Thank you to Katee Robert, Berkley, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of Hunt on Dark Waters.
I have been excited about this since Katee first started talking about it online. This book has it all pirates, witches, and vampires. This very much felt like Dungeons and Dragons fanfiction in the best way possible, as it paid homage to classes like paladin along with throwing in the traditional fantastical creatures we all love!
I am a member of Katee Robert’s review, but I remain honest and genuine in my reviews.
Sail the magical high seas with this first book in a new sexy fantasy romance series from Katee Robert, the New York Times bestselling author of the TikTok smash-hit Neon Gods.
Evelyn is a witch with a perfect storm of impulses: terrible taste in bed partners, sticky fingers, and a lust for danger. After she steals from her vampire ex and falls through a portal to another realm, she’s fished out of the waters by a band of seafarers and their telekinetic captain. She’s immediately given a choice—join their group or die.
Bowen has no memory of his life before he became one of the Cŵn Annwn. He and his pirate crew are bound by vow to patrol through Threshold, the magical sea in between realms, keeping the portals to other worlds safe. When he rescues Evelyn, he doesn’t expect to be attracted to the unflappably brassy pickpocket. The longer he spends in her presence, the more he begins to question if his heart is the next thing she’ll steal.
But as tension heats up between Bowen and Evelyn, danger escalates as well. Because Evelyn has no intention of keeping her vows to the Cŵn Annwn, and if she betrays the crew, both she and Bowen will pay the ultimate price….
Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
- Characters: The lead characters are Evelyn and Bowen. Evelyn is a witch, and she is a feisty one and she is paired against the ever-loyal golden retriever-like paladin Bowen. I know many readers do not love Evelyn as the main character, she’s a crass klepto but I loved her. Bowen is noble almost to a fault, I loved the journey he goes on from loyal servant to maybe he should be questioning the things around him. The real scene stealer for me was Evelyn’s ex, Lizzie. I know she is an evil vampire, hellbent on revenge but I found myself so easily cheering her on. I am so excited that the next book will follow her.
- Setting: The setting was one of the most fascinating aspects of this book! Evelyn portals through from her realm onto Bowen’s pirate ship. He is a member of the Cwn Annwn which are pirates tasked with killing supernatural monsters. Katee through in some epic sea battle and it was the perfect chance to throw in so many great creatures. I found myself most interested in the politics of the Cwn Annwn and what this world was like, rather than cheering for Evelyn to find a way to return to hers.
- Pacing: I had some issues with the pacing, simply because most Katee books keep me enthralled the entire time and this did not. I had to keep myself going back into it throughout the middle but I was hooked by the end when I had a better grasp of the world and the characters.
- Romance: I will echo much of the online discourse that this has some major insta-love and I cannot help but feel like this couple does not hold a candle to many of Katee’s other couples. Besides the off-pacing, so many elements of Katee’s books that I have always loved were at play. The sex was off-the-charts hot! All the characters were super queer and accepting, and I loved just how chaotic the dynamic of Evelyn and Bowen could be.
Hunt on Dark Waters receives four out of five stars.
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Thank you again to Katee and her team for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog.
