Friday, June 24, 2016

Book Review: The Sunken Realm by Serena Chase


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Title: The Sunken Realm

Author: Serena Chase

Series: Eyes of E'veria #4

Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Retelling

Audience: Adult

ABOUT THE BOOK

She is an outcast among knights 
Her reputation in ruins, her knighthood revoked, and her future bleak, Erielle de Gladiel would have welcomed death as her due. Captured by pirates, she was beaten, whipped, branded a thief—and worse—and then set adrift to die. She did not expect—or even want—to be rescued. Especially not by the dashing blasted pirate now calling himself her husband. 

He is the King of Pirates 
His oath satisfied and his Legacy secured, Cazien vows vengeance on all who harmed Erielle. But before he can hunt them down, a strange visitor appears with an urgent message—a message that aligns with prophecy Erielle has written in her sleep: The Seahorse Pirates must reach Nirista before the famed Tournament of the Twelve ... or hundreds of stolen children will die. 

Together, they are relentless 
With the fate of many resting upon them, Cazien and Erielle sail to Nirista. Once there, they are forced to follow separate paths to achieve their aims. Treacheries are uncovered and allies are gained, but in the shadows, a hidden foe plots a grievous betrayal that could shatter not only their hope, but the Seahorse Legacy itself. 

The epic conclusion of this series-within-a series, The Sunken Realm sweeps Erielle and Cazien along a pulse-pounding voyage to discover all they are meant to become, together. Giving subtle nods to several fairy tales, including an unexpected twist to the story of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, this romantic YA pirate adventure is the final novel in the Eyes of E’veria series ... but the Seahorse Pirates and their friends in E’veria may yet have stories to tell.

~ MY REVIEW ~
**4.5 stars**

Alright. So I'm going to attempt to gather together a few thoughts for The Sunken Realm. This is the fourth book in the series EYES OF E'VERIA by Serena Chase. Overall, I really liked it and concluded it to be a great final book to the series! ^_^

We're following Cazien and Erielle in this book, picking up right from where The Seahorse Legacy left off. On an epic adventure to solve some ancient riddle-prophecies, this precarious pirate couple learn a thing or two about true love along the way.

The first three books in this series earned a five-star rating from me, while The Sunken Realm gets a 4.5 rating. I loved it, yet there were a few things that just took off a half star or so. One, this final book felt a little different than the rest. I don't know, maybe it was focused more on the romance than the others. It's not necessarily a bad thing that it's different ... but it just didn't turn out to be quite what I expected.
     Another thing would be the romance. It was a beautiful love story, all in all, I feel. Some truly poignant and deep and beautiful moments. Some thoughtful moments. Some lessons learned. But it could be a little edgy. It's definitely a huge step up from the other books (The RynThe Remedy, and The Seahorse Legacy) and calls for a much more mature audience in my opinion. We're dealing with an arranged marriage here ... and it is our two POV characters who are married. I didn't feel anything was extremely overboard, but I do definitely recommend The Sunken Realm to 18 and up.
     Last thing, the violence. The beginning was quite violent! I was a little surprised. And I was surprised at how Cazien dealt with a villain (villain though he was), and even more surprised at how Erielle responded. I guess I expected her to have a little softer heart, and not just smirk at an implied-gruesome death. However, other than the beginning, the rest of the book wasn't so violent.

Some parts of this book were so beautiful and neat! You can still feel that fairy tale flavor, for sure! *smiles* There was this little boy, you'll know who he is if you've read this book, who I LOVE. And I love how he gets included in this story ... Eep! <3 <3 The Sunken Realm includes fantasy, fairytale-ish-ness, a tad bit of time-travel, strong faith theme, and a tumultuous marriage story that is ultimately so very sweet. There were a lot of cool aspects that I'm just vaguely remembering right now. (I read this book awhile ago ... and read a lot of books since! So ...) Big brother Julien! *grins and hugs him* There were certainly a few rough moments there, but he is awesome! As well as dear Rowlen! (Oh, if only we could get a book for Rowlen!! He needs his story told!) The Seahorse Pirates, just ... the Seahorse Pirates. *grins* They're pretty cool, I must say! Very fantastically original. And, of course, lending to that fairy tale feel that I love so much! There were little bits about The Twelve Dancing Princesses in this book, which I actually didn't catch until later. But yes, wonderful stuff. The ending was bittersweet. So lovely. But I'm sad to leave these characters behind!

All in all, I'm happy with this story and satisfied with this book's conclusion of the EYES OF E'VERIA, and looking forward to reading whatever Serena Chase releases next! ^_^

2 comments:

  1. Glad to see your thoughts on this! Thanks for sharing! :) I thought it was a bit mature too... :-/ But oh, I was catching all the tiny Twelve Dancing Princesses hints because I LOVE that story and I was watching for them and it was SO FUN!! :D I just loved how the bits of that fairytale weaves subtly through this. ^_^ Plus, Erielle and Cazien are adorbz. And Cazien has the best lines. :D And Julien, yes. Rowlen's cool too. ALL OF THE COOLNESS! So yeah, not my favorite ever since there were a few things that bothered me... but overall I enjoyed it a lot. :)

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    1. Yay! You're welcome! :)

      Yes, I guess you would notice all the 12 Dancing Princesses stuff! ^_^ Really cool!

      Cazien and Erielle ... <3 They had some lovely moments! Overall, there was so much I loved!

      But yes, the more mature stuff ... well, I would rather do without. It's really in a different category than the other books, concerning that.

      Nevertheless, so excited to see what Serena Chase comes out with next! :) :)

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