one wonderfully built world with the sea's being their own glorious and sometimes gruesome entities, leading the Godless and the God Fearing together in a pretty cataclysmic way.Although not split in this way, the book does have 3 distinct parts to it and I enjoyed how the focus wasn't pulled in a "meanwhile back at..." way, everything was in the now with our protagonists which is why the alternating POV's (my favourite) worked so well. Honestly, I'm still pretty taken aback by the sheer amount of happenings that took place, writing a review whilst trying to avoid spoilers when there were so many amazing set pieces, daring escapades, schemes, and plots is no easy feat.  I think it's safe to say that you will not be bored reading Dark Shores, it really covers all the bases for awesome.Teriana is a fantastic character, from her first secretive nimble steps to her friend to her empowering skills with both blade and ship; she's pretty awesome and her sass and snark made her totally relatable for me (I do enjoy a good cutting comment now and then.) I adored how she was able to hold her own so completely and with a finesse rarely achievable in a world of sweaty soldiers and unknown peril. Marcus could have easily been a pretty one dimensional character but his back story really shapes him, where Teriana was awesome from page one, Marcus had the real development arc for me, the slow burn that got under my skin. Despite there being plenty of side characters they never got lost in the story and they bring a real lightness in the heavier sections and I loved the diversity in them.As it's the first in a series there is obviously much left hanging in the balance and more to explore. The network is something that I'm very much looking forward to hopefully understanding more of as the story continues and I'm pretty hopeful that there will be a character that we'll see again. Dark Shores is wrapped up in a satisfying way and whilst I would obviously like book 2 now, it stopped at a great point that wrapped up what needed to be so I could close the book (or ebook as it happens) with a smile rather than a sigh.I absolutely adored this book and hope you will too!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!!!

Wow, what a ride! I *loved* this book. I didn't expect to love it, but I did. I expected the romance to be typical YA, which it had hints of, but seemed to be a little more realistic in my opinion. I expected the characters to be all tropy, which for the most part, they weren't (and where they were, the author really tried to flip the tropes upside down). I expected the stakes to be lower in the first book, since we knew already that it was going to be a series. Nope, they were pretty high.

Overall, I was impressed at how this book wowed me, because I just really didn't think I'd love it going in. I loved the main characters, but the secondary ones really won me over. The world was awesome - I loved the magic and the gods and the god-marked... I want more of that in the next books!

One downside to loving this one so much? Now I have to wait forever for book two! *sighs heavily*

Highly recommended.

PS- While the main female character and her nation are labeled pirates, they're really just swashbuckling traders that sometimes trade contraband. They don't rape, pillage, steal, kill, etc. They do drink and gamble though. Just a heads up for those going in with the OMG PIRATE GIRL mindset so they don't get their hopes dashed.

To be honest, I had a hard time getting into this one. There have been so many lady pirate books of late that I think the market is becoming a bit over saturated. This book didn’t have the light humorous feel of say, Daughter of the Pirate King. I liked the characters but didn’t really connect to their romance. I just wanted more from them: more chemistry, more time to truly know and love each other. I think there are probably a lot of pirate fans out there who will LOVE this, but it was just ok for me!