Title- Dark Shores
Author– Danielle L. Jensen
Rating– 4.25/5
Genre- fantasy with a little romance
POV- two alternating POV, third person past tense
Trope- enemies to “thinking about it,” war, politics, military, gods/goddesses
Similar Books/Comps– Fable
My emotions- loved, LOVED this book and the vibe.
Characters–
Teriana- second mate of the Quincense and heir to the Maarin Triumvirate.
Marcus- is the commander of the Thirty-Seventh, the notorious legion that has led the Celendor Empire to conquer the entire East.
Plot/Blurb-
Teriana’s 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.
The legion is Marcus’s family, but even they don’t know the truth he’s been hiding since childhood. It’s a secret he’ll do anything to protect, no matter how much it costs him – and the world.
When an Empire senator discovers the existence of the Dark Shores, he captures Teriana’s crew and threatens to reveal Marcus’s secret unless they sail in pursuit of conquest, forcing the two into an unlikely―and unwilling―alliance. They unite for the sake of their families, but both must decide how far they are willing to go, and how much they are willing to sacrifice.
Comments-
| Page 15- the author is giving too much information of politics, regions & leaders too quickly it’s not info dump necessarily in the way it’s written but it’s too much for the reader to latch onto without having to reread. Page 29- this is a strange thing to point out but the sentences this author writes seems longer than usual. The fact that I’ve noticed it feels like some of them jump out at me as being too lengthy/wordy. Anyways, I love that there’s two points of view so far, Teriana and Marcus Page 50- Love the diversity of the characters and the main heroine not being white Page 100- unsure how I feel about Lydia. Page 120- I’m not enjoying when one chapter ends and the next chapter starts like 5 minutes before the precious chapter ended. That timing makes things confusing Page 154- I love that Maarin eye color changes based off their feelings. Page 187- great moment with Auntie. It also brought the YA vibe back just after a 17 year old conquered something that was beyond conquering Page 200- I’m excited for Marcus to maybe decide to be good? Page 236- a little bored Page 264- things getting interesting again Page 279- excellent Page 305- that could’ve been stronger Page 322- dun Dun DUN! What are they gonna do?!?! (Nail biting time) Page 327- wish the bad guy was more relevant Page 360- a little anti-climactic for the big battle, so I’m unsure if this is romance or war/politics as the primary genre. The “big moment” seemed to be romance based, but it didn’t have the full romance arc. I’m glad there’s 3 more in this series. I hoped for a bit more in regard to their relationship development. |
What I’d change-
Overall, I also wanted to see more interaction with her mom early on to show proof of how much she cared since that was the basis of her making every decision.
Pacing- fast
Cassie Swindon 