Let The Sea Set You Free Iris sets sail alongside her estranged father, a pirate captain, and his vexatious crew in search of hidden treasure. The dangerous quest begins on Vatune, an island haunted by blood thirsty creatures, menacing ogres, and seductive sirens. And then, her adventure takes an unexpected turn.... She becomes cursed and transformed into a mermaid, only to be abandoned once again by her father. When all hope seems lost, the only help she can rely on is a gorgeous merman with questionable intentions- but a magical personality that keeps her wanting more. Once she discovers that the spell can be broken, she must follow her heart and make an ultimate decision that will affect her future forever.
A Curse Within the Waves is an exciting adventure story that follows Iris as she joins her pirate father on a treasure hunt, only to be transformed into a mermaid by a curse and left by him. With the aid of a friendly merman, she embarks on a quest to find a cure, making difficult decisions along her journey.
This book is a captivating mix of adventure and romance, perfect for those like me who enjoy tales of courage and love in the face of challenges.
This is not a full review. I read through the beginning of all 300 SPFBOX contest entries. This was a book I wanted to read more of.
A young woman sets sail aboard her father’s pirate ship to find treasure!
This 3rd person fantasy adventure features 1st person diary entries from our female MC that do a nice job of establishing her voice while seeming distinct from but still at one with the narration.
This is an active beginning that does a concise job of establishing tone and character. It begins in motion, and stays in motion, with good dynamics between minor disasters aboard the ship and personal inconveniences for our MC.
The tone is light and engaging with a great emphasis on story that makes this opening feel like a page turner. It’s a quick opening chapter that pulls me along into chapter 2 with ease.
Our MC has complaints about her situation, and I find that charming. She’s with her father, a pirate, and I find that intriguing. All the names of the crew have a ring to them, but none more than our protagonists pet parrot Plank. What fun.
The success of this opening, I think, is that it simply doesn’t try to do too much. It doesn’t try to tell the reader everything about the ship or the characters or where they set sail from or why. It is focused, brief, but engaging.
It could have done a little bit more to set the stage, especially in light of a tantalizing prologue about a dangerous island treasure that I don’t quite know how this moment is related to.
Was it 18 years ago? Was it 11 days ago? I’m really not sure. No mention has yet come back into the story of a hunt for treasure - just pirating.
But, I find myself turning the pages to find out more, not because I’m confused, but because I want to know what happens next. That’s everything.
We do learn a few details specific to the world of our pirates from our MCs pov: women aboard a pirate ship is seen as bad luck. There’s real danger in the far off places, like sirens, etc. Some of the pirates stink - bleh!
This seems like a fun fantasy sea adventure that more readers should give a chance, especially fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I sense Reele has an innate sense of the rhythms of story. I’m in!
I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone but it’s a really fun read :)
The main character Iris is 17, and like most 17 year olds, very much makes her own decisions, even when warned against danger. She tags along with her Pirate father who had been estranged from her until recently. When they land on Vatune she comes along to find the treasure and gets much more than she bargained for. She meets all kinds of characters from a loyal Pixie, mermaids, and a Cyclops.
Something I really loved about A Curse Within The Waves, was that it shows that someone can have good intentions behind their actions, even if their actions end up hurting others. Good people have good intentions, and sometimes make bad choices. It also talks about the concept of forgiveness and how forgiveness will set your mind free and put your heart at ease. A Curse Within the Waves is a great book for readers of all ages, and I will absolutely be recommending it to everyone I know :))
The writing was pretty elementary, but this was a fun, happy, adventurous little read. There was enough tension to keep you guessing how the story would play out and meaningful lessons learned along the way.