Review: 3.5 stars. A few editing problems
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 5, 2013
3.5 stars.I like Megan Derr's stories because she always manages to mix all kind of elements, giving it a dark flavor and writing characters who are always very intense. I think not everything was achieved in this book, and I hope it will be achieved in the next books of the series now that the majority of the setting has been built.I thought the story would revolve more about Kyo, the prince with dragon magic, and Kin, the half-merman captain, but there's also the story of Taka, the grumpy prince's secretary, and Raiden, the dashing merchant. Kyo is for a long time the real protagonist of the book, because he steals the precious stone which holds his family's power and he's ready to sacrifice his life to try to set the world right. He sails on the ship of a man he met when they were children, without having the courage to confess he has never forgotten him and he's been watching and waiting for him all his life. The author built the anticipation of this revelation, but I was expecting more heartache. As the story progressed, Taka and Raiden's story became more prominent and in a sense even more interesting. Raiden's chase of Taka was bolder, their banter was all sexual innuendo.There were a lot of interesting elements: the wraith of the mermaids, attacking the captain and his ship; the noble guests on Kin's ship and their stories; the bits of information about the other troubled parts of the world. I felt though that the world building wasn't solid, the information was disconnected and what was important to understand what Kyo was trying to do happened in the last couple of chapters, but it didn't have the solemnity I was expecting from a rite of sacrifice.There were also quite a few editing errors, especially the mix-up of the names of Kyo and Kin, too similar maybe.It was entertaining and interesting, I want to go on reading the rest of the series, but not as good as other series by the same author.