Black Tide Son by H.M. Long

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Pirates and magic and storms, oh my!

An atmospheric, adventure-filled follow up to Dark Water Daughter.

This is a great follow up to Dark Water Daughter, with our favourite characters front and centre (especially Charles and Benedict). Important note, this book starts right where we left off, so I recommend re-reading Dark Water Daughter if it's been a minute. It took me about 15% to remember who everyone was and what we were doing. I would have appreciated a little help from the author, but I figured it out.

H.M Long is brilliant at world-building and crafting an atmosphere that feels so real you could swear you feel a snowflake on your cheek in the middle of summer. The characters are so well drawn that I feel I'm missing them now that the book is done.

I was hoping for more of a romance subplot between our main characters, and we get a little tease, but it's mostly on the back burner. Perhaps book three?

H.M Long's prose in this continue to be stunning. It was a beautiful read, and a great set up for book three in the trilogy.

This quote really stuck with me
Ben: "What would I be notorious for?"
Sam: "Hopefully valor, possibly treason."

Let's take a moment to appreciate the amazing narration work by Moira Quirk and Samuel Roukin. Moira is Mary, and I can't imagine it being anyone else, but Moira also takes on speaking parts of Mary's companions and fellow pirates and does a great job switching accents and tones to give the world a well-rounded feel. Samuel did a great job bringing the character's emotions through and making the character feel lived in and authentic.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the advanced listener copy. I follow H.M Long on TikTok and Instagram, because her content is on point and she often recommends other amazing fantasy, action and female-lead books. Find her @hmlongbooks.